Complete Game Notes as a PDF

GOOD TO BE HOME
After a long week of six games on the road, the Southern Connecticut State University softball team takes a break from travel for the upcoming week as it prepares for eight games, six of which are against conference opponents. The Owls will face AIC on Wednesday for a doubleheader to start at 3 p.m. then C.W. Post on Thursday at 2 p.m. They will round out the week with back-to-back home twinbills on Saturday and Sunday against Stonehill and Bentley.

LARSON PROVES SHE HAS AN ACE
Jayme Larson improved to 8-4 on the year and has posted an ERA of 2.95. She leads the team in both categories.

THIBAULT DOES NOT NEED THE TEE
Jillian Thibault had an outstanding offensive week She went 9-for-14 over the course of four games against Merrimack and UMass-Lowell and now is third on the team in batting average with an impressive .356 average.

CLEAR THE BASES
Stacy Pouliot had a grand slam against Merrimack in the top of the seventh to put the Owls up 8-7 on Apr. 9. Jessica Rosa hit a grand slam the next day to help the Owls score eight runs in the top of the fourth inning in the first game against UMass-Lowell on Apr. 10.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Owls are currently 6-4 when playing on their opponents' home field.

BRIT KNOWS HOW TO HIT
Brittany Bucko has been on an absolute tear as of late. After a day of games where she tallied seven hits with seven RBI and five runs scored, she continued right where she left off the previous day going 3-for-9 with a pair of singles and runs scored with the game-winning base knock to win the first game against Adelphi on Apr. 3.

ROSA FROM THE CIRCLE
Jessica Rosa improved to .500 on the season with a win against Adelphi on Apr. 3. She is currently 4-2 overall.

SEVEN INNINGS IS NEVER ENOUGH
The Owls have played five extra inning games with a record of 3-2 in those extra inning games including a recent win against Assumption where the Owls rallied in the top of the ninth to score two runs to win 2-0.

PAGANO PICKING UP THE SLACK
Alyssa Pagano is third in batting average with a mark of .350.

WHITLEY ON A ROLL
After finishing second in the Northeast-10 Conference last year with a .444 batting average, sophomore Kristin Whitley is on pace of that same mark through the first 25 games of the 2011 season. She leads the Owls in that category and is third in RBI with 26.

ROSA HEATING UP
Junior Jessica Rosa ranks fourth on the club with a .350 batting average and leads the team with 26 RBI.

DOWNS PICKS UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
Sophomore Alyssa Downs is third on the team with a .358 batting average and is second with 23 RBI.

WALK-OFF IN STYLE
The Owls showed great poise under pressure, winning three of their five games in walk-off or in extra inning fashion in Florida. Brittany Bucko registered a two run single to put the Owls up 4-3 against Philadelphia University in in the eighth, while the very next game Jessica Rosa knocked in Alyssa Downs with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh against Caldwell College. The next day offered just as many late inning heroics for Kristin Whitley who doubled in the bottom half of the eighth to score Brittany Bucko and win by a final of 3-2.

MERCY RULE
The Owls used the softball mercy rule to make short work of the team from Bridgeport with a score of 9-1 in the fifth inning.

SEVEN IS THEIR LUCKY NUMBER?
The Owls are 4-2 when scoring seven or more runs against their opponent.

WHITLEY HAS THE POWER
Sophomore Kristin Whitley hit two homeruns and went 6-for-9 across two games against Dominican, while adding six RBI.

FIRST AND FOREMOST
The Owls were ranked No. 1 in the 2011 Northeast-10 Conference Preseason Poll.

42... AND THEN SOME
The 2010 campaign marked the best season in the history of the Southern Connecticut State University softball program. The Owls qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the past four years and collected a school record 42 victories.

IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
Southern Connecticut was among the programs receiving votes in the NFCA Division II national preseason poll of 2011. The Owls have since been in the others receiving votes category in each of the first five weeks of 2011.

A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
The Owls won their first Northeast-10 Conference Tournament title by sweeping through the 2010 event. In addition, Southern Connecticut also went on to record its first two NCAA Tournament victories in program history and reached the East Regional final.

TOURNAMENT TERRORS
Senior Megan Caporossi was named the 2010 Northeast-10 Conference Tournament's Most Valuable Player for her terrific play throughout the tournament. Fellow teammates Jayme Larson and freshman Kristin Whitley also joined Caporossi with a selection to the NE-10 All-Tournament Team.

EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
Senior Khristle Lee and sophomore Brittany Hill were recognized for their performance in the classroom during the 2010 softball season. Both student-athletes were named as Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award winners. In addition, Lee was named to the Northeast-10 Conference Softball All-Academic Team for the second year in a row, and also collected Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America.

FIVE NAMED ALL-REGION
Five members of the Southern Connecticut State University softball team – seniors Megan Caporossi, Kerry Iacomini, and Khristle Lee and freshmen Brittany Bucko and Kristin Whitley were recognized with All-Region honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). The Owls' five selections were the most from any school in the region.

SEVEN CAPTURE NORTHEAST-10 HONORS
Seven Owls earned Northeast-10 Conference laurels for their play during the 2010 campaign, Senior Khristle Lee earned All-Conference First-Team honors, while senior Kerry Iacomini and freshman Brittany Bucko were named to the All-Conference Second-Team and senior Megan Caporossi, sophomore Jayme Larson and freshman Kristin Whitley were selected to the All-Conference Third-Team. In addition, freshman Alyssa Downs, Bucko and Whitley were each named to the All-Conference Rookie Team.

A DYNAMIC DUO
The pair of freshmen Brittany Bucko and Kristin Whitley made an immediate impact in 2010. Bucko was asked to hold down the leadoff spot in their lineup all season. She led the league in runs scored (51), was second in triples (6), third in walks (25), sixth in total bases (94) and eighth in stolen bases (15). Bucko also accumulated a .351 batting average, 31 runs batted in and seven homeruns. Whitley, the 2010 Northeast-10 Conference batting champion runner-up (.444 average), Whitley led the team in that department. She was also second in the league in doubles (18), fourth in the league in hits (63) and on-base percentage (.494), fifth in slugging percentage (.662), sixth in total bases (94) and seventh in RBI (36).

THE COACH
Head Coach Lisa Barbaro finished her sixth year in the Owls' dugout in 2011. In her Southern Connecticut career, Barbaro has posted a record of 192-122-5, including an 118-63-3 mark in Northeast-10 Conference games.

ON DECK
The Owls hit the road April 20 for a road doubleheader at LeMoyne.