>Opponents: 
Brevard vs. Salem | March 26 | Winston-Salem, N.C. | Blixt Field | 1 / 3 p.m.
Salem at (24) Pfeiffer | March 28 | Misenheimer, N.C. | Jack Ingram Field | 1 / 3 p.m.

>SALEM BEGINS CONFERENCE SLATE VERSUS BREVARD, PFEIFFER
After completing its non-conference slate with a 7-13 mark, the Salem softball team heads into USA South Conference play for the remainder of the regular season. The Spirits begin league action with a pair of doubleheaders against Brevard (March 26) and (No. 24) Pfeiffer (March 28). 

When the Spirits host Brevard to begin USA South Conference play it will be the third time in program history that Salem will host a league opener at Blixt Field. The other two instances came against Meredith (2022) and Brevard (2023). 

>DENNIS, MORALES SHUT DOWN JOHNSON & WALES IN SALEM SWEEP
The Salem pitching duo of Riley Dennis and Isabella Morales combined for 19 strikeouts and allowed just five hits over 10 innings as the Spirits completed a doubleheader sweep of Johnson & Wales by scores of 12-0 (Game 1) and 12-2 (Game 2) along the way. 

Dennis picked up her fourth win of the season in dramatic fashion, tossing the fifth no hitter in program history as she tallied 12 K's along the way. The Salem first year hurler joins Lauryn Smith, Kayla Ogle and Miranda Barker as the only pitchers in Salem history with 12 K's in a game. 

With Dennis in the circle, Salem witnessed its fifth no hitter in program history. It is the first for the Spirits since holding Southern Virginia hitless on February 15, 2019. It marks the first no hitter at Blixt Field since holding Mary Baldwin without a hit on March 29, 2018. 

While Dennis kept the Wildcats hitless, Salem sluggers NeVaeha George (1-2, 3 RBI) and Emma Greeson (1-2, 2 RBI) provided five of the nine RBI in a 12-0 win in the first game of the afternoon. 

Morales followed that performance by notching seven strikeouts over five innings, scattering five hits and allowing two runs by the Wildcats. Salem finished the doubleheader sweep, its second of the season, with 10 hits from 10 different sluggers. The quartet of Kayla Dick, Olivia Porter, Griffin Pearce and Mackenzie Kramer came through with two RBI in the game. Kramer grabbed her two RBI with a two-run blast to left field as part of an eight-run first inning. 

GAME 1 | Salem 12, Johnson & Wales 0 (5 innings)
W: Riley Dennis (4-6) / L: Elise Rojas (0-1) 
Salem Leaders: Dennis (5 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 12 K's), NeVaeha George (1-2, 3 RBI, 2 runs, HR), Emma Greeson (1-2, 2 RBI), Olivia Porter (1-3, RBI, 3 runs, double). 

SALEM HIGHLIGHTS
-Riley Dennis notched 12 strikeouts, becoming the eighth different Salem pitcher to tally at least 10 strikeouts in a single game. 
-Dennis joins Lauryn Smith, Kayla Ogle and Miranda Barker as the only pitchers in Salem history with 12 K's. She was two shy of tying Morgan Coleman and Barker for the most K's (14) in program history. 
-Dennis also tossed the fifth no hitter in Salem softball history. It is the first for the Spirits since holding Southern Virginia hitless on February 15, 2019. It marks the first no hitter at Blixt Field since holding Mary Baldwin without a hit on March 29, 2018. 
-The Spirits scored four runs on one hit, taking advantage of three infield errors, in the first inning as they built a 4-0 lead. 
-Kayla Dick reached base on a walk and quickly advanced to second on a stolen base. With Olivia Porter at the plate, Dick came home on a throwing error by the catcher, giving Salem its first run of the game. 
-Porter connected on a double to second and NeVaeha George put two on with a walk before Carmen Duffey reached base on an error, allowing Porter to push the margin to 2-0. 
-Emma Greeson put a runner at first for Salem, reaching on a fielder's choice, which scored George. Kiersten Nelson followed with a grounder to short, scoring Duffey from third, giving Salem the 4-0 advantage. 
-Salem kept its offense rolling in the second inning as Jelene Avila singled into center field for the first hit of the frame and two batters later, with Dick and Maleah Tate, the bases were quickly loaded for the Spirits. 
-Porter reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Tate to make for a 5-0 contest. Duffey followed with a single for Salem, scoring Dick, as the lead grew to 6-0. 
-Emma Greeson singled to left centerfield, scoring Porter, ahead of a single by Nelson that resulted in the eighth Salem run. 
-Salem enjoyed its third consecutive four-run inning in the third, stretching the margin to 12-0 in the process. The big hit came from George, who blasted a three-run home run over the left centerfield wall for the Spirits. 

