Their ranks are thin but their strengths are many. And they have a 13-0-1 record to prove it.

The Erskine College Lady Fleet softball team has started their 1997 campaign in spectacular fashion. The team that went 14-28 last year has reloaded and come out firing for the rest of the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference as well as anyone else who happens to get in their way.

Thirteen players, a coach and one big heart. They are undefeated and ready for more.

Along the way they have produced a number of notable achievements, not the least of which is the first two-game sweep of local rival Lander since...well, a good long time. The 5-4, 5-4 victories last Thursday proved that this year's good start is no fluke. Early victories were against some of the weaker teams on the Lady Fleet's schedule and left some doubt as to how good this team was.

There is no room for doubt now.

Freshman Amy Gray of Iva is leading the Fleet with an ERA (1.03) any major leaguer would kill for. Her strong arm and consistent delivery have created a tandem with pitcher Christen Ashley that is quite dominant. Ashley, of Honea Path, seems to have found a little extra somthing to put her a step or two above her performance last year, which wasn't too shabby to start with.

The Lady Fleet's hitting has been consistent and clutch. Sophomore first baseman Vishia Basso and Junior Ericka Davis are hitting well over .400 along with Senior Erin Perry who is burning up the basepaths again this year with her superlative speed. Perry, a sophomore from Seneca, should easily surpass her last year's record 27-27 base stealing mark if she continues her thievery at her current pace: 8-8 in 12 games.

With 40 more games to go this season, there will be plenty of opportunity for records to be broken by this group. But it is the long and often torrid schedule that may prove to be the most difficult opponent.

Starting with the Lander game, the Fleet will be playing 22 games in 15 days including their spring break road trip to Orlando, Fla. After playing 10 games in five days there, they return for home games on consecutive days Monday against Gardner Webb and Tuesday against Anderson before going on the road the next day to play two at CVAC rival Queens College. They get one day off before they hit the road again for another conference game, this time against Mount Olive on Friday.

In Orlando the team will get the opportunity to see how they match up against some teams from outside their region, taking on schools from New York, Minnesota, Illinois and even South Dakota.

The big test, though, will come when they travel to Hartsville on April 9th to take on last year's CVAC Champion Coker , currently ranked 17th in the country in the latest AP Division II softball poll.

The matchup may very well be a preview of the CVAC championship final later in April in more ways than one. The conference tournament this year will again be played at Coker.