CLINTON, S.C. – An undefeated start to the 2023 season for the Presbyterian College Softball team sets in motion another multi-team invitational to begin on Friday in Clinton, as the Blue Hose (sporting a 4-0 record with a plus-17 point differential) takes on a trio of visitors from three different states this weekend. Weather permitting, PC will welcome Seton Hall and IUPUI tomorrow afternoon before taking the next 24 hours off and returning to the fray on Sunday to again face IUPUI and Appalachian State.

It's been a perfectly-envisioned opening act for head coach David Williams and co. in the early stages of the season, pitching three shutouts already in only four outings on their way to the team's second 4-0 start in the past three years and fourth time holding that record since becoming an NCAA Division I member. Friday's matchups with the Pirates and Jaguars will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
GAME INFORMATION – Friday, February 17
PC vs. Seton Hall – 2:15 p.m. (ESPN+)
PC vs. IUPUI – 4:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
 
GAME INFORMATION – Sunday, February 19
PC vs. IUPUI – 10:00 a.m.
PC vs. Appalachian State – 2:30 p.m.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Two of the three opponents on Presbyterian's radar this weekend have never met the Blue Hose at any point in the program's 15-year D-I history, head coach Angie Churchill's Seton Hall Pirates being one of them. Her second season with SHU, the Pirates have stumbled out of the gates with two games gone in Mississippi, falling to Samford 1-0 and Southern Miss 2-1 last weekend.

The only visitor that will lock horns with the Blue Hose more than once in the Pinnacle PC Invitational, IUPUI travels to Clinton for the first time ever holding a 1-2 mark after a season-opening victory over Syracuse led to consecutive losses to North Florida and Jacksonville. Head coach Elisabeth Beirne's club is currently in the middle of a 15-game sequence of dates away from home, scoring six of their seven runs on the year in the aforementioned upset over the Orange.

Appalachian State – under the direction of head coach Shelly Hoerner – will visit the PC Softball Complex for the second straight time after an 8-0 Blue Hose blowout in February of 2022, splitting their season-starting doubleheader with Queens in Charlotte. All five of the two schools' previous meetings have occurred in the Palmetto State, with the series dating back to the 2015 campaign.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Winning their last five home contests dating back to the previous record-breaking year, Presbyterian controlled nearly every inning of a 5-0 triumph over Toledo, a 7-0 shutout against Bellarmine, a 3-2 squeezer in round two against the Rockets, and another 4-0 blanking of the Knights last weekend. Starting pitchers Jenna Greene and Morgan Hess – with over 24 frames shared between them – emerged from the tournament with a combined ERA of 1.16, striking out 33 on their way to a near-flawless four-game performance.

In fact, Greene's airtight showing in the circle gifted the senior a Big South Pitcher of the Week award on Tuesday, the sixth time in her career gaining such a distinction. Still in the infant stages of her last go-around, the North Carolinian stands as PC's all-time leader in strikeouts (464) and shutouts (19, at least eight more than everyone below her), collecting her 40^th W since 2020 on Saturday – the second-highest figure in Presbyterian history.

Not only proficient on the defensive side of the field, the Blue Hose were more than powerful enough with the bat in their hands to back up those ornery pitching statistics, blasting six home runs (including two each from senior catcher Lath Freeman and Hess, a do-everything sophomore), along with 25 hits, 17 RBI, and 48 total bases.

Successful in all 12 stolen-base attempts beside a .495 slugging percentage, Presbyterian delivered quite the statement in front of a brand-new facility upgrade, showcasing exactly why they were selected as the #2 team in the Big South via the league's preseason poll back in January.

Three wins away from equaling the program's best start in the D-I era, PC's Friday and Sunday meetings will entail live stats all weekend and video for the first two bouts tomorrow. Those links can be seen below, or at the top of this page.
 
PC vs. Seton Hall – Live Video: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/bdffd599-5ed5-4dbd-afc9-9ae8eec4ebd9?om-navmethod=espn%3Aglobalsearch%3Aresults

PC vs. Seton Hall – Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=441130

PC vs. IUPUI (Fri.) – Live Video: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/dcc01030-9a35-4d97-aea7-0b411f405d67?om-navmethod=espn%3Aglobalsearch%3Aresults

PC vs. IUPUI (Fri.) – Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=441131

PC vs. IUPUI (Sun.) – Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=441132

PC vs. Appalachian State (Sun.) – Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=441133