BRIDGEPORT, West Virginia - With the north central West Virginia weather yielding a surprisingly nice winter afternoon, the Salem Softball program made the best of the opportunity to get back on the field with their 2024 season debut. The Tigers hosted the Thorobreds of Kentucky State, and Salem got a pair of dominant performances from their pitchers in order to seal the opening series sweep. Each contest played out as follows:

Salem 2, Kentucky State 0

For Game 1, Salem got off to a fantastic start in the first inning. The Tigers opened the scoring with a RBI single from Meladie LaRance that scored Sierra Chapa from third. The Chapa-LaRance connection came up clutch again in the 5th when another RBI single scored Chapa. With a 2 run cushion, a dominant debut performance from Brooke Wise in the pitcher's circle sealed a shutout victory for the Tigers. Wise allowed just 3 hits, and struck out 6 Thorobreds to earn the win for the Tigers in her collegiate debut.

Salem 8, Kentucky State 0

For Game 2, Salem's offensive was clearly primed to kick it up a notch. The Tigers opened in a similar way with Meladie LaRance and Kendall Lemley each knocking in runs in the 1st and 2nd innings.  After a wild pitch gave the Tigers another run in the 4th, Salem uncorked a big 5th inning. It started with a Charlee Johnson single that brought in Kayla Williams, and was followed up by another wild pitch that brought in Marissa Jeffrey. Then, Kaydee Anderson and Ricki Garay added 2 more RBI singles to bring the score up to 7-0 in favor of the Tigers. In the 6th, the victory was sealed via run rule when Charlee Johnson scored on one last Thorobred wild pitch. On top of the offensive fireworks, Salem got a dominant performance from Kendall Lemley in the circle. Lemly pitched a no-hitter in her collegiate debut, and struck out a pair of Thorobreds in the process. 

The Tigers should be able to take these two wins into the weekend with some energy for their next contests. Salem hosts a regional roundup event at the Bridge Sports Complex on February 23rd and 24th that brings 5 fellow NCAA Division II programs into Bridgeport. Salem is set to take on Virginia Union at 1 PM and Ursuline College at 5 PM on February 23rd, and then will take on D'Youville at 11 AM and Malone at 5 PM on February 24th.