Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

HOME SWEET HOME
The Southern Connecticut State University softball team continues a 10-game stretch of Northeast-10 Conference home games with a trio of doubleheaders this week. The Owls will host Merrimack on Thursday, Bentley on Saturday, and Franklin Pierce on Sunday. The squad is currently 14-21 overall, 7-7 in conference play and 2-0 on its current homestand.

April 8: Assumption (L, 11-3 • L, 4-3)
The Owls started the week by dropping a pair of games at Assumption in Worcester, Mass. Juniors Amanda St. George and Christina Wolf led the Owls' offense in the twin bill. Both players posted identical statlines of 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.

April 10: Saint Michael's (W, 4-3 • W, 7-6)
Southern Connecticut returned home on Thursday and evened its record for the week with a pair of victories over Saint Michael's. A walk-off double off of the bat of junior Monica Savarese in game two capped the two-game sweep. On the day, Savarese fronted the SCSU lineup, batting 4-for-6 with four RBI. Senior Jessica Dempsey and junior Amanda Pindar earned wins on the hill for the Owls, while sophomore Nicole Marcelynas picked up her first career save in game one.

April 12: Le Moyne (W, 14-3 • L, 5-2)
The Owls game one win at Le Moyne on Saturday afternoon marked the first conference loss for the Dolphins after starting the season with eight straight Northeast-10 victories. Junior Amanda Pindar earned the win in game one. Sophomore Megan Caporossi batted .600 at 3-for-5 to highlight the Owls' offensive performance

April 13: So. New Hampshire (W, 5-2 • L, 6-5)
Sophomore Megan Caporossi hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning of game two to give the Owls a 6-5 lead and power the squad to a Sunday sweep of the Penmen. Junior Amanda Pindar and sophomore Nicole Marcelynas picked up the wins from the mound.

MERRIMACK COLLEGE WARRIORS
April 17 • New Haven, Conn. (Pelz Field)
The Warriors hold a record of 5-13 overall and 5-7 in Northeast-10 Conference play as of April 14. The team will travel to Massachusetts-Lowell and Franklin Pierce for a pair of conference doubleheaders before making the trip to New Haven on Thursday. Kelsey Ellis currently heads the offense with a .431 batting average and a team-best seven RBI.

BENTLEY COLLEGE FALCONS
April 19 • New Haven, Conn. (Pelz Field)
Winners of only two games last season, Bentley has posted a .500 record in 2008 thus far at 13-13 overall and 7-5 in the Northeast-10 Conference. The Falcons will host a non-conference twin bill against Post and travel to Franklin Pierce for a Northeast-10 double-dip prior to their Saturday showdown with the Owls. A .377 average and 25 runs batted in land Briana Kneeland atop Bentley's offensive stat sheet this season. Ashley Messina has been the squad's most consistent pitcher at 6-4 with a 3.02 earned run average.

FRANKLIN PIERCE UNIVERSITY RAVENS
April 20 • New Haven, Conn. (Pelz Field)
No Northeast-10 Conference team will be busier this week than the Ravens from Franklin Pierce. The team will play eight conference games this week prior to wrapping up the week on Sunday at Pelz Field. The Ravens enter their ten-game week at 3-23 overall and 2-10 in conference play. Kate Surgen has posted a team-high .342 batting average in the 2008 campaign and Kristen Tracy has led the club with 14 runs batted in.

DOING IT ALL
Sophomore Megan Caporossi is currently leading the Owls with 24 runs batted in and a conference-high seven home runs. The Northford, Conn. native is hitting a team-best .386 and also leads the squad in hits, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, triples, total bases and stolen bases. Caporossi has served as both a third baseman and a designated hitter, while also contributing as a relief pitcher. Most recently, the 2007 Northeast-10 Conference Freshman of the Year went 3-for-7 with three RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base in the Owls' doubleheader sweep of Southern New Hampshire on April 13.

OVER .300
Juniors Brittany Gandley, Christina Wolf and Amanda St. George all join Caporossi as Owls' hitters over .300 this season. Gandley is batting .314 with five home runs and 19 RBI. Wolf is hitting .304 with one home run and 15 RBI. St. George used a 4-for-6 performance in Sunday's doubleheader sweep of Southern New Hampshire to bump her average up to .301.

BACK TO FORM
2007 All-American hurler Jessica Dempsey, who has been battling an injury throughout her senior season, has not surrendered an earned run in her last nine innings of work. On the season, Dempsey has a posted a team-best earned run average of 2.86 through 29.1 innings of work.

THEIR FIRST ROUND TRIPS
Three Owls have connected on their first career home runs in the 2008 campaign. Sophomore Melissa Corwin, playing only her second career game at Southern Connecticut, drilled a walk-off homer to complete the Owls' sweep of Dominican on March 11. Freshman Robin Priest smacked her first career home run in the fourth inning of the Owls' 7-5 extra inning loss to Adelphi on March 22. Priest's solo shot also marked her first career RBI. Junior Christina Wolf swatted the first big fly of her career in the nightcap of the squad's March 30 doubleheader against Dowling.

RACKING THEM UP
Junior Amanda Pindar has picked up a relief victory in each of her last three appearances. With twelve regular season games remaining, the New Britain, Conn. native has totaled six wins this season, three shy of her career-high set in the 2007 campaign.

HONOR AMONGST THIEVES
Sophomore Megan Caporossi and Julianne Flood lead the Owls on the basepaths with nine stolen bags apiece. Caporossi's perfect 9-for-9 mark on stolen base attempts represents the most steals without being caught among all Northeast-10 Conference players in the 2008 season.

MOVING THE RUNNERS
Freshman Robin Priest leads the Owls with six sacrifice bunts this season. She has also driven in a run via a sacrifice fly.

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.

IN THE YEAR 2007
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 of the 2007 campaign, senior Jessica Dempsey took a hard-luck 1-0 loss against Dowling in the NCAA Northeast Regional playoffs.

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 91-74-5, including a 55-36-3 mark in Northeast-10 Conference games.

ON DECK
The Owls are back on the diamond on Tuesday, April 22, as they wrap up their home schedule for the 2008 season with a doubleheader against Northeast-10 Conference opponent Stonehill. The first pitch of game one is scheduled for 3 p.m. from Pelz Field in New Haven.