Complete Game Notes as a PDF

OWLS LOOK TO CONTINUE WINNING WAYS
The No. 21 Southern Connecticut State University softball team will head into the month of April with six home games this week. The Owls will take on Saint Rose on Wednesday at 3 p.m. They will then play Franklin Pierce on Saturday at 12 p.m. The Owls will close the week on April 1 at 12 p.m. at home. All games will be doubleheaders.

COCKRILL EARNS TWO NE-10 WEEKLY HONORS
Freshman pitcher Kelsey Cockrill was named both the Northeast-10 Conference Pitcher and Rookie of the Week for her efforts in four games last week. She allowed just one run in 26 innings and struck out 21 en route to a 4-0 mark. It's the second straight week that an Owl hurler has earned Pitcher of the Week honors.

DOWNS HAS A WEEK TO REMEMBER
Junior Alyssa Downs notched 20 RBI and had 10 hits in eight games last week. In all, she batted .385 during the week with five home runs.

THREE OWLS AMONG NE-10 RBI LEADERS
Alyssa Downs leads the Northeast-10 Conference with 31 RBI this season. Behind her are juniors Kate Hoffman and Kristin Whitley with 23 RBI each.

WHITLEY PICKING UP STEAM
Kristin Whitley batted .533 (16-for-30) last week for the Owls to raise her overall average to .418 on the season.

OWLS MOVE UP IN RANKINGS TO NO. 21
The Owls moved up one spot in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association national poll at No. 21 last week.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
SCSU has enjoyed the benefit of balanced pitching in the circle this year. Jayme Larson is 8-1 with a 1.48 ERA, while Kelsey Cockrill is 8-1 with a 1.97 ERA.

ALL-TIME AGAINST SAINT ROSE
The Owls lead the all-time against St. Rose by a 18-6 margin.

ALL-TIME AGAINST FRANKLIN PIERCE
The Owls lead the all-time against Franklin Pierce by a 36-10 margin.

ALL-TIME AGAINST SAINT MICHAEL'S
The Owls are 18-5 all-time against St. Michael's.

LARSON NAMED NE-10 PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Senior Jayme Larson was named NE-10 Pitcher of the Week for her efforts during the week of March 13. Larson posted a 4-0 mark.

MUSCARELLA'S FIRST HOMERUN A BIG ONE
Sophomore Julie Muscarella hit her first collegiate homerun against Caldwell on March 18. She hit a three-run blast in the bottom of the fifth. The Owls were tied 5-5 before Muscarella's hit, providing the margin of victory, an 8-5 win over Caldwell.

HOFFMAN ON A HOT STREAK
Junior Kate Hoffman batted .500 during the week of March 13. She had six RBI in the doubleheader against Caldwell. She had a walk-off two-run homerun in the bottom of the seventh to give the Owls an 8-7 win over Caldwell in the first game of the doubleheader.

SETTING THE TABLE
Junior Brittany Bucko leads the team with a .435 batting average along with 29 runs scored and eight steals.

FIRST WIN AS AN OWL
Sophomore Christina Boehn pitched the final four innings against Caldwell in game two on March 18, earning her first win as an Owl.  She allowed just one run on four hits.

SETTING THE BAR HIGH
The Owls started the season 8-0, for their best start in school history.

OUT OF THE GATE
Freshman starting pitcher Kelsey Cockrill earned her first two collegiate wins of the season in consecutive starts with a complete game against Wayne State and a two-hit complete game against Dowling.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
The Owls welcome in 10 newcomers, eight of which are freshmen. Kate Hoffman is a junior transfer from Central Connecticut while Christina Boehn is a sophomore transfer from Saint Anselm. Nicole Buch, Nora Crann, Kelly Mitchell, Sarah Koerner, Nicole Colamaria, Kelsey Cockrill, Caelese Brown and Kristie Vituli will all look to make big contributions for the Owls as freshmen this season.

