MOUNT ST. MARY'S (5-12) vs. BRYANT (4-8)
Saturday, March 23, 1:00 p.m. (DH)
Our Lady of the Meadows Field, Emmitsburg, Md.
MOUNT ST. MARY'S (5-12) vs. FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON (8-8)
Sunday, March 24, 12:00 p.m. (DH)
Our Lady of the Meadows Field, Emmitsburg, Md.
LIVE STATS
MOUNT UPDATE: The Mountaineers stretched their winning streak to four games with wins over St. Bonaventure (15-2) and Delaware State (4-2) on March 17 in Dover, Del. Cat Clifford racked up four hits in the two games and Rachel Gavigan went 3-for-4 against St. Bonaventure with three runs scored. Clifford leads the team with a .327 batting average and five home runs. In the win over Delaware State, Nicole Pagano pitched a complete game, allowing just four hits while striking out 10.
ABOUT BRYANT: Following a 2-6 start, Bryant has gone 2-2 in its last four games with wins over Marist and UNLV at the San Diego Classic. The Bulldogs have scored two or fewer runs in nine out of 10 games this season. Juniors Lauren Guy and Aubrey Mable have both recorded 10 hits to lead the offense. Brittany Hart has been the starting pitcher in eight of the Bulldogs' 12 games with all four of the team's wins to her credit.
ABOUT FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON: The Knights are coming off a 4-4 showing at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla. At the week-long competition, FDU took down Akron, Eastern Illinois, Albany and Green Bay to improve to 8-8 on the season. Freshman Courtney Slye has provided the offensive punch for the Knights by leading the team in home runs (3), hits (14), total bases (24) and batting average (.333). Loren Sravrou has a team-best 1.62 ERA with five earned runs in 21.2 innings of work.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Mount holds a 15-7 advantage in the all-time series with Fairleigh Dickinson. In games in Emmitsburg, the Mountaineers are 6-4, and have won nine of the last 12 overall in the series dating back to 2001. Against Bryant, the Mount is 4-2 with a 1-1 mark at home. When the series began in 2010, the Mount won the first three meetings, but Bryant has won two of the last three.
LAST TIME WE MET: The Mountaineers and Bulldogs split a doubleheader in Smithfield, R.I. on March 31, 2012. The first game was tied, 5-5, heading into extra innings before the Mount exploded for seven runs in the top of the eighth for a 12-5 win. Bryant took a 5-1 lead through three innings in game two, and the Mount was never able to recover in a 5-2 defeat. The Mount swept a road doubleheader at Fairleigh Dickinson on April 21, 2012. Nicole Pagano allowed just one run in 11 innings of work during the two games to secure wins in both contests. The Mount won game one, 1-0, on Cat Clifford's solo home run in the top of the seventh. Clifford belted another shot over the centerfield fence in a 4-3 victory in the second game.
30-WIN CLUB: With 28 wins for her career, two more for Pagano would help her become the fourth player in Mount St. Mary's history with 30 or more career wins. Zena Edwards holds the school record with 46 victories, followed by Jamie Fowler with 38 and Maria Lutz with 36.
FOUR-GAME STREAK: On the current four-game winning streak, the Mount has outscored opponents, 46-7. It is the Mount's second four-game winning streak in two seasons. The longest in team history was 21 games in 1987 and the six-game run in 2006 was the team's longest since joining Division I.
CAT CLIFFORD: A junior third baseman from Hopewell Junction, N.Y., Cat Clifford leads the Mount in nearly every offensive category. She has recorded five of the team's seven home runs and also leads in hits (16), batting average (.327), slugging percentage (.653) and is tied with Rachel Gavigan with a team-best 11 RBIs.
RACHEL TETI: A local product from nearby Linganore High School, Teti has hit safely in five games in a row, which is the longest streak by any Mount player this season. Her batting average over the last five games is .538, and she has knocked in three runs to help the Mount go 4-1.
DEFENSIVELY SOUND: The Mount's starting outfield of senior Erin Leddy in center, sophomore Kendra Hayward in right and freshman Megan Baker in left has yet to commit an error this season. Leddy has started all 17 games, while Hayward and Baker have started 14 games apiece without an error.
HEAD COACH ANNA NAGRO: Anna Nagro is the eighth head coach in school history. She has compiled a 37-77 overall record, including 13-27 in the NEC. Last season's eight wins in NEC play tied for the third most in the Mount's single-season history.
OUR LADY OF THE MEADOWS FIELD: During Nagro's tenure, the Mount holds a 10-20 record at home at Our Lady of the Meadows Field. The Mountaineers were 3-9 at home last season and 7-11 in 2011.
2012 ALL CONFERENCE: Liz Christiansen and Nicole Pagano each garnered All-Northeast Conference honors last year. Christiansen was First Team All-NEC after leading the Mount in average (.320), hits (47), doubles (9), home runs (9), RBIs (34) and total bases (83). She hit .355 in NEC play with five home runs and 15 RBI. She is the Mount's all-time leader with 24 career home runs and is second with 96 RBIs. Pagano was a Second Team All