GAME 2 | Salem 12, Johnson & Wales 2 (5 innings)
W: Isabella Morales (3-6) / L: Elise Rojas (0-2) 
Salem Leaders: Isabella Morales (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 7 K's), Kayla Dick (1-2, 2 RBI, 2 runs, double), Olivia Porter (1-2, 2 RBI, run), Griffin Pearce (1-2, 2 RBI, run, double)

SALEM HIGHLIGHTS
-Salem capped off the game with 10 hits from 10 different hitters. The 2-5 hitters in the Spirits lineup finished with five hits in the game. 
-The Spirits quickly got behind pitcher Isabella Morales in the home half of the first, scoring eight runs on six hits. 
-Olivia Porter came through with two RBI in the first, driving a single to left field that brought home the tandem of Kayla Dick and Maleah Tate. 
-Griffin Pearce doubled the Salem lead to 4-0 with a double to centerfield, plating NeVaeha George and Porter. 
-Mackenzie Kramer, with Pearce at second, blasted a two-run home run over the left field wall, stretching the Spirits' lead to 6-0. 
-Porter capped off the inning by reaching on a fielding error, which scored both Tate and Emma Greeson as the Spirits assumed the 8-0 lead. 
-Cree Bass led off the third with a walk and moved to third on a double off the bat of Emma Greeson, putting two runners in scoring position for Salem. Two batters later, Kayla Dick drove a double to left centerfield, scoring the pair, as the Spirits built a 10-2 lead. 
-Alli Stertzbach followed with a double down the left field line, bringing home Dick from second for an 11-2 advantage. 
-Rheanne Tullock lifted a double to centerfield to open the fourth inning for the Spirits. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Tullock came home with Greeson at the plate on a wild pitch. 

>PUTTING THE DENNIS NO HITTER INTO PERSPECTIVE
Riley Dennis etched her name in Salem softball history by recording the fifth no hitter in program history in game one of the series with Johnson & Wales. 

Dennis became the fifth different Salem pitcher to toss a complete game no hitter. The Norwood, N.C., native also notched the second-most strikeouts (12) in a no hitter in program history. 

The first no hitter came from Abby Settles on April 20, 2012, when she shut down Wesleyan (Ga.) as part of an 8-0 victory by the Spirits. Settles faced 17 batters and recorded 10 K's in the victory. 

Two years later, on March 9, 2014, Morgan Coleman became the second pitcher in Salem history with a no hitter. Coleman fanned 14 of the 19 Rust batters she faced that game as Salem claimed the 20-0 victory in five innings. 

It would be four years before the Spirits would witness another no hitter. Kayla Ogle held Mary Baldwin's bats in check as she struck out seven batters over five innings. The Spirits offense got behind Ogle's performance, leading Salem to a 17-0 win. 

On February 15, 2019, with Miranda Barker in the circle, Salem had its fourth no-hitter in program history. Barker squared off against 17 Southern Virginia sluggers and tallied nine K's, while the offense tallied 17 hits in a 10-0 win over the Knights. 

>TATE SETS SIGHTS ON USA SOUTH ALL-TIME STOLEN BASE RECORD
With the Salem program record in steals in her back pocket, a mark she established last season, junior speedster Maleah Tate has her sights set on the USA South's all-time record stolen base mark. 

Tate swiped a program single-season record 28 bases in 2024, topping the previous mark of 22 that was established by Karson Chapman in 2013. Along the way, she became the Spirits' all-time steals leader, ending the season with 40. 

Entering the first week of USA South Conference action, Tate has 25 stolen bases to her credit this season, three off her own single-season record. That is six more stolen bases than Greensboro's Ivy Ray, who has 19 to her credit in 2025. 

Tate would need five steals in a game to tie both TK Sauls (Piedmont) and Sandy Miller (Christopher Newport) for the league mark. The top stolen base artist in the league in a season belongs to Vada Blue Sherrill, who swiped 52 in 2019 for Pfeiffer. 

Samantha Hall (Averett) owns the career record in steals for the USA South, swiping 131 in her career for the Cougars between 2014 and 2017. Through the first 86 games of her Salem career, Tate has swiped 65 bases in her career. 

>STREAKING INTO LEAGUE ACTION
The Salem trio of Maleah Tate, Carmen Duffey and NeVaeha George enter the week with at least a four-game hitting streak. 

