Games 1 and 2: Mount St. Mary's (0-0) at George Mason (2-2)
When: Wed, Mar. 1, 2011, 3 p.m.
Where: George Mason Softball Complex, Fairfax, Va.

Series Information: George Mason leads 30-13
Last Meeting: Mount (11-3) 4-21-10
First Meeting: George Mason (6-0) 4-22-91
Last George Mason Win: (5-1) 4-21-10

Opening Pitch: Wednesday's season opener for Mount St. Mary's against George Mason marks the 44th and 45th meetings in the all-time series dating back to the 1991 season. The Patriots lead the series 30-13, but the Mount won three of the five matchups during the 2010 season.

The Word On George Mason: The Patriots come into the contest 2-2 after defeating Hampton 8-0 in the USC Upstate Tournament on Feb. 20. Alyssa See leads the team with a .375 batting average, three hits and two runs scored. Katie Rynex is batting .364 with four hits, four runs scored, a double, three home runs and six RBIs while Emily Lafferty is third on the team with a .333 batting average, two hits and two runs scored. Kelsey Byrd leads the pitching staff with a 1-1 record, a 3.82 ERA in 11 innings pitched.

For Openers: The Mount is 7-23 in season openers and 11-19 in home openers in program history. The squad has won two of its last four season openers and seven of its last eight inaugural home games of the year.

Next On Tap: Mount St. Mary's returns to action at the UMBC Tournament on the weekend. The Mount will play Liberty and the host Retrievers on Friday, Iona on Saturday and Siena on Sunday in the three-day event.

Preseason Poll: The Mount St. Mary's softball team has been picked eighth in the Northeast Conference preseason poll. Long Island, who has won the NEC championship seven times in the last 10 years, nabbed nine of the 11 first-place votes to be selected as the preseason favorite. Monmouth garnered the other two first-place nods to finish second in the poll while Robert Morris, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, Central Connecticut State, Wagner, the Mount, Bryant, Saint Francis (Pa.) and Fairleigh Dickinson rounded out the 11-team poll.

All-Conference Returners: Mount St. Mary's returns junior 2010 All-NEC second-team selection Taylor Beebe for the 2011 season. Fellow junior Liz Christiansen was named to the 2010 All-NEC first team and the inaugural Defensive Player of the Year, but will miss the season due to an injury.

Reeder Banging On The Top-10: Senior Nicole Reeder moved into the Top-10 in career RBIs and now sits in seventh place with 61. Next on the list is Erica Barone (67, 1998-01). The junior moved into ninth place in games played (147), one shy of seventh place.

Zingle Moves In: Senior Courtney Zingle cracked the program's all-time career RBI list with 61 RBIs and now sits in seventh place. Next on the list is Erica Barone (67, 1988-01) in sixth place. Zingle has 68 runs scored to move into seventh place on the all-time list. Next on the chart is Danyale Goode (71, 2003-06) in sixth place. She also has 114 base hits, needing one hit to crack the Top-10. The junior is also nearing the Top-10 in games played and at-bats. She needs six games played to crack the Top-10 in that category and one at-bat to hit the Top-10 in that category.

Hurlers Making Strides: Senior Amanda Hanson is seventh in program history for career strikeouts with 167. Next on the list is Alison Moraca (212, 2000-03). She also sits in eighth in appearances (67) and 10th in wins (14). Next on the list for appearances is Zena Edwards (69, 1987-89) while Iris Haynie (16, 1992-95) is next on the win list. The junior moved into ninth place on the program's all-time innings pitched list with 294.1. Next on the list is Jamie Mataldi (356.0, 1995-98). Junior Amanda Sadowl is three ahead of Hanson with 19 victories. Sadowl has 52 appearances to join the Top-10 and moved into the Top-10 with 95 strikeouts. Next on the appearance list is Maltadi (67, 1995-98) and Mataldi (115, 1995-98) is also up next on the strikeout list.

The Roster: The 2011 softball roster is composed of five seniors, four juniors, five sophomores and six freshmen. Junior Liz Christiansen will sit out the year and red shirt due to an injury.

Doubles Maker: Junior Taylor Beebe posted 14 doubles as a freshman, the second most in program history for a single season. Beebe joined the all-time career Top-10 list for doubles with 21. Next on the list are Kathleen Housman (22, 2003-06), Danyale Goode (22, 2003-06) and Heather Macready (22, 1998-01) in seventh place. Senior Nicole Reeder is two doubles away from the Top-10 with 19 career twobaggers.

New To The Mountain: Along with first-year head coach Anna Nagro, freshmen Katy Bobbitt, Cat Clifford, Bre Lohman, Courtney Mason, Lindsey Ruhle and Alyssa Siliopino join the softball team this season.

Local Products: Senior Jenna Zimmerman, a 2007 graduate of Walkersville High School, registered 54 hits, 32 runs scored, six doubles, a homer and 25 RBIs in her first two seasons at the Mount. Sophomore Emily Wilson joins the team after graduating from Tuscarora in 2009.

About The Coach: Anna Nagro enters her first season as the head coach of the Mount softball team. She comes the Mount from D'Youville College, a Division III program in Buffalo, N.Y. In three seasons with the Spartans, Nagro led the team to 42 victories. She took over a team that was coming off a 5-21 season in 2007 and guided the team to a 15-22 overall mark and 11-7 in conference for a 10-game improvement in her first season. D'Youville then went 17-17 overall and 13-3 in league play in her second season and the squad's final year in the Northeastern Athletic Conference.

Wivell Returns To The Field: Former Mount softball standout Jen (Sansevero) Wivell will be in her first season as an assistant coach at the Mount. Wivell garnered All-Northeast Conference second-team honors as a designated player in 2003 after batting .362 with five runs, 17 hits, seven doubles and eight RBI in NEC action. A two-year captain, Wivell left the Mount as the all-time leader in bases on balls (48) and currently sits in third place in the category while she also ranks eighth in games played (146) and 10th in doubles (19).