Louisburg College softball traveled to Henrico, Virginia May 12-14 for the South Atlantic District tournament. They capped off the weekend with their 44th consecutive win and a Region X / South Atlantic District Championship.

In game one the Hurricanes defeated Florence-Darlington Tech 8-0 after the Stingers win over Richard Bland in a play-in game Wednesday night. Abbie Yarboro had a bases clearing double to drive in three runs. Ansley Lee hit a solo home run and drove in two total runs. The eight and nine hole hitters, Jessica Russell and Amber McLaren, each went 2-3 with 2 runs scored. Ellen Palya went 6 innings, giving up only two hits and striking out eight to get the win.

"Our players came out and set the tone for the tournament by showing up offensively, defensively, and in the circle against Florence-Darlington," said Louisburg coach Eric Lee.

In game two the Hurricanes defeated Pitt Community College 6-2.  Pitt scored two runs in the top of the 1st on a pair of errors. Louisburg quickly answered back in the bottom of the 1st with two runs of their own. Brooklyn Rush was 2-3 with a double, triple, 2 RBI, and a run scored. Foster Sharpe was 2-3 with 2 RBI. Chelsea Roberson was 2-3 with a RBI and a run scored. Carrigan Ewers went 5 innings in the circle, giving up no earned runs, while scattering 5 hits. Palya came in for the 6th and 7th to get the save, surrendering no hits while striking out three.

"We came out sloppy," said Coach Lee. "I attribute that to the long lay off due to weather. Our team quickly locked in and took over the game. It is always good to beat a rival."

In game three the Hurricanes defeated Pasco-Hernando State College 2-0. Palya was the starting pitcher for Louisburg. She struck out the lead off batter, hit a batter, gave up a single, and walked a batter to load the bases in the top of the 1st before striking out the next two batters to get out of the jam. Palya struck out 7 in the win. Offensively, Chelsea Roberson walked in the 2nd inning and stole second base to score on a line drive single to center field by Foster Sharpe. In the bottom of the 3rd McLaren singled, Bri Tucker walked, and a Yarboro ground out to the right side advanced the runners to scoring position. An Ansley Lee ground out scored McLaren for the final run of the game. There was no more scoring after the 3rd. Ewers came in the 6th inning to get the save. She gave up one hit in two innings of work.

"I thought it was a great chance to show that we can beat teams even on our worst offensive days," said Coach Lee. "Our pitchers did a great job carrying us on a day we just couldn't make adjustments in the box."

In the championship game the Hurricanes once again defeated Pasco-Hernando State College 4-1. McLaren double to lead off in the bottom of the 3rd and scored on an error by the third baseman. In the bottom of the fourth the first two outs were recorded on three pitches and then Ramsey Schlaffer put down a bunt single and scored on a McLaren double. Tucker hit a 2-run homerun. In the sixth Pasco-Hernando got their first two batters on without a ball leaving the infield and scored a run on a base hit through the middle before the inning ended. A seventh inning PHSC rally was deflated by a Chelsea Roberson bases loaded pickoff before Ewers recorded a strikeout for the win.

"It says a lot about the depth of our team that we can win a district tournament when the top four hitters in our line up–who were each named all-region–went a combined 8-43 at the plate. I'm extremely proud of Amber McLaren's clutch performance and our team as a whole for finding a way to put 20 runs on the board in a weekend when we were clearly not at our best offensively."

The all-tournament team included Amber McLaren, Jessica Russell, and Foster Sharpe. Ellen Palya was the tournament MVP.

This was the third consecutive Region X / South Atlantic District Championship for Louisburg College softball. They will head to Oxford, Alabama May 24-28 for the NJCAA National Championship.