ASHLAND, Va. – With 40 wins attained for the first time, Randolph-Macon softball reached a new pinnacle in 2018 for its ever-growing program. Between its win totals, nationally top-rated statistics, significant wins, and growth together as a team, it was clear that there was a push to put Ashland and Randolph-Macon on the map for softball.
This season marked the second year in a row and third time in five year that the team reached a program record for wins. The season also saw the team gaining one of the most significant program wins in program history – an April 18 victory over No. 1 ranked Virginia Wesleyan, the reigning and eventual repeat national champions. It was VWU's first loss in 41 games.
In addition to the win over VWU, R-MC split a series with No. 14 Christopher Newport to open the season, as well as secured a pair of victories from each No. 23 Emory and No. 25 Emory & Henry. R-MC had a win streak of its own this season -- 21 games, which lasted from February 20 to March 31.
The team also quickly rose in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll after starting the season outside the Top 25 – reaching the height of being the fourth ranked team in the country for a total of three weeks this season. It was the highest ranking for Randolph-Macon in the program's history. R-MC was ranked in the Top 10 for eight weeks this season as well and finished the season ranked as the 18th team in the country.
It was also the third time the team had moved on to the NCAA Tournament to compete in a regional – however it was the first time the team was the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The team traveled to Glassboro, New Jersey, where it defeated Staten Island and Penn State Berks in postseason play before bowing out to host Rowan, becoming the regional runners-up for the third time in program history.
Randolph-Macon's pitching staff was nothing short of stellar for the entire season. The staff ended the season atop the nation in Division III for best earned run average with a 1.03 ERA, beating out the second team, Transylvania, by more than a tenth of a point. Freshman Madie Rhoads (Portsmouth, Va. / Nansemond River) finished the season with the best ERA in the nation at 0.80, while freshman Kayley Scott (Henrico, Va. / Lee-Davis) finished with a 0.87, fourth best in the country. Junior Candace Whittemore (Montpelier, Va. / Patrick Henry) finished inside of the top 25 for ERA as well with a 1.30. Rhoads and Whittemore were in the Top 10 for the bulk of the season as they worked through the 2018 competition.
In addition to ERA, the pitching staff had a collective strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.49 – which was third in the nation. Rhoads was first in the conference and 30th in the country with a 5.88 ratio while Scott was 33rd in the country and second in the conference with 5.60. Whittemore rounded out the staff with a 5.07 – which was fourth in the conference and 48th in the nation.
The staff also collected the second-best number of shutouts in the country with 22 – which was a conference high number as well. Whittemore's eight shutouts was the ninth-best mark in the country while Rhoads' six was a Top 30 figure as well. Rhoads and Whittemore were also ranked in the Top 50 in the nation for strikeouts with 147 and 142 respectively. Rhoads' mark of 3.48 hits per seven innings was fourth best in the country with Scott and Whittemore close behind at 16th and 25th respectively.
Many of the solid numbers pitching wise came with help from a strong defensive effort in the field. The Yellow Jackets tallied the fifth best fielding percentage in the country and best in the conference. The unit had a .976 fielding percentage, making only 31 errors the entire season – which is a Top 10 mark in the nation for least amount of errors by a team this season. Sophomore Shelby Hill (Mechanicsville, Va. / St. Margaret's) had a 1.000 fielding percentage, mostly in center field, which lead the team for those who started a majority of games this season. Sophomore catcher Sami Davidson (Stafford, Va. / Brooke Point) controlled the game from behind the plate as well, tallying a .990 fielding percentage and catching 15 of 21 runners trying to steal – which was the eighth most runners caught stealing in the country.
Senior Harley Jones (Brodnax, Va. / Brunswick) proved to be the team's anchor, both through her leadership as a lone senior and her work on the field. She led the team in home runs with ten and RBIs with 44. She and Davidson tied for most doubles on the team with eight each. Davidson led the team with a .387 batting average, though for much of the season, she batted over 
.400.
As a team, the Yellow Jackets ranked 23rd in the nation for stolen bases per game at 2.11. The team was 15th in the nation for total stolen bases with 99. On the basepaths, R-MC was led by junior Kerstin Roth (Yorktown, Va. / Grafton) with 19 stolen bases and Hill, who had 18 stolen bases. Junior Savannah Wood (Tappahannock, Va. / Essex) was close behind with 17.
The ODAC took notice of much of the Yellow Jackets' success. The conference elected Whittemore and Davidson to its All-ODAC First Team while Rhoads and Jones were named to the All-ODAC Second Team. Wood and Hill were also recognized by the conference by being named to the All-ODAC Third Team. Wood batted .361 and hit 24 RBIs while Hill batted .248 and was a defensive force in center field, with a 1.000 fielding percentage and 70 putouts.
Rhoads was also the conferences' Rookie of the Year. She, Davidson and Whittemore were all selected to the NFCA All-Atlantic Region team. Whittemore was also named to the Schutt Sports/NDCA Division III National Player of the Year Top 25 watchlist. Wood and Jones were each named as ODAC Players of the Week. Rhoads earned an ODAC Pitcher of the Week nod once this season, while Whittemore earned the honor twice.
Jones finishes her career with the second-most RBIs in program history, the fourth-most home runs in program history and has played in more games than any other Yellow Jacket in program history. She leaves a legacy of success, as she will graduates as the lone member of the most victorious class in program history, winning 75% of her games with the Yellow Jackets.
It is clear that Randolph-Macon advanced to new heights in 2018 and will continue to ascend as the core of the program returns next year. Indeed, one of the most successful seasons in program history is set to give way to even greater heights when the team returns to the field.
