Piedmont spring sports are winding down on their regular season play. As the postseason tournaments loom, here is a brief recap of how Piedmont’s spring sports have performed over the course of the regular season and how to keep up with the conference tournaments.
Baseball
The reigning CCS tournament champions sit in second place with a 9-3 conference record and 22-12 overall record.
Piedmont baseball’s season has been highlighted by their pitching. The Lions lead the CCS with 3.51 team ERA, and three pitchers are in the CCS top-10 in ERA.
Junior Zeke Swartz holds a conference-best 2.44 ERA with 59.0 innings pitched, junior Adam Metivier has a sixth-best 3.00 ERA with 60.0 innings pitched and senior Peyton Irvin has a ninth-best 3.24 ERA with 41.2 innings pitched.
Junior Braden Simms is the primary closer for the Lions, securing 10 saves this season, leading the CCS.
The CCS conference tournament will begin after the regular season, May 8-11. All games will be hosted at the number one seed. Times and opponents are TBD.
Softball
Piedmont softball sits fourth in CCS, and have three of the top-10 pitchers in the CCS. Sophomore Riley Ford, freshman Taylor Spivey and junior Megan Steinmeyer are fifth, seventh and eighth respectively.
Ford has a 2.69 ERA with 57.1 innings pitched, Spivey has a 3.44 ERA with 36.2 and Steinmeyer has a 3.67 ERA with 95.1 innings pitched.
Spivey earned the CCS Rookie of the Week award on April 1, when she threw a complete game shutout, striking out three on the way to a 6-0 victory versus Covenant College on March 30.
At the plate, graduate student Kaitlyn Isley has the fourth best batting average in the conference at .435, and the fifth most stolen bases with 16.
Freshman infielder Maddi Spieks earned a CCS Rookie of the Week nod on March 25, when she went 4-8 with three runs and a career-high four RBIs against Agnes Scott College.
The conference tournament will be played Wednesday, May 1, and May 3-4 at the highest seed. Opponents and game times are TBD.
Men’s Tennis
Starting on the courts, Piedmont men’s tennis have won the Collegiate Conference of the South regular season title for the first time since 2019. With an 18-6 record, and a 6-0 conference record, men’s tennis will look to win the conference tournament title for the first time since 2011.
There have been several repeat CCS Players of the Week to keep an eye on heading into the conference tournaments. Senior Silas Sandles took home honors for the CCS’s doubles team with two different partners, junior Simon Johnstone and freshman Mark Backeberg.
As for end of the season awards, six players made the cut for All-Conference. Head coach Matt Williams was awarded the Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. Freshman Charles Parnell was awarded with the Rookie of the Year award.
After securing a first round bye, men’s tennis competed in the CCS conference tournament semifinal, sweeping Huntingdon College. The next day, the Lions lost in the championship to rival Covenant College, 5-1.
Women’s Tennis
Women’s tennis have picked up where they left off from the last season, and the three seasons prior. For the fourth consecutive season, the Lions have clinched the regular season conference title, and will look for a third consecutive conference tournament championship.
Women’s tennis’ senior class is filled with record-holders and history-makers. Senior Abbey Grace Venham is the reigning conference MVP and holds the program record for most combined singles and doubles victories. Senior Dakota Wilkes is undefeated in singles this season, 17-0, and broke the program record for most singles victories in a career.
There were six All-Conference honorees, and Venham took home the Player of the Year award for the second year in a row. Head coach Trey Martin was awarded with Coach of the Year. Freshman Kenzie Imsand was a two-time honoree for the CCS Rookie of the Week and was on CCS Doubles Team of the Week with her partner, Mia Vasher.
Women’s tennis swept Agnes Scott College in the CCS semifinals. The following day, they broke out the brooms again in the championship match against Covenant College, adding a fifth conference tournament title to the record books on April 26. This championship is the team’s third in a row.
Women’s tennis will hope for a bid in the NCAA Tournament, with announcements on May 6.
Men’s Lacrosse
Piedmont men’s lacrosse are having a historic record, holding their best record in program history leading into the conference tournament. The 13-2 Lions are 6-1 in conference and hold the number two seed going into the USA South conference tournament.
Piedmont men’s lacrosse have not won the conference tournament since 2019, and are amongst the favorites to go all the way, ranking second in the USA South coaches’ preseason poll.
Three men’s lacrosse players have broken program records this season. Senior Brady McGuire has the most career points, senior Johnny Matrona is the winningest goalie in program history and junior Andrew Pagano has the most caused turnovers in program history.
With a second-place finish in the regular season, men’s lacrosse earned a first round bye. The semifinal and championship games will be played at number-one seed Pfeiffer University on May 3 and 4 respectively.
