FULL 2022 SCHEDULE 


ETTRICK, V.A. – Three years removed from winning the CIAA Northern Division, The Virginia State Trojans softball team gets ready to hit the field for the first time in 2022 this weekend under the direction of first-year head coach and Alumni, Jameshia Smith. The Trojans open the year with a doubleheader on Saturday, February 5 to jumpstart their road to the CIAA championship. 
 
New Faces
 The Trojan family will welcome five freshmen in Desmyn Jones, Machenze Flood, Hailey Darrington, Nia Hall and Alaijah Pratt.
  
 
Pitchers
The VSU pitching rotation will look to improve upon the showing they had in the abbreviated season of 2020 as they went 3-13 as a group and had a 57-66 strikeout-walk ratio.

Desmyn Owens joins the Trojan pitching rotation after excelling in four sports in high school. Owens was a first team All-District volleyball this past season. She finished fourth in the 2A State Indoor Track meet in shot put last year and was third in this year's state indoor meet. She was an All-District second team selection in basketball. Needless to say, she was a standout on diamond as well, as the Lawrenceville, Virginia native took home first team All-Regional and All-District in her junior season as well as MVP of her high-school team.

Leah Harrison will likely be the ace of the VSU pitching rotation this upcoming season. Harrison pitched in six games until the 2020 season was cut short due to COVID-19 concerns. Before the stoppage, Leah was one of the best pitchers the conference had to offer. She was within the top-10 in the conference in ERA, Opposing Batting Average, Batters Struck Out, Wins, Losses, Sacrifice Bunts Allowed, Sacrifice Flies Allowed, Hits allowed, Runs Allowed, Earned Runs Allowed, Doubles Allowed and Triples Allowed. She was also the lone pitcher on the team to earn a win on the season, both coming from complete game victories (2-0).  She also was able to lend a helping hand on the offensive end as she batted an efficient .286 while upholding a .444 On-Base percentage.
 
Alaijah Pratt will bring versatility to the rotation as the freshman is known for her athleticism within the circle and well as her big arm.


Catchers
The Trojans welcome Serenity Barbee, Machenze Flood and Macy Beville to protect the backstop this season.

Barbee brings an abundance of talents with her to the team as she proved to be an extremely athletic player as she also plays the middle infield.

Flood comes to VSU toting a powerful right-handed swing, as she is known around Bedford, Virginia for her power hitting. She was Class 3 All-State Designated Played and hit a clutch homerun in her District championship game.

Macy Beville brings a bit of experience to the group as she comes to VSU by way of the powerhouse that is Randolph-Macon College. 

  
Infielders
The Trojans infield is the most experienced group on the team as veterans: Julia Jones, Serenity Barbee, Asia Tanner, Alani Horton and Samantha Cunningham will pass their knowledge on down to Desmyn Owens.

Alani Horton will look to make her regular season debut this weekend. She saw the ball as a beach ball at the plate as she upheld an enormous .402 batting average after starting all four years in High School in Knightdale, North Carolina. Her best season was in 2017-18, in which she amassed 28 hits in 55 at-bats earning her a .509 batting average. Along with hitting solid line drives and ground balls, she hit seven home runs in her high school career, hitting at least one per year despite the shortened season of 2020. Horton will also be an asset for VSU on the base-paths with a 1.090 career on-base percentage.
 
Samantha Cunningham is the top-returner to the team as the senior lead the team from the plate in 2020 with her .372 batting average. Cunningham also led the team in runs (14), doubles (5), slugging percentage (.674), runs batted in (11), on-base percentage (.438) and was second on the team in hits (16). The senior posted five multi-hit games on the season while ending her season on a four-game hitting streak. Defensively, she accounted for 42 putouts on only three errors. Cunningham ranked within the top-10 in the conference in slugging percentage (9^th), Runs (1^st), Hits (6^th), RBI (6^th), double (5^th), Home runs (2) and At bats (10^th).
 
Julia Jones will see her role expand in the 2022 season after appearing in 10 games in 2020 in which she drew three walks while hitting a home run in the season.
 
 
Outfielders
VSU's outfield is the youngest unit on the team as the squad welcome Nia Hall and Hailey Darrington and return Leah Harrison and Serenity Barbee.

 
Next Five Matchups

• Feb. 5 at Barton
• Feb. 13 vs. Washington Adventist
• Feb. 24 vs. Millersville
• Mar. 6 vs. Frostburg
• Mar. 13 at Washington Adventist