Tate has the longest current hitting streak on team, seven games. She began the streak with a single against Covenant in game one of the series against the Scots on March 8th. Tate followed with two hits against Covenant in game two and two hits apiece in the Spirits' sweep of Oberlin on March 9th. 

The Lexington, N.C. native came through with two singles in first of two games versus Carolina University on March 18th before delivering a single in game two against the Bruins. On Saturday, Tate had one single in each of the games against Johnson & Wales. 

Tate needs three more games with at least a hit to become the 13th different Spirit hitter with at least one hit in 10 straight games. The last Spirit with at least a 10-game hitting streak was Madison Thomas. 

Duffey and George have reached base by virtue of a hit in their last four games. Duffey began the streak with a pair of singles in game one of the series with Oberlin, where she was 2-of-3 at the plate. She followed that with singles in both games of the doubleheader versus Carolina University before notching a single in the first game of the series with Johnson & Wales. 

As for George, her streak includes hits on both games of the Carolina University series, including a double in the first game of the series. She moved the streak to three with a home run in the first game of the series with Johnson & Wales (March 22) before coming through with a single in game two. 

>INSIDE THE SALEM NUMBERS
-With 57 strikeouts in 11 appearances in 2025, Riley Dennis has notched the 11th-most single-season K's in program history. She is one from tying Isabella Morales' 2024 mark and sits eight shy of Lauryn Smith, who tallied 65 in 2014, ninth-most. 
-Entering this week, Salem has 29 doubles on the season, highlighted by Reese Upton's five. Upton is one of four Spirits with at least three doubles on the season, including Olivia Porter and Carmen Duffey, who have four each. Mackenzie Kramer, Kayla Dick and NeVaeha George have three each. 
-The Spirits have already equaled the number of triples as a team (six) than they had combined in the last two seasons, which included five in 2024. The last time that Salem had at least six triples in a season was 2016.
-Salem has managed double-digit triples on only two occasions. The most was by the 2014 unit, which tallied 21. One year earlier, in 2013, Salem tallied 11 triples. 
-There are four players on the Salem roster with a .333 batting average, including Kayla Dick. Dick has 16 hits to her credit in 2025, third-most on the team. She is joined by Madison Long, Alli Stertzbach and Griffin Pearce with a .333 average. 
 -Sophomore hurler Isabella Morales has already tossed six complete games in 2025 and leads starters with the lowest ERA (4.47). Morales (3-6) has struck out 19 opposing hitters in 2025 and issued just 10 walks along the way.

>SCOUTING REPORT: BREVARD 
All-Time Series Record vs. Brevard: Salem leads the all-time series 3-1
The Tornados will be making their second trip to Salem and first since splitting a doubleheader with the Spirits on March 26, 2023. 

Brevard is 4-9 overall and 0-2 in USA South Conference action on the season. Both league setbacks came in five innings to Meredith on Saturday by scores of 13-5 and 12-2. 

Brevard took part in the Fastpitch Dreams Tournament at North Myrtle Beach, where they downed Penn State Scranton and Delaware Valley during a five-game stretch. 

Regan Winker leads all Brevard hitters with a .462 batting average. She leads the unit in hits (18) and triples (two) while Andrea Furr tops the Tornados in doubles with five. 

Logan Masinsky (2-1) is responsible for the lowest ERA (3.57) and Elizabeth Auciello has a team-best 13 K's on the season. 

>SCOUTING REPORT: (24) PFEIFFER
All-Time Series Record vs. Pfeiffer: Pfeiffer leads the all-time series 11-1

Pfeiffer has won the last six meetings against Salem dating back to April 16, 2022. On March 12, 2019, Salem earned its only win in the head-to-head series (5-3) in a game at Blixt Field. 

The Falcons enter the week with a 14-7 overall record and are 2-0 in USA South Conference play. Pfeiffer will head to Meredith on Wednesday before hosting Salem on Saturday. 

Pfeiffer completed a doubleheader sweep of N.C. Wesleyan on Saturday, taking down the Battling Bishops by scores of 4-0 and 8-4 as they snapped a four-game losing streak. Two of those four losses came to nationally ranked opponents, which included No. 1 East Texas Baptist and No. 7 Christopher Newport. 

Landry Stewart leads all Pfeiffer hitters with a .404 batting average, connecting on 21 hits. Teammate Alyssa Broaddus has the most hits (24) on the unit, delivering six doubles and two home runs along the way. 

Emma Bullin (8-4) and Peyton Lane (5-2) lead the way for the Falcons in the circle. Bullin has 43 K's on the season, while Lane is responsible for 23 strikeouts and the lowest ERA (2.93) on the team.