CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Royals head back for their home-opening ASUN matchup against the North Alabama Lions on March 24 (3:00 & 5:00 PM) and on March 25 (11:00 AM).
The games will be played at The Stick in Charlotte, N.C. Both games will have live statistic coverage available, linked on the Queens Softball Schedule tab.
GAME NOTES AND FAST FACTS
QUEENS ROYALS
- Royals are coming off a split doubleheader at out-of-conference foe Winthrop on Wednesday. Queens won the first game, 8-4, which snapped a four-game losing streak, before losing game two, 10-4, in Rock Hill, SC.
- Graduate shortstop Kayla Smith is now second in Queens history with 24 career home runs, only Kaitlin Cheek (33, 2011-14) hit more in her Royal career. The Charlotte native is tied for eighth in the Atlantic Sun in home runs this season, with 3.
- Sophomore pitcher Autumn Courtney continues to blow by the league in strikeouts, as she has sat down 133 batters this season, 35 more than second place. 133 is also the second-most in Division I, only behind NiJaree Canady at Stanford (145).
- Courtney and North Alabama's Alivia Wilken lead the conference in shutouts, with five apiece. The combined ten shutouts would be the most between two starting pitchers, if they face off this weekend, in Division I this season. Also, they lead the conference in innings pitched, 96.0 for Wilken and 95.1 for Courtney. Those numbers also place them in sixth and seventh in the nation, respectively, that would also be the most combined inning pitched (191.1) in a matchup this year.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
NORTH ALABAMA LIONS
- The Lions come in to the Queen City winners of seven of their last nine games, including taking two of three in the conference-opening series against Lipscomb last weekend (3-0, 4-5, 3-0).
- North Alabama leads the ASUN in fielding percentage (.980), with only 17 errors on the campaign. The percentage is seventh best in Division I.
- Junior pitcher Alivia Wilken is tied with Autumn Courtney atop the league with five shutouts. That number puts her in a tie for sixth nationally.
- Seniors Felicity Frame and Haven Kirby lead the way for the Lions on offense. Frame is first in the conference in hits (40), runs (26), second in batting average (.417), and third in on-base percentage (.472). Kirby is tied or alone at the top of the ASUN in home runs (5), triples (3), and total bases (59). She is also second in slugging percentage (.648), tied for second in RBI (21), and fourth in OPS (1.018)
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow the Royals softball team on Instagram and Twitter/X to stay up to date on all the latest news surrounding the team. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics to stay updated on all the Royals sports teams in action by searching @QueensAthletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