THE CAPTAINS
Jayme Larson, Kristin Whitley, Brittany Bucko and Alyssa Downs will lead the Owls as captains this season.

IN THE NORTHEAST-10 POLL
The Owls have been selected first in the league's preseason coaches' poll.

ANOTHER STELLAR SEASON FOR THE OWLS
The Southern Connecticut State University softball team reached the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year and fourth time in five years in 2011. SCSU closed the season with a 35-21 final record and received votes in the final NFCA poll of the year.

FIRST NCAA REGIONAL FINAL APPEARANCE
One more win would have sent the Owls to the College World Series for the first time in school history, but SCSU was edged by Merrimack, 2-1, in a NCAA Regional final elimination game.

EVERYBODY'S ALL-AMERICAN
First baseman Kristin Whitley capped a phenomenal season with Honorable Mention All-America honors. She batted .442, which led the Owls, with 11 homeruns and 54 RBI's. Along with leading the team in batting average, she also led the team in slugging percentage (.737), on base percentage (.471), hits (84), RBI (54) and triples (6). Whitley's 84 hits and .737 slugging percentage were new single-season records, while her 11 home runs were tied for second all-time in that department.

WHAT A FINISH
Trailing in the bottom of the seventh and needing a win to force a winner-take-all regional final against Merrimack, Alyssa Downs connected for a walk-off grand slam to propel the Owls to victory.

UN-FOUR-GETTABLE
On the brink of elimination after losing their first game in the Northeast-10 Tournament to the No. 3 seed Merrimack on Friday, the Owls needed to rally. Battling weather issues, health conerns and a must-win situation, they beat out UMass-Lowell, 7-2, to continue their tournament goal of repeating on Saturday. The Owls rallied early Sunday off a home run by Alyssa Downs in the eighth inning to secure a win 4-2 against Adelphi. Southern Connecticut then won against the second game on Sunday with a fifth inning home run by Jillian Thibault to put the Owls up 4-3 against New Haven. At this point, the Owls fstill ned to win two more games on the final day of play against Merrimack. Combined with unhittable pitching and hot bats, the Owls were able to win the last two games in the finals against Merrimack, 5-3 and 9-2, to cap a truly historic run through the tournament.

THREE NAMED ALL-ECAC
The Owls had a trio of players earn All-ECAC honors following the conclusion of the season - Brittany Bucko, Jessica Rosa and Kristin Whitley.

PAIR COLLECTS ALL-REGION LAURELS
Jessica Rosa and Kristin Whitley both earned All-Region honors for their play in 2011.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
First baseman Kristin Whitley was selected as the Northeast-10 Tournament Most Valuable Player carrying a .400 batting average and a slugging percentage of .600. Joining her on the All-Tournament Team was Jayme Larson, who went 3-1 throughout the tournament with a 2.67 ERA with a save. Jessica Rosa was selected for her hitting as she led the team in RBI with seven and home runs with three and posted a
.938 slugging percentage.

DOWNS BUT NOT OUT
Third baseman Alyssa Downs batted .526 with a .947 slugging percentage and 10 hits during the NE-10 Tournament.

FOUR COLLECT ALL CONFERENCE HONORS
Four members of the Southern Connecticut State University softball team – juniors Jayme Larson and Jessica Rosa and sophomores Brittany Bucko and Kristin Whitley – were awarded year-end honors by the Northeast-10 Conference. Whitley was tabbed for the First-Team, while Larson, Rosa and Bucko were Second-Team honorees.

EVERYBODY HITS
Six of the Owls nine everyday starters finished the 2011 season with at least a .300 batting average.

BARBARO COLLECTS CAREER WIN NO. 200
Owls' coach Lisa Barbaro won her 200th career game on April 26 with a victory over New Haven.

ON DECK
The Owls will take on AIC on April 3 at 3 p.m. in Springfield, Mass. The contests will be the first in an eight-game road trip for the Owls.