April 12, 2007

Setting the Scene... The Pioneers embark on the third weekend of NEC play, heading south to visit Mount St. Mary's and Monmouth. Saturday's game is set for 12:00 pm first pitch with Sunday's twinbill underway at 12:00 noon as well. The Pioneers have lost their last six games, being swept by LIU, Wagner and Yale in twinbills. Monmouth is currently in second place in the NEC while The Mount starts the weekend in seventh place.

Pioneers Swept in Home Openers, at Yale... The Pioneers have dropped each of their last three doubleheaders, losing pairs to Wagner, LIU and Yale in the last seven days. SHU scored just one run in four NEC games over the weekend and plated just three runners in two games against Yale on Tuesday.

Last Year vs The Mount... Senior Maria Lutz allowed only one run in a complete game, and junior Reanna Tuczynski tossed a complete game, three hit shutout as Mount St. Mary's held off Sacred Heart twice, 2-1 and 1-0, to sweep a Northeast Conference softball doubleheader last year at Pioneer Park.

Scouting The Mount... Mount St. Mary's starts the weekend with a 9- 19 record and 3-5 in league play. The Mount has a powerful offense but a pitching staff which has struggled. Kelli Seger is the leading hitter for the Mount, with a .321 batting average and a team high 15 RBI. Jess Burke is second on the squad with 12 runs batted in.

Last Year vs Monmouth... Freshman Nichole Alvarez hit a walk-off RBI single and junior Angela Rand picthed a two-hit complete game gem to key the Monmouth University softball team to a sweep of Sacred Heart in a pivotal Northeast Conference softball doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon. The Hawks took the opener 5-4 in nine innings and then won a 2-0 decision in the nightcap.

Scouting the Hawks... The Hawks have had an outstanding first half of the season, sprinting out to a 21-8 record and a 7-1 mark in NEC play. Mounmouth leads the Northeast Conference in offense The Hawks offense includes four players hitting at least .390, led by Heather Gordon who bats .467 with a team leading 48 RBI. She leads the league in RBI by a wide margin. In the circle, Kristine Swalsville leads the league in wins with 11 and ERA, 1.41.

Spehar in the Cicle... The Pioneers ace is picther is junior Megan Spehar. The righthander, who is also a good offensive player, is 5-8 on the season in 13 starts, pitching 81.2 innings. She is averaging almost one strikeout per inning. Last year she posted a team leading six wins from the circle last year, posting a 3.56 ERA. She threw 93.2 innings, the most of any Pioneer hurler, allowing just 37 hits while striking-out a team leading 87 batters while walking just 35. At the plate, Spehar drove in 10 runs and had 12 doubles.

Super Sophs... In addition to their seniors, the Pioneer line-up will be anchored by a pair of sophomores who made an immediate impact in their rookie seasons, Amanda Bradley and Betsy Harvey. The Pioneer second baseman, Harvey is tied for the team's leading in hitter, with a .286 mark. She and Bradley each have seven RBI on the season, second on the team.

Up Next... The Pioneers host Siena Tuesday in non-league action and then welcome NEC rival Fairleigh Dickinson to Pioneer Park next weekend.