Sacred Heart
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Dartmouth
Softball Faces Yale, FDU This Week
4/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 9, 2008
Setting the Scene... The Pioneer softball squad has two doubleheaders this week. SHU will host Yale in another in-state rivalry Thursday at 3:00 pm. Saturday afternoon the Pioneers look to continue their strong start in the Northeast Conference when they visit Fairleigh Dickinson for a twinbill with a 1:00 pm first pitch.
SHU Tops CT Rivals... The Pioneers posted an impressive 5-1 week against three Conneticut rivals, posting doubleheader sweeps of Quinnipiac and Hartford before splitting a pair of games with Central Connecticut on Sunday. The Pioneers are now 6-2 in NEC play, their best start in league play since joining the NEC in the 2000 season.
Scouting the Bulldogs... The Bulldogs of Yale come down I-95 sporting a 12-16 record but have lost six straight games after being swept by Fairfield, Princeton and Cornell in the last eight days. Ashley Sloan has been the best contact hitter for the Bulldogs, posting a .400 batting average with 10 RBI. Aracelis Torres has been the best clutch hitter for Bulldogs, with a .311 batting average and a team leading 18 RBI. Yale boasts solid pitching as well. Kayla Kuretich is Yale's ace, posting a 5-3 record with a 1.76 ERA while KR Ling has a 1.81 ERA in 11 games.
Scouting the Knights... Fairleigh Dickinson starts the weekend having lost five of their first six conference games, with the only win coming in the first weekend against Monmouth. The Knights are led by junior Ali Keltos who is hitting a team leading .288. Senior Hope Hillman is has a .278 average with 10 RBI. Trina Fields has been the Knights best pitcher, posting four wins.
Last Meeting vs Yale... Holly Gutterud and KR Ling combined on a three-hitter as Yale topped Sacred Heart 5-2 in the first game of a non-league doubleheader at Dewitt Family Field. In the second game, Christina Guerland had two hits to lead Yale to a 3-1 victory.
Last Meeting vs FDU... Megan Spehar tossed a four hitter with 10 strikeouts and scored four runs of her own and senior Caitlin Carroll added four RBI to lead Sacred Heart to a doubleheader sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson, 8-1 and 6-3 last year at Pioneer Park.
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. Last week, she hit .650 with five RBI and five runs scored. Froelich is second on the team in hits (28) and RBI (11) Meanwhile Lee has been the best hitter, batting .354 with 11 RBI and 11 runs scored. Lee was named the NEC Player of the Week for March 10.
New Face on the Mound... Among SHU's group of 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 five starts. Russell was named the NEC Pitcher of the Week for April 7 after going 3-0 last week. She allowed just two earned runs on the week in 18.0 innings of work, while striking out 17. Russell, who threw a complete game shutout in the Pioneers' 8-0, five-inning victory over Hartford. The freshman is 4-0 in conference play with a 0.78 ERA, having allowed just three earned runs in 27.0 innings of work.
Up Next... Next week the Pioneers host Fairfield on Wednesday at 3:45 pm and will then visit LIU and Wagner in NEC play next weekend.
