Softball Hosts Fairfield Wednesday
4/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 15, 2008
Setting the Scene... The Pioneer softball squad hosts cross-town rival Fairfield in a battle for bragging rights Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer Park. SHU is coming off a pair of doubleheader splits last week. First pitch of Wednesday's game is set for 3:45 pm.
SHU Splits Two Double Dips... The Pioneers went 2-2 last week, splitting doubleheaders with Yale and Fairleigh Dickinson. SHU won game two in both twinbills, needing extra innings to take out Yale, 3-2, and beating FDU 7-1. Freshman Jen Russell went 2-0 to run her winning streak to seven straight starts. She also socked a two run, game tying double with two outs in the bottom of the seventh against Yale in a game the Pioneers went on to win. Russell improved to 5-0 in NEC play and lowered her conference ERA to 0.82.
Scouting the Stags... Fairfield starts the week with a 13-20-1, having been swept by Niagara and Canisius in a trip to upstate New York last weekend. Kristina Lingo leads the Stags offense with an average of .344 while Julia Jacoby is hitting .335 with a team high 22 runs scored and 13 RBI. Kristie Trifiolis is hitting .257 with a team high 15 RBI. On the mound, Kellie Panter and Sarah Minice are the top two pitchers for the Stags with six and seven wins, respectively.
Last Meeting vs Fairfield... Freshman Taylor Froelich had two hits and three RBI as Sacred Heart earned a 5-3 win over Fairfield in early March at the Rebel Games.
Rookies Key... Freshmen Taylor Froelich and Courtney Lee have made immediate impacts in their first month as Pioneers. Froelich has stepped in and become the centerfielder and lead-off hitter for the Pioneers. Froelich leads team in hits (32), runs scored (14) and RBI (16) Meanwhile Lee has been the best hitter, batting .333 with 11 RBI and 13 runs scored. Lee was named the NEC Player of the Week for March 10.
New Face on the Mound... Thirteen new faces appear on the Pioneers roster this spring. The group is made up of 11 freshmen. Among the highly-touted recruits is new pitcher Jen Russell. A Seymour, CT native Russell has gotten off to a good start at SHU, winning her last seven starts. Russell has won NEC pitcher of the week honors for the last three straight weeks. This week she also earned rookie of the week honors after tossiung a pair of complete game gems, including a 3-2, 10-inning win over Yale, in which she did not allow an earned run. Russell struck out three and surrendered just one earned run in the Pioneers' 7-1 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. She finished the week 2-0, with a 0.41 ERA and nine strikeouts in 17.0 innings of work. In her last 34.0 innings, Russell, who is now 5-0 in league play, has posted a 0.82 ERA, allowing just four earned runs.
Up Next... The Pioneers return to NEC play this weekend as they visit league-leader LIU Saturday and travel to Wagner on Sunday.
