Complete Game Notes as a PDF

LET THE SEASON BEGIN
The Southern Connecticut State University softball team will begin the 2012 season with eight games in Clermont, Fla. The Owls will start the year on Wednesday, March 7 by facing Wayne State (Neb.) at 1 p.m. and Concordia (N.Y.) at 3 p.m. On Thursday, the Owls will have a doubleheader against Dowling at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. On Saturday, March 10, the Owls have a doubleheader against Molloy at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. The final two games of the Florida road trip will be against Philidelphia at 9 a.m. and St. Thomas Aquinas at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 11.

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.

ALL-TIME VS. WAYNE STATE (NEB.)
Southern Connecticut faced Wayne State for the first time in 2009. The Owls were victorious in that contest against WSC. The Wildcats were ranked No. 17 nationally at the time.

ALL-TIME VS. CONCORDIA (N.Y.)
This will be the first ever meeting between the two sqauds.

ALL-TIME VS. DOWLING
Dowling leads the all-time series 10-5 against SCSU.

ALL-TIME VS. PHILADELPHIA
This will be the sixth ever meeting for these two teams. The Owls are undefeated against the Rams all-time at 5-0.

ALL-TIME VS. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
The Owls have a 2-1 series lead against the Spartans, including two wins during the 2007 NCAA qualifying season for Southern Connecticut.

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.

SEVEN IS THEIR LUCKY NUMBER?
The Owls were 15-3 when scoring seven or more runs against their opponent.

ON DECK
After the eight game Florida trip, the Owls will head to Orangeburg, N.Y. for a doubleheader against Dominican on March, 14.