complete game notes (.pdf)

CONFERENCE CLASHES
The Southern Connecticut State University softball team continues its trek through the Northeast-10 Conference schedule with a trio of doubleheaders. The Owls will head to the College of Saint Rose on Sunday for a showdown with the Golden Knights, followed by a Tuesday jaunt to Worcester, Mass. to challenge Assumption College. The squad will then head home to New Haven to host Saint Michael's College on Thursday afternoon. The Owls enter the weekend with a record of 7-18 overall and 1-3 in conference play.

IN THE WEEK THAT WAS
The Owls dropped a pair of games with at Bryant University to open their 2008 Northeast-10 Conference schedule on Tuesday. The squad then split with Pace on Wednesday from Pelz Field. Junior Brittany Gandley drove in five runs in the double-dip with Pace.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
The Golden Knights from the College of Saint Rose enter their showdown the Owls at 4-8 overall and 1-1 in conference play. Despite a record of 2-4, Tracy Chesebrough leads the Golden Knights on the hill with 61 strikeouts and a 0.88 ERA in 41.0 innings of work.

SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS
The Assumption College Greyhounds are currently 5-7 overall and 1-1 in Northeast-10 play. The team will play a pair of twin bills with Southern New Hampshire and Stonehill before hosting a Tuesday double dip with the Owls. Melissa Palumbo leads the Greyhound lineup with .324 average. The squad's most consistent hurler has been Lauren Symonick, who is 4-4 with an ERA of 2.15.

SCOUTING THE PURPLE KNIGHTS
The Saint Michael's College Purple Knights enter the weekend at 6-5 overall and 0-2 in the Northeast-10 Conference. The team will host doubleheaders after conference foes Merrimack and Massachusetts-Lowell before traveling to Pelz Field to face the Owls. They are led by Megan O'Connor both at the plate and on the mound. O'Connor is batting .400 through 11 games, and is currently 4-3 with an earned run average of 2.84.

SEE YOU LATER
The Owls' doubleheader at Massachusetts-Lowell that was postponed on March 29 due to inclement weather has been rescheduled for April 28 at 3 p.m.

HONORABLE OWLS
Sophomore Megan Caporossi and juniors Brittany Gandley and Amanda Pindar were named to the Northeast-10 Weekly Honor Roll for the week ending on March 30. Caporossi batted .381 last week with two home runs and four RBI. The Northford, Conn. native notched five extra base hits and converted her only stolen base attempt. Gandley led the Owls with a .421 batting average for the week. She swatted three home runs and notched a total of four runs batted in. Gandley posted a slugging percentage of 1.000 in 19 at-bats. A 2-1 record and an earned run average of 1.08 earned Pindar a weekly nod for the last week of play. The junior surrendered only two earned runs and struck out 12 batters in 13 innings of work over three starts. Pindar took a hard-luck complete game loss in a 1-0 decision to No. 16 C.W. Post on March 26 before reeling of consecutive wins against New Haven and Dowling.

THE BIG BAT
Sophomore Megan Caporossi is currently leading the Owls with six home runs and 17 RBI. The Northford, Conn. native is hitting a team-best .361 through 25 games.

SWINGING FOR THE FENCES
Junior Brittany Gandley has smacked five roundtrippers and driven in 17 runs. Her .352 batting average slots her at second the team. Most recently, Gandley drove in five RBI in a pair of games against Pace on April 2.

K IS FOR KERRY
Sophomore hurler Kerry Iacomini leads the Southern Connecticut pitching staff in the early stages of the 2008 season. Iacomini's three wins, 3.50 earned run average and 33 strikeouts are all team bests.

IN THE WIN COLUMN
Sophomore Nicole Marcelynas notched her first career win in game two of a doubleheader against Pace on April 2. The Watertown, Conn. native scattered 10 hits and allowed four earned runs in a complete game performance.

THEIR FIRST ROUND TRIPS
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.

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 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, Jessica Dempsey took a hard-luck 1-0 loss against Dowling in the NCAA Northeast Regional playoffs.

ARMED FORCES
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. 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.

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 86-73-5, including a 50-35-3 mark in Northeast-10 Conference games.

ON DECK
The Owls are back on the diamond on Saturday, April 12, as they travel to Syracuse, N.Y. to challenge the Le Moyne College Dolphins in a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. The first pitch of game one is scheduled for 12 p.m. from the Niland Athletic Complex.