The Southern Connecticut State University softball team will begin the 2014 season in Clermont, Fla. for eight games. The Owls will compete against Post and Concordia on March 5 at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., Felician and Georgian Court on March 6 at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., Bridgeport and Holy Family on March 8 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., along with a double-header against Wilmington at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. 

ALL-TIME AGAINST POST
Last season's debut of this match-up was postponed, the Owls will compete against Post University for the first time. 

ALL-TIME AGAINST CONCORDIA
SCSU leads the all-time series 2-0. 

ALL-TIME AGAINST FELICIAN
Southern has a 2-0 overall record over Felician. 

ALL-TIME AGAINST GEORGIAN COURT
The all-time series between SCSU and Georgian Court is 7-4. 

ALL-TIME AGAINST BRIDGEPORT
The Owls have a 28-18 overall record against Bridgeport. 

ALL-TIME AGAINST HOLY FAMILY
Southern Connecticut will compete against Holy Family for the first time. 

ALL-TIME AGAINST WILMINGTON
The Owls will have their very first match-up with Wilmington in school history. 

CITY SERIES
The annual City Series took place this fall at Quinnipiac University. It is a four-team event between area softball clubs including Southern Connecticut State University, Yale University, Quinnipiac University and the University of New Haven
• In the opening game the Owls were able to shut out Quinnipiac University 1-0.
• The win over Quinnipiac moved SCSU into the championship game where they lost to Yale 12-5. 

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
The Owls added 12 new members to the roster this season - transfers Samantha Peltier and Jaime Conklin along with 10 freshmen - Giuliana D'Arcangelo, Arianne Tedeschi, Danielle Piazza, Carissa Wasikowski, Lauren Yaffa, Kristen Gay, Jodi Disanto, Leanna Feerick, Holly Noe, and Sarah Coleman. 

IN THE NE-10 PRESEASON POLL
Southern Connecticut has been selected No. 4 in the Southwest Division, as voted on by the league's coaches.

LAST SEASON-IN-REVIEW
The Owls finished last season with a winning 32-22 record overall, 14-8 in Northeast-10 Conference play. 
• Seeded No. 3 in the Southwest Division, SCSU advanced to the semi-final of the NE-10 Conference Tournament, defeating Le Moyne and UMass-Lowell. 
• For the fifth consecutive season and sixth time in the last seven years, the Southern Connecticut State University softball team earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament field. The Owls were seeded No. 7 in the East Region.
• Southern was able to defeat Caldwell in the first round but would go on to lose to them in the elimination game in day three of the NCAA East Regional. 

PAIR EARN ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Two Owls – seniors Brittany Bucko and  Alyssa Downs –  were recognized with year-end honors from the Northeast-10 Conference in 2013, as voted on by the league's coaches.
• Bucko, named to the All-Conference team for the fourth straight year, was tabbed for the Second-Team. Despite an early-season injury, she still finished second on the team in home runs (five) and runs batted in (20) during the regular season. She also batted .281 in the regular season and was third on the club with 26 runs scored.
• Downs captured All-Conference honors for the second year in a row. Named  to the Third-Team, she led the Owls in home runs (eight) and runs batted in (33) during the regular season. Downs also ranked second on the club with a .317 batting average. She also posted team-best marks for on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

BUCKO NAMED ALL-ACADEMIC 
In the 2013 season, for the second year in a row, Brittany Bucko has been named a First-Team Capital One Academic All-District selection as well as Academic All-America for the second straight year, as tabbed by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), and named to the NE-10 Softball All-Academic Team. Bucko finished out the season with a 3.54 grade point average. 

DOWNS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Alyssa Downs was named to the Northeast-10 Conference Softball All-Tournament Team by virtue of her play in the Owls' three contests. Downs batted .273 during the Owls' run to the tournament semifinals with two home runs, five runs batted in and three runs scored.

OWLS' LEADERS FROM 2013
• Kelsey Cockrill leads the Owls with 14 wins and 134 strikeouts.
• Audrey Dolloff leads the Owls with a 1.66 earned run average.
• Alyssa Downs leads the Owls with a .314 batting average, along with 10 home runs, 38 runs batted in, 11 doubles and a .595 slugging percentage.
• Nicole Buch is tops with 30 walks.
• Sarah Koerner paces the Owls with a .414 on-base percentage. 

HOME SWEET HOME
The Owls had a .783 (18-5) winning percentage at Pelz Field this year.

SEASON OF FIRSTS
The Owls first place finish in the Northeast-10 Conference last season marks the first time in school history that they have claimed the conference regular season title.

ON DECK
After returning from Florida, the Owls will host Post in a doubleheader on March 11 at Pelz Field begining at 2:30 p.m.