complete game notes (.pdf)

HOME AGAIN
The Southern Connecticut State University softball team returns to the Nutmeg State after a 10-game road trip in Florida. The Owls will travel down I-95 to the University of Bridgeport for a doubleheader on Friday, March 21. Saturday, Pelz Field in New Haven will be the locale as the Owls host Adelphi University.

LAST TIME OUT
The Owls posted a record of 2-8 in their five day tour of the Sunshine State. The team dropped its first six contests of the trip before splitting a pair of doubleheaders with Northeast Region opponents Nyack and Molloy.

SCOUTING THE PURPLE KNIGHTS
The University of Bridgeport Purple Knights enter their clash with the Owls at 4-8. The Purple Knights are in the midst of a five-game losing skid. Junior outfielder Hannah Larson leads the Bridgeport offense with a .436 average (17-for-39). Despite a 2-4 record, Tricia Lee has been the most consistent starter for the Purple Knights with a 3.67 earned run average.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
The Adelphi University Panthers currently sport a record of 4-10. In their last outing, the squad knocked off Limestone College in a game played in Pembroke, N.C. Katie Brophy is the team's most consistent hitter with a .372 batting average (16-for-43). Julie Schaper leads the Panthers' rotation with a 3-2 record and a 4.01 earned run average.

K IS FOR KERRY
Sophomore hurler Kerry Iacomini leads the Southern Connecticut pitching staff in the early stages of the 2008 season. Iacomini's 3-2 record, 2.56 earned run average and 26 strikeouts are all team highs.

THE HEART OF THE LINEUP
Sophomore Megan Caporossi is currently leading the Owls with three home runs and 11 RBI. The Northford, Conn. native is hitting .318 through 13 games. Junior Brittany Gandley leads the team in batting average with a .324 mark.

HONORABLE OWLS
Sophomore Megan Caporossi and junior Khristle Lee were named to the Northeast-10 Conference Weekly Honor Roll for the week ending on March 16. Caporossi batted .345 (10-for-29) with two home runs and eight RBI in nine games. She also converted her only stolen base attempt. Lee led the team with a .385 batting average (10-for-26) in her first nine games in an Owls uniform. She drove in two runs from the second spot in the lineup and stole two bases on three attempts.

BRING OUT YOUR BROOMS
On March 11, the Owls swept Dominican College in a doubleheader to bring their record to 3-0 entering their ten-game swing in Florida. In the first game, four different Owls contributed RBI and junior Amanda Pindar (New Britain, Conn.) scattered 12 hits and allowed three earned runs in a complete game 5-4 victory. The Southern bats came alive in the second game of the twin bill. Sophomore Megan Caporossi went a perfect 4-for-4, and sophomore Melissa Corwin drove in three runs, including a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to bring the score to 11-3 and end the game via the eight run rule.

NO MERCY
The Owls opening their 2008 campaign by defeating Mercy College on March 10 by a score of 10-1. Junior Brittany Gandley powered the offense with two home runs and five RBI, including a two-run shot in the bottom of the fifth inning to end the game via the eight run rule.

IN THE 2007 CAMPAIGN
The Owls finished the 2007 season with a record of 32-17. They wrapped up their Northeast-10 Conference schedule in the third spot with a 21-7 record in conference play. In their last game, Jessica Dempsey took a hard-luck 1-0 loss against Dowling in the NCAA Northeast Regional playoffs.

LEADING THE WAY
Senior All-American candidate Jessica Dempsey is poised to once again serve as the ace of the Owls' pitching staff. Dempsey posted a 13-8 record in 26 appearances for the 2007 Owls. She broke her own university record with a 0.94 earned run average, which was the lowest ERA in the Northeast-10 Conference and slotted her at 12th in all of Division II. Dempsey paced the Owls with 120 strikeouts and five saves en route to being selected to the Northeast-10 Conference and NCAA All-Northeast Region First Teams. The Stratford, Conn. native pitched a no-hitter last season, the second of her career, in the first game of a doubleheader against Saint Anselm on April 28.

ARMED FORCES
Joining Dempsey in the starting rotation will be junior Amanda Pindar and sophomores Kerry Iacomini and Megan Caporossi. Pindar posted a 9-3 record and recorded one save in 16 appearances in the 2007 campaign. She pitched four complete games and registered a 2.21 ERA. As freshmen, Iacomini and Caporossi contributed a combined six wins and three save. Joining the staff will be sophomore Nicole Marcelynas, who spent last year at Saint Joseph (Conn.) College.

IN THE NORTHEAST-10 PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
The Owls have been selected to finish third in the Northeast-10 Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. They received three first place votes. Le Moyne, the 2007 regular season champion, was chosen to repeat in 2008, receiving with seven first place votes and 215 total points. Bryant claimed the second slot with 194 points, including four first place votes. Massachusetts-Lowell, the 2007 conference tournament champion, received the final first place vote and claimed the sixth spot with 159 total points.

BACK FOR MORE
Sophomore Megan Caporossi, the 2007 Northeast-10 Conference Freshman of the Year, will look to once again lead the Owls offense. Caporossi, who also selected to the NCAA Northeast Regional Second Team as a designated player, led the team last season with a .342 batting average. She also paced the Owls in runs (35), triples (eight), home runs (five), total bases (92) and slugging percentage (.594).

ANOTHER ALL-CONFERENCE OWL
2007 All-Northeast 10 Conference selection Monica Savarese returns to the Owls' outfield for her junior season. Savarese batted .331 with four home runs, 27 runs batted in and a team-high 11 doubles in 44 games.

EXPERIENCE AROUND THE HORN
Two starting infielders from the 2007 season return to the lineup for Southern Connecticut. Juniors Brittany Gandley and Amanda St. George both started all 49 games for the Owls, batting .237 and .250 respectively. Sophomore Melissa Corwin, a transfer from Bryant University, and junior Khristle Lee, who played at Northern Oklahoma College last season, will platoon at catcher and as utility infielders for the Owls this season.

THE CAPTAINS
A quartet of players will serve as team captains for the 2008 season. Senior Jessica Dempsey and juniors Brittany Gandley, Kierstin Pry and Monica Savarese will lead the Owls on the field.

THE COACH
Head Coach Lisa Barbaro returns for her fourth year in the dugout. In her Southern Connecticut career to date, Barbaro has posted a record of 83-64-5, including a 49-32-3 mark in Northeast-10 Conference games.

ON DECK
The Owls will travel to Brookville, N.Y. to challenge Long Island-C.W. Post in a non-conference twin bill on March 26. The first pitch of the double-dip is scheduled for 3 p.m.