MISENHEIMER — With four games remaining in the regular season, Pfeiffer University’s softball team is wrapping up the final stretch of one of its most successful seasons in program history.
The Falcons have an overall record of 35-1 and a 13-1 first-place record in the USA South Conference standings as they sit at the No. 12 spot in the NFCA Division III Top-25 Coaches Poll. Ranked as high as 12th in the poll last season, Pfeiffer has jumped to that same spot after sitting at No. 17 in the rankings earlier in April.
With a school-best 25-win streak already accomplished this season, Pfeiffer has now carried on in its historic season with a new 10-game win streak and a perfect 22-0 record playing at Jack Ingram Field in Misenheimer.
The team’s current winning percentage of .929 is the highest the team has ever attained in a full-length schedule.
Following back-to-back home wins over Greensboro (20-12, 9-5 USAS) on Saturday, Pfeiffer clinched at least a share of the USA South regular season championship — the team could clinch the title outright with one more victory.
The Falcons have a four-game lead in the conference standings over Greensboro and N.C. Wesleyan (19-15, 9-5 USAS).
For ninth-year coach Monte Sherrill, the championship extends his conference title streak to 35 consecutive seasons during his coaching career at Pfeiffer University, Alexander Central and Central Cabarrus High Schools.
Boasting 35 wins already, the Falcons have already tied the amount of victories they accumulated in total last season. That team achieved a conference-best 35-13 (15-3 USA South) record and won the USA South Tournament championship, eventually earning the program’s first wins in the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament.
Senior Kali Morton was recently awarded USA South Pitcher of the Week honors after posting a 3-0 record in four starts last week for the Falcons.
In 19.1 total innings, she had three complete-game shutouts — against USA South foes William Peace, Methodist and Guilford — and allowed two unearned runs and nine hits with four walks and 10 strikeouts.
With pitching duties split between Morton and junior Kenzi Lyall, the two pitchers each have an ERA of 0.75 and have co-starred as Pfeiffer’s formidable duo on the mound.
At the plate, junior infielder Emma Bullin and junior outfielder Alyssa Broaddus both lead the Falcons with a .457 batting average, while Lyall (52) and junior outfielder Gracie Griffin (49) lead the squad in total hits.
Pfeiffer will now host Meredith (15-17, 6-8 USAS) in a home double-header on Wednesday before rounding out the regular season with two matchups at Brevard (6-27, 0-14 USAS) on Saturday.
The 2024 USA South Tournament is set to begin on May 2 and run until the championship game on May 11.