Mount St. Mary's (8-14, 0-0 NEC) at Quinnipiac (16-13, 0-0 NEC)
When: Sat, Apr. 2, 2011, 1 p.m.
Where: Quinnipiac Softball Field, Hamden, Conn.

Series Information: Quinnipiac leads 16-8
Last Meeting: Quinnipiac (6-5) 4-18-10
First Meeting: Quinnipiac (6-5) 4-3-99
Last Mount Win: (7-3) 4-18-10

Opening Pitch: Saturday's Northeast Conference opening doubleheader between Mount St. Mary's and Quinnipiac marks the 25th and 26th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1999 season. The Bobcats lead the series 16-8, but the two teams have split the last three twinbills.

The Word On Quinnipiac: The Bobcats come into the contest 16-13 overall and 0-0 in Northeast Conference play after defeating Connecticut 7-3 on Thursday. Jacqueline Ristow leads the team with a .309 batting average, 29 hits, 13 runs scored, four doubles and nine RBIs. Lauren Salgado has 21 hits, 15 runs scored, and four RBIs while Jordan Cabrera boasts 26 hits, 11 runs scored, two doubles, a triple and 15 RBIs. Hurler Heather Schwartzburg fuels the pitching staff with a 9-6 record, a 1.69 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 107.2 innings pitched.

Last Time We Met: Erin Leddy went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and plated the go-ahead runs in the fifth to lift Mount St. Mary's Quinnipiac 7-3 in the opener on Apr. 18, 2010. The Bobcats took the nightcap, 6-5. Leddy helped the Mount grab a 3-1 lead in the first with an RBI single to right field and then broke a 3-all standstill with a two-run double in the fifth. The freshman added a sacrifice fly in the squad's five-run sixth in the nightcap. Taylor Beebe registered three hits, four RBIs and two runs scored while Liz Christiansen posted two hits, two runs scored and an RBI in the two games. Emily Bellush fueled the Bobcats with a run-scoring single in the seventh of the nightcap to lead Quinnipiac to the win. Bellush had two hits in the nightcap while Alex Alba posted three hits, two runs scored and an RBI on the day.

Games 25 and 26: Mount St. Mary's (8-14, 0-0 NEC) at Sacred Heart (13-11, 2-0 NEC)
When: Sun, Apr. 3, 2011, 12 p.m.
Where: Pioneer Park, Fairfield, Conn.

Series Information: Sacred Heart leads 16-8
Last Meeting: Sacred Heart (5-4) 4-17-10
First Meeting: Sacred Heart (6-0) 4-13-86
Last Mount Win: (6-5) 4-18-09

Opening Pitch: Sunday's doubleheader between Mount St. Mary's and Sacred Heart marks the 25th and 26th meetings in the all-time series dating back to the 1986 season. The Pioneers leads the series 16-8 after sweeping the twinbill last season while the Mount swept the two-game series in 2009.

The Word On Sacred Heart: The Pioneers, who host ?? on Saturday, come into the weekend 13-11 overall and 2-0 in Northeast Conference play after ??. Liz Tsipouras leads the team with a .461 batting average, 35 hits, 15 runs scored, six doubles, four home runs and 25 RBIs. Taylor Froelich ranks second on the team with a .375 batting average 33 hits, 22 runs scored, nine doubles, four homers and 12 RBIs while Courtney Lee is batting .358 with 29 hits, 21 runs scored, five doubles, four home runs and 19 RBIs. Jen Russell leads the pitching staff with a 6-7 record, a 2.20 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 92.1 innings pitched.

Last Time We Met: Sacred Heart swept a doubleheader on Apr. 17, 2010. The Pioneers took the opener 11-6 and then won 5-4 in eight innings. Nicole Reeder paced the Mount with five hits and five RBIs. Courtney Zingle added three hits and two runs scored and Beth Everist posted three hits, three runs scored and an RBI in the two games. Jen Russell got the win in both games for the Pioneers, and Courtney Lee posted five hits, five runs scored and five RBIs in the two games. Mount St. Mary's held the lead in both games, but Sacred Heart came back in both ends of the doubleheader to come away with the sweep.

Last Time Out: Coppin State defeated Mount St. Mary's 3- on Wednesday. The second game of the doubleheader was cancelled due to the weather. Erin Leddy paced the Mount with a hit and an RBI while Taylor Beebe scored the squad's lone run of the afternoon.

Next On Tap: Mount St. Mary's continues its six-team 12-game road trip at Morgan State on Thursday and at Long Island (Apr. 9) and at Wagner (Apr. 10) to complete the road trip.

Seniors Returning To Form: Seniors Nicole Reeder, Jenna Zimmerman and Courtney Zingle started the first five games of the year a combined 5-for-44 (.113) with three runs scored, a double and no RBIs. The trio in the last 17 games are a combined 45-for-132 (.340) with 14 runs scored, 11 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 14 RBIs. Reeder started the season 0-for-15, but is batting .321 with 14 hits, three runs scored, five doubles, a home run and four RBIs since picking up her first hit of the season. Zimmerman is hitting .297 with 11 hits, four runs scored, three doubles, a triple and three RBIs in that stretch while Zingle leads the trio and the team in the last 16 games batting at a .392 clip with 20 hits, seven runs scored, three doubles, a homer and seven RBIs Fellow senior Beth Everist has remained consistent throughout the season and leads the team with seven doubles, two round trippers and 17 RBIs on the year.

Reeder Playing The The Top-10 Tune: Senior Nicole Reeder ranks in the Top-10 in five categories for her career and its knocking on the Top-10 in two categories. The senior is fourth in games played (173) and can move ahead of Sarah Ramsburg (174, 2003-06) for third by playing two games this weekend. Reeder also ranks eighth in RBIs (65) with Erica Barone (67, 1998-01) two RBIs ahead of her. She also ranks fourth in walks (54), one behind Ashley Monsour (55, 2004-07) in third place. Reeder ranks fifth in plate appearances (467) with Ramsburg (487) next on the list. The senior moved into fifth place for doubles (24) and can move ahead of Nicki Trumpler (27, 1996-99) with four twobaggers. Reeder is also 14 hits, four home runs and seven total bases from cracking the Top-10 in each of those categories.

Top-10 Has A Nice Zing For Courtney: Senior Courtney Zingle ranks in the Top-10 in six offensive career categories. Zingle is sixth in games played (166) with former teammate Jess Burke (168, 2005-08) directly ahead of her The senior is also third in at-bats (490) with former teammate Lisa Curreri (556, 2007-10) next on the list. She also ranks fifth for runs scored (77), needing three to pass Toni Bruno (79, 1994-97). Zingle stands fourth in hits (137) with Danyale Goode (149, 2003-06) next up on the list. The senior is seventh in RBIs (68) with Heather Macready (69, 1998-01 and Amanda Blizzard (69, 1999-02) ahead of her tied for fourth. Zingle also stands seventh in total bases (182) with Nicki Trmpler (185, 1996-99) the next up on the list. Zingle has eight career home runs and can move into the Top-10 with one round tripper.

Mounting The Top-10 For Everist: Senior Beth Everist ranks in the Top-10 in home runs, RBIs and total bases and is climbing toward the Top-10 in two other categories. The senior is third in home runs (14) with teammate Liz Christiansen (15) next on the list in second place. She also sits third in RBIs (76) with Danyale Goode (82, 2003-06) next on the list. The senior just joined the Top-10 in total bases over the Mar. 26-27 weekend with 156 total bases and can move into eighth place with eight total bases. Everist can move into the Top-10 with 32 hits and one double.

Taylor Made For Top-10: Junior Taylor Beebe is seven with 23 career doubles. Next on the list is teammate Nicole Reeder (24) and Nicki Wisniewski (24, 1998-99) in fifth place. The junior posted 14 doubles in her freshman year, which was the second most in program history for a single season. The junior moved into seventh place for bases on balls (47) with current Mount assistant coach Jen (Sansevero) Wivell (48, 2001-04) next on the list. Beebe moved into 10th place for runs scored (63) and can move into eighth place with six runs scored and ahead of Nancy Tenaglio (68, 1983-86) and Sue Murchie (68, 1984-87). She can also join the Top-10 with 43 hits, four home runs and 32 total bases.

All Hanson On Top-10: Senior Amanda Hanson ranks in the Top-10 for her career in games pitched, wins, innings pitched and strikeouts. The senior is sixth in games pitched (74) with Jess Miller (75, 1998-01) next on the list. Hanson ranks 10th in wins (14), two behind Haynie in ninth place. She also stands in ninth place for innings pitched (319.0) with Jamie Mataldi (356.0) next on the list. Hanson is also seventh in strikeouts and can become the sixth pitcher in program history with 200 punchouts with 22 strikeouts. Next on the list in strikeouts is Allison Moraca (212, 2000-03).

Sadowl Pitching Her Way Into The Top-10 Too: Junior Amanda Sadowl ranks 10th in program history in games pitched (65). Next on the list is Jamie Maltadi (67, 1995-98). She also sits in seventh place in wins (21). Sadowl became the seventh player in program history to become a 20-game winner and needs two wins to move ahead of Sue Merolla (22, 1985-88) for sixth place. Sadowl is ninth in strikeouts (129) and needs 13 Ks to move ahead of Iris Haynie (141, 1992-95). The junior moved into the Top-10 for innings pitched (297.0) against Coppin State on Mar. 17 with teammate Amanda Hanson (319.0) directly ahead of her.

UMBC All-Tournament Team: Beth Everist, Erin Leddy and Amanda Sadowl were named to the UMBC Tournament All-Tournament team. Everist batted .500 (5-for-10) in the three games with two runs scored a double and four RBIs. The senior went 4-for-4 with a double and three RBIs in a 9-0 win against UMBC on Friday. Everist also smacked her first home run of the season in the second inning against Iona to help the Mountaineers rally to a 4-3 victory against the Gaels. Leddy hit .375 (3-for-8) in the tournament with two runs scored, a homer and four RBIs. The sophomore propelled the Mount to the win against Iona with a three-run home run in the fifth inning to erase a 2-1 deficit and hand the Mountaineers the lead for good. Leddy coaxed a bases loaded RBI walk against the Retrievers and registered two hits in a 2-1 loss against Liberty on Friday. Sadowl tossed a three-hit complete-game shutout with four strikeouts in the win against UMBC. The right-hander scattered three hits and did not allow a runner past second base in the victory.

For Openers: Mount St. Mary's won its season open for the second-straight season and the third time in the last five years. Head coach Anna Nagro became the first coach in program history to win in her first game as a Mount head coach.

In Their Debut: Freshmen Katy Bobbitt and Cat Clifford both made their collegiate debut in the starting lineup against George Mason on Mar. 2. Bobbitt picked up her first collegiate hit in the seventh inning of the first game against the Patriots. Clifford notched her first collegiate hit against UMBC on Mar. 4. Fellow freshmen Courtney Mason and Lindsay Ruhle saw their first collegiate action as pinch runners in the second game against George Mason while Bre Lohman and Alyssa Silipino were used as pinch hitters against the Retrievers for their first college appearance.

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.

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.

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 Silipino 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.