Salem College’s new softball team will open its inaugural season on Saturday, Feb. 18 with a doubleheader against Peace College at Blixt Field on the Salem campus. The games will be at 1 and 3 p.m.

Softball is Salem’s seventh NCAA Division III sport. The team will compete with other schools from the Great South Athletic Conference, such as Agnes Scott and Spelman colleges.

The team boasts several key recruits, including former all-conference pitcher and infielder, Shelby Drummond; Sampson County co-player of the year Amber Bass and Kayla Kennedy, who received a number of honors and was a member of the NCISAA State Softball Championship team in 2007 and 2008 at Wayne Christian.

The team is coached by Scott Long, who came to Salem after spending three seasons as the varsity softball head coach at Calvary Baptist High School in Winston-Salem. Long led Calvary to a 46-22 record over those four years, and was selected as the 2008 Triangle Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. He is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

“This team has a rare opportunity to make history at a school that’s very historic,” says Long. “It’s really exciting because they get to lay the foundation for what’s ahead for this softball program.”

For more information about the team, visit the Salem Athletics site.