By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Lexie Roberts, a junior outfielder from Burlington, is set to embark on her first season with North Carolina’s softball team.
Roberts, who attended high school at Clover Garden, has transferred from Radford. She was the Big South Conference’s Player of the Year in 2024.
Junior pitcher Kenna Raye Dark out of Eastern Alamance will be in her third season with the Tar Heels.
She had an 8-7 record with a 2.94 earned run average across a team-high 27 pitching appearances last year, when the team finished with a 30-20 record.
North Carolina begins its season Friday in the Tiger Invitational at Auburn, Alabama, facing Appalachian State and Auburn on the first day.
The Tar Heels were selected ninth in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason coaches’ poll.
Elon picked sixth
Elon was voted to finish sixth out of 12 teams in the Coastal Athletic Association’s preseason softball coaches poll. The Phoenix opens the season against Ohio at 1:30 p.m. Thursday on the first day of the Elon Softball Classic.
Elon received one first-place vote in the poll, but it was behind Delaware, UNC Wilmington, Campbell, Stony Brook, and Hofstra.
Fifth-year senior first baseman Gabi Schaal, junior outfielder Mauri Murray and senior pitcher McKenna McCard of Elon were named to the All-CAA preseason team. Third baseman Allee Sering of the Phoenix was on the preseason honorable mention list.
Area players for the Phoenix include senior outfielder Reagan Hartley out of Eastern Alamance, senior pitcher Isley Duggins, sophomore infielder Greta Hessenthaler, and freshman utility player Kayla Wilson out of Southern Alamance, junior utility player Mary Moss Wirt out of Orange (Efland), and freshman outfielder Hannah Chandler out of Bartlett Yancey.
[Story continues below photos of local connections on Elon softball team.]
LOCAL ALUMS ON ELON SOFTBALL TEAM
The Elon Softball Classic includes games through Sunday, with Connecticut (2:30 p.m. Friday), Ohio State (2:30 p.m. Saturday), North Carolina Central (5:00 p.m. Saturday), and UNC Greensboro (2:30 p.m. Sunday) the other opponents for the Phoenix. Elon has a non-league home game next Tuesday against Virginia Tech.
