CLINTON, S.C. – Suddenly already at the final stop in terms of home meetings against nonconference opposition, the Presbyterian College softball team – after grabbing their 15^th victory of the year over Furman three days back – takes on a familiar foe in their own backyard again this weekend, battling Queens for a pair. Game 1 against the Royals is scheduled for 12:00 p.m., with both outings streamed live via ESPN+.

Not only will the Royals return to the PC Softball Complex less than a week after the two teams' first encounter, but the Blue Hose will return the favor with travel – weather permitting, that is – for a fourth contest with Queens on Sunday, this time in Charlotte. Round IV in the eight-day series from North Carolina is tabbed for a 1:00 p.m. open.

Tomorrow's two-parter versus Queens will represent the 16^th and 17^th games of the season to be held at the newly-renovated Clinton ballpark, nearly 80% of all matchups conducted thus far in PC's yard. The Blue Hose have responded exceptionally well to this collage of home bouts, going 12-3 in such scenarios. One of those three L's came at the hands of the Royals, however, giving Presbyterian thoughts of payback on Saturday.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
- Embracing a full week off since last taking the field in the aforementioned win over PC back on the 5^th, Queens and head coach Stacey Schramm sit one game over .500 at 8-7 on the semester. The last 13 dates on the Royals' schedule have necessitated a road trip, not seen in Charlotte since a season-opening split against Appalachian State that turns one month old tomorrow.

- The first season of Queens' transition from the NCAA Division II ranks into the ASUN Conference, the former SAC member has taken a win in three of their last five showings, the most recent of which became their third shutout of 2023 at PC's expense in a 5-0 result.

- Starting pitcher Autumn Courtney – whom Presbyterian figures to see again this weekend – was an instrumental piece of the defensive-minded win in Clinton five days ago, never letting any of PC's six hits do any withstanding damage while tossing the full seven innings. The freshman twirler has raced out of the gates with a 6-1 personal record to start her collegiate career, throwing at least six frames in four straight outings.
 
LAST TIME OUT
- Caught in the middle of an offensive slide during the round one defeat to the Royals and partially into last Tuesday's DH against Furman, the Blue Hose wrestled out of that rut with a Game 2 triumph against the Paladins under the lights. Shaking off a 10-3 loss to their in-state visitor, PC leapt to the other side of a topsy-turvy encounter with a 6-5 W in the nightcap thanks to a 6^th-inning score from pinch runner Jenna Borkey made possible by a Kendall Owens sacrifice fly.

- Even though a 12-0 start to the campaign has prefaced a loss in three of the team's last four appearances, Presbyterian's earned-run average still sits at an impressive number of 1.49, good enough to land inside the nation's top 15 behind the strong work of Jenna Greene/Morgan Hess/Peyton Duncan, all three of which saw action in the Furman twinbill.

- In fact, Hess was the main catalyst towards the bounce-back Game 2 victory by throwing upwards of 150 pitches and forcing the Paladins into 14 stranded base-runners, never letting Furman regain the advantage once PC took it in the bottom of the 3^rd. Coincidentally, they did so on a three-run homer from Hess herself that also brought home Jillian Hewes and Lath Freeman, her seventh longball of 2023 (second-highest mark in the Big South and 17^th in the country).

- Hess – an all-league second team honoree as a freshman last spring – leads the roster in slugging percentage at .745, touching 41 bases in half as many games beside 17 RBI. On the opposite side of the field, the sophomore and Greene have added up for 140 strikeouts, pitching 14 complete games between them while both averaging just two walks per contest.

- Head coach David Williams' club has yet to taste a loss if ahead at the conclusion of four innings (9-0), sitting at 11-1 when scoring first and giving up only two home runs in the season's first full month. Four different PC players have gathered at least two multi-hit games in 2023, led by seven such performances by Owens, collecting 130 hits as a team altogether.

- A link to both live video and statistics for tomorrow's DH (and Sunday's one-off) can be found below, or at the top of this page.
 
PC vs. Queens (Sat.) – Game 1 Video: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/73becb7b-0be3-48b9-9c62-ef75aa32f090?om-navmethod=espn%3Aglobalsearch%3Aresults

PC vs. Queens (Sat.) – Game 1 Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=441138

PC vs. Queens (Sat.) – Game 2 Video: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/9d7602e6-32ae-4f33-ab1a-f8fb6ff92dd6?om-navmethod=espn%3Aglobalsearch%3Aresults

PC vs. Queens (Sat.) – Game 2 Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=441149

PC vs. Queens (Sun.) – Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=453827