Courtesy of Newberry College Athletics
NEWBERRY — Year two of the Mitch Smith era for the Newberry softball program kicks off this week as the Wolves look to post their 11th consecutive non-losing season and secure another trip to the South Atlantic Conference Tournament.
The Wolves return the team’s top two pitchers and some key position players from a team that posted a 25-25 overall record and 11-14 mark in the SAC while qualifying for the conference postseason tournament.
Bolstered by a talent group of incoming transfers the Wolves are anticipating big things in 2025.
“I think the biggest strength of our team this year is going to be our team culture” said Smith. “You can tell from day one that the returners have showed the newcomers the way and it’s created an immediate bond on the field.”
The pitching staff is anchored by Lex Glemaker and Lindsey Foster.
The two combined for an 18-13 record with eight complete games, 185.1 innings and 119 strikeouts a year ago.
Glemaker, a third team All-SAC selection last year, led the Wolves with an 11-7 record and seven complete games in 19 starts while Foster has 22 wins in her Newberry career, lowering her ERA from 7.09 as a sophomore to 4.11 as a junior in 2024.
“Lindsey has thrown a ton of innings over her three-year career, and we relied heavily on Lex last year and she did a great job and so I think those two right there will definitely be leading our staff this year” said Smith. “Eva Crader is coming back and has definitely gotten better, Natalie Westcott (Queens) is a transfer that will come in and Sam Minnick is a freshman who has gotten 100% better since the start of fall. But out of those five I can tell you that we really have a pitching staff this year that could do really great things for us.”
Crader pitched in nine games last season with three starts and recorded two saves.
The infield will feature a lot of new faces, but Maddy Brown will anchor the group after starting 26 games a year ago. She hit .253 with 10 RBI and a .434 on-base percentage. Brown started most of last season at second base but will move to third base this spring.
“For the first time here in quite a long time that we don’t actually have a returner in the same spot,” said Smith. “We brought in some transfers and some freshmen that have done a great job. We have an absolute battle going on between second and short right now. Ella Stone (USC Aiken) has done a tremendous job for us throughout the fall up the middle and so has Katie Henri (USC Upstate), Brooke Hodges, Elizabeth Levins, Peyton Little (Mars Hill) and Brooke Crosby. All of them are going to be competing for a spot on the field. We brought in Haidyn Campbell at first base and she has done a great job for us. The one great thing about our infield is the fact that we are so versatile.”
Stone started 93 games the last two seasons at USC Aiken and raised her batting average by 56 points last year as a sophomore. Little played in 45 games for Mars Hill last year and batted .325 with eight home runs, 34 runs scored and 38 RBI. Campbell played in 54 games and hit .324 with seven home runs, 32 runs scored, nine doubles, a .535 slugging percentage, .425 on base percentage and 37 RBI last year to help Walters State to a regional championship and a sixth place finish at the NJCAA national tournament.
Bethany Pigg returns at catcher after starting 43 of the 45 games she played in last season batting .298 with 20 runs scored, seven doubles, seven home runs and 27 runs batted in. She is the team’s top returner in home runs and RBI from a year ago.
The Wolves outfield features more returning players including starters Leah Evans and Maddy Staples. The duo combined to start 52 games with 39 runs scored, 6 doubles, a home run and 17 RBI. The team also benefits from the return of Christine Butler who batted .281 in 32 games including 10 starts in 2023 before missing all of 2024 with an injury.
“Those three right there will make huge plays for us in the outfield so we’re going to look to lean on them this year,” said Smith. “But we also brought in transfers Taylor Palfrey (Southern Wesleyan), Marissa Valenzuela (Trinidad State), Madison Morgan (Arizona Western) and GraceAnn Tompkins (USC Aiken). For the first time in a very long time, we have really good depth in the outfield, so it’s just going to be a great year to watch this outfield and to see what they can do and where they lead us to.”
Palfrey started 48 games last season at Southern Wesleyan at batted .308 with 44 runs scored, three doubles, a triple, two home runs and 32 stolen bases. Morgan hit .387 with nine doubles, a triple, 23 RBI, 25 runs scored and four stolen bases at Arizona Western a year ago. Valenzuela hit .430 with nine doubles, three triples and 10 RBI for a Trinidad State team that won a regional championship and finished eighth at the NJCAA national tournament a year ago. In limited action last year at USC Aiken Tompkins batted .400 with 12 runs scored and four stolen bases while appearing in 37 games and starting three.
While previously serving has head coach at Aiken Technical College and USC Salkehatchie, Smith returned to the top role last season after serving as former Wolves’ head coach Ciria Triplett’s assistant for nine seasons.
“The one thing that’s helped me out tremendously this year is the culture of the team. You know, they’re just so much fun to be around and they do a great job every single day. I don’t have to worry about them on the field, off the field, or in the classroom.”
The Wolves will face a very challenging schedule in 2025 with three South Atlantic Conference teams advancing to the national tournament a year ago, one of them earning a Super Region title and two of the three ranked in the national preseason poll.
Newberry also faces 2024 NCAA Tournament teams Auburn-Montgomery, Flagler and Lander.
The Wolves open the season at home Saturday, February 1st against Peach Belt Conference preseason favorite and 2024 NCAA Tournament team Columbus State.