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s lacrosse’s 2024 season has been highlighted by record-breaking performances and consistent USA South Player of the Week selections. The 9-8 Lions finished 7-2 in conference and will host the quarterfinal game in the conference tournament.
Freshman standout Savannah Limehouse has four USA South rookie of the week awards, and is second on the team with 39 goals scored. Junior Ava Trankina leads the team in points and reached the 100-point club in just her second season as a Lion. Trankina has two USA South Player of the Week awards this season.
Junior Aly Reece has broken three program records this season. Reece now holds the record for most assists in a single season, most points in a single game and most assists in a single game, a record she’s broken twice this season.
Women’s lacrosse will host Pfeiffer University on April 30 in the USA South tournament, at 4 p.m. The semifinal and championship games will be hosted at number one seed Methodist University, May 3-4.
Men’s Track and Field
Men’s track and field were voted first in the CCS preseason coaches’ poll, after a championship-winning 2023 season. In the 2024 season, they’ve had upperclassmen and newcomers alike impress in all events.
Senior Gary Halverson is the new record holder in the men’s mile, with a 4:14.37, and the record holder in the men’s 3000m, timing in at 8:45.15.
Junior Layton Bradford broke his previous program record in the 10K, now a 32:36.69, 14 seconds faster than the previous record.
Freshman Ethan Butler-Paige is a two-time CCS Rookie of the Week, posting a best second-place in the hammer toss at 39.38m.
Track and field will compete in the conference tournament May 8-9 in Maryville, TN.
Women’s Track and Field
Coming off of their second conference championship in three years, women’s track and field lost and gained strong athletes looking to repeat.
Senior Nakiyah Washington traded the basketball for the shot put and has been just as successful in her new sport. The two-time CCS Field Athlete of the Week broke her own program record in shot put this season, now set at 11.90m.
Senior Cortney Brown has earned three CCS Field Athlete of the Week awards for her performances in javelin. Brown placed first in the javelin event during the Gotta Run meet in late March, scoring 33.28m.
Freshmen have impressed as well, with Zoë Harrison, Keyuna Peebles and Allison Cantrell earning Rookie of the Week honors during the season.
Track and field will travel to Maryville, TN, to compete in the conference tournament May 8-9.
Men’s Golf
Piedmont men’s golf is coming off of a runner-up finish at the NCAA Division III championship. With lots of last year’s team graduating, and getting a new head coach, men’s golf had many new faces for the 2024 season.
The team’s best finish was at the Wynlakes Intercollegiate, finishing sixth of 20 teams.
Returning senior and reigning NCAA Division III Individual Champion Josh Hebrink has led a young team throughout the season.
Sophomore Adam Rogers played a bigger role this season, placing best at the Savannah Invitational. Rogers finished ninth of 95 golfers, with a score of five-under par. His day-two performance, four-under 68, was the best in his career as a Lion.
As for newcomers, freshman Jacob DeJesus was honored as a CCS Rookie of the Week for his performance tying 13th out of 51 golfers at The Manor Invite.
Men’s golf will compete in the CCS Championship April 29-May 2. e
Women’s Golf
Piedmont women’s golf finished their season, finishing third place in the USA South conference tournament. Sophomore Erin Donovan was the individual tournament champion, the first USA South individual champion in Piedmont history.
Donovan finished the conference tournament three strokes under par, tying her career best in a 54-hole round. This comes after Donovan won USA South Player of the Year, leading the conference with 74.7 average score.
Freshman Shelby Clark joins Donovan on the All-Conference list, scoring 82.3 on average in the regular season.
NCAA Division III team and individual bidding takes place on Monday, April 29.
Anna Lassiter:
Piedmont’s men’s and women’s tennis teams have been pouring out support for one of their own over the course of this season. Senior Anna Lassiter was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia on Feb. 5, and Piedmont tennis players have been showing their support for Lassiter by wearing orange shirts for awareness.
Piedmont athletics and Piedmont women’s tennis announced on March 12 that Lassiter was in remission.
“When I was first told that Anna was in the hospital and she had just been diagnosed with cancer, I was speechless. Over the next few months, I watched a 21-year-old girl whose life changed from practice on Thursday, to getting admitted to the hospital on Monday, to starting chemo, to fighting for her life,” said Piedmont women’s tennis head coach Trey Martin. “Seeing how much she has overcome and still is has been remarkable. Seeing the Piedmont community rally around Anna and try to be there for her makes me realize why I love this school so much.”
Keep up with all Piedmont athletics and their conference and NCAA tournaments at piedmontlions.com.
