WESLEYAN OPENS SOFTBALL TOURNEY WITH 3-0 SHUTOUT OF AVERETT

BURLINGTON, N.C. -- NC Wesleyan hurler Ashley Driver tossed a two-hit shutout in the opening round of the 2010 USA South Softball Tournament, leading her 8th-seeded Battling Bishops to a 3-0 victory over 9th-seeded Averett University. Wesleyan will now face top-seeded Christopher Newport at 1:00 p.m., while the Cougars will take on either #3 Methodist or #6 Shenandoah at 3:00 p.m.. 

The Bishops got all the offense they would need when Alexis Gallop singled home Jessica Poindexter in the bottom of the fourth. NCWC went on to added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth thanks to a Cougar fielding error that extended the inning. Meredith Mills drove in a run with a base-hit to left.

Driver did the rest on the mound, striking out six and walking none over seven complete. AU's Nicole DeFilippo took the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits in six innings of work.

At the plate, Poindexter finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored.