last season
The Coker College softball team finished with a 36-18 record last season. They had a combined 77 wins over the last two seasons. The Cobras advanced to the finals of the South Atlantic Conference tournament in 2017-2018, for the second consecutive season.
Coker opened the season winning fourteen of their first sixteen games, including all four wins in the Cobra Invitational against Alderson Broaddus and Mount Olive. The Cobras outscored their opponents 25-7 during the Invitational.
Coker picked up twelve regular season wins over South Atlantic Conference opponents, beating Wingate, Tusculum, Queens, Carson-Newman, Newberry , Mars Hill and Lincoln Memorial.
this season
Coker enters the 2018-19 season with eight experienced seniors in Maria Williamson, Taylor Forehand, Rebekah Addison, Brianna Strickland, Mindy North, Makayla Shore, Katelyn Chambers and Allyson High.
Junior right-handed pitcher Christine Carver returns as well. Carver was selected to the Preseason First Team All South Atlantic Conference Team . Her 1.87 ERA ranked second best in the South Atlantic Conference last season; she ranked third in South Atlantic Conference in wins with 19, and fourth in strikeouts with 144 on the 2017-2018 season.
In addition to the talented returners, Coach McCall has landed a superb class of recruits who should figure prominently into the rotation this season, including Ashley Meckley, Olivia Varella, Cierra Watts, Ava Jay, Chloe Pelham, Isabelle Mullen and Jordyn Goodman.
The season officially starts with the Cobras traveling to Nancy Chapman Field to take on the Mount Olive Trojans. They'll open up at home against the Erskine Flying Fleet and the USC Aiken Pacers the following weekend (Feb. 3-Feb. 4). The Cobras are set to travel to warm and sunny St. Augustine, Florida (Feb. 16-Feb. 17). The Cobras are slated to face Flagler College Saints and Trinity Baptist College Eagles.
The South Atlantic Conference schedule kicks off on Mar. 16 when Coker travels to Mars Hill to face the Lions (N.C.). The Cobras have 10 South Atlantic Conference home games on the schedule: Lenoir-Rhyne (March 20), Wingate (Mar. 27), Newberry (Apr. 3), Lincoln Memorial, T.N. (Apr. 6), Newberry (Sept. 28), Anderson S.C. (Apr. 20).
"We are very excited to get the season started. This group of girls has worked extremely hard all year and I can't wait to see what they accomplish on the field this spring." - COach Travis Mccall
impact players
Williamson has been a revelation during her first three seasons in Hartsville. She appeared in 54 games, led the South Atlantic Conference in batting average (.454), led the South Atlantic Conference in on base percentage (.526) and ranked sixth in the South Atlantic Conference in Slugging (.687). An All-American a season ago, and preseason First Team All-Conference selection this year, Williamson has the potential to lead the Cobras to the top of the South Atlantic Conference standings in 2019.
Shore missed the 2016-2017 season due to injury, but came soaring back in the 2017-2018 season. Shore appeared in 33 games during the 2017-2018 season, batting .275 with 3 home runs and 17 RBI. Her best performance came in the Cobras 10-5 victory over Belmont Abbey (Apr. 14) when she hit 2 homeruns with 4 RBI's.
Carver ranks 4th in the Coker softball records for perfect games in a single season, and recorded a jaw-dropping 1.84 ERA during the 2018 season. Her best performance of the season came in the Cobras 3-2 victory over North Georgia (Mar. 4) when she pitched a complete game. Carver struckout the first four of seven batters. She finished with 12 in the game. Carver and the Cobras handed the Nighthawks - 23-0 at the time - their first loss of the season.
" I'm excited with the depth and pieces we've added to a very experienced group of returners. Our depth is much improved and we have an opportunity to play a bunch of people this spring" - COach Travis McCall