Abbey Nixon (Carson)

 

Staff report

LONGWOOD, Fla. — Lenoir-Rhyne’s softball is still going.

The Bears survived a regional with Lander and Wingate by beating Lander once and Wingate two out of three.

Then they won the Super Regional by taking two out of three at North Georgia.

The Bears have won 50 games for the third time in school history.

Now the Bears (50-16) will be the first SAC softball team to play in the Division II Championships.

The Bears will play Auburn Montgomery at 11 a.m. on Sunday in Longwood, Fla. It’s an eight-team tournament, with a double-elimination format.

Abbey Nixon (Carson) is playing an important role for the Bears.

Nixon, Rowan County Co-Player of the Year for 2021 when she batted .528 as a junior, has had to make two comebacks.

She tore an ACL in high school. Then she broke an arm early in her career at L-R when she was struck by a pitch and missed a season.

Now she’s the left fielder for the Bears. She hit her first college homer this season, but she’s usually the flex player and isn’t in the batting order.