Carolinian Staff 

Photo credit: Denise Archetto/UNCG Athletics 

The UNCG Softball team is preparing to take on the Radford University Highlanders in a home doubleheader tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. in the UNCG Softball Stadium, the first of eight between now and the end of April. The Spartans are coming off a home loss to Appalachian State after a strong performance in the UNCG Invitational with a total record of 4-1 for the tournament. The doubleheader also concludes a 10-game home stand, after which the team travels to Johnson City, Tennessee, for three games against East Tennessee State University. The Spartans will also travel to Birmingham, Cullowhee, and Spartanburg for several three-game matchups before returning to Greensboro for the Southern Conference (SoCon) tournament in May.   

The team is currently 15-13 overall as they prepare to begin conference play in Tennessee. Despite a losing record in February, senior Brooklynn Maxwell (pictured above) had an outstanding month and earned SoCon Softball Player of the Month honors. She started every game and led the team in nine categories for the month. Maxwell had a batting average of .443 and scored 20 of the Spartans’ 91 runs, including six home runs. She struck out only five times for an on-base percentage of .514 and stole three bases. Her fielding was just as good, with a .941 percentage and the team’s best numbers in assists (46) and errors (4).  

Maxwell leads the SoCon in runs, hits, RBI, triples, home runs, at-bats, and assists and is second in batting average and slugging percentage. She leads the nation in hits and total bases, and her number of triples puts her second nationwide. Maxwell has continued her outstanding hitting in March and sits at a .462 batting average for the month, raising her season average to .444. She is followed by Jessie Shipley, Grace Loftin, and Tori Dalehite, with batting averages of .382, .366, and .341 for the season. Maxwell was named to the Preseason First Team and Loftin the Second Team, with the team topping the coaches’ poll as the preseason favorite. The Spartans are the defending regular season and SoCon Tournament champions and look to continue their streak of six straight regular-season titles when they begin conference play this weekend.