Softball Poised to Take on Conference Rival, #8 Dowling, This Afternoon
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (April 26, 2011) – Today's softball doubleheader puts together a pair of key games inside the East Coast Conference as C.W. Post welcomes in Dowling. The two squads sit in first and second place in the ECC standings coming into the day.
Back April 7, the Pioneers traveled to Dowling for the first match-up between the two of the 2011 season. Dowling came away with a sweep in the doubleheader that day, winning by a combined score of 11-1 in the two games. Since that day however, C.W. Post has won 13 of 14 games that includes six doubleheader sweeps.
Three Pioneers were recently garnered ECC Weekly Honors, with Kendall Bright (Manlius, N.Y.) earning her second consecutive Player of the Week award, Christina Berardi (Raynham, Mass.) collecting her second Pitcher of the Week nod of the season, and Nicole Hagenah (Commack, N.Y.) being named Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season. Teammates Sarah Kiser (Arnold, Md.) and Carly Chamberlain (Nesco, N.J.) have also been named to the ECC Weekly Honors during the season, with Kiser earning Pitcher of the Week once and Chamberlain having two Rookie of the Week nods to her name.
Bright and Hagenah have led a Pioneer offense that ranks third in the conference in batting average and second in home runs hit. Coming into today's doubleheader, the duo has combined to hit 22 of the teams' 32 blasts. Bright also comes in leading the ECC in doubles, knocking 13 to this point.
Hagenah has had a great start to her collegiate career, leading not only her team in batting average but also the conference with her .476 average. She also leads the conference in RBIs with 52 and has collected a leading 102 total bases with her hits.
The pitching combination of Kiser and Berardi have teamed with Hayley Bettles (Surrey, British Columbia) to have the second best ERA in the conference with a 1.74 clip. The trio also leads the conference in least amount of walks allowed with only 61 in 40 games.
Berardi and Kiser rank fourth and fifth in the conference with batters struck out, reaching 127 and 120 respectively. Berardi is also tied for the lead in wins, reaching 17 on the season. Kiser has allowed the least amount of walks this season in the ECC, allowing on 20 to this point.
The Lions of Dowling come into today the number eight team in the latest NFCA Division II Poll. Jessie Stavola has been the anchor of the success for the Lions, earning Co-Pitcher of the Week with Berardi this past week after she pitched a perfect game and striking out 14 last week against Queens. The Lions however did lose their first conference game of the season last Thursday, splitting a doubleheader with Mercy.
The Lions come into today having the second best team batting average in the ECC, hitting .337 as a team. Dowling then leads the conference in team ERA (1.03), homeruns (37), runs (264), and team fielding percentage (.982).
Stavola and fellow senior pitcher Felicia Mendoza come in as the two of the top pitchers in the conference, ranking first and second in ERA. Mendoza ranks first in wins with Berardi at 17, while Stavola is currently leading the conference with 249 strikeouts.
The two teams come in number one and number two in the East Region in the latest NCAA Regional Rankings. The doubleheader is set to begin at 3 p.m. at the C.W. Post softball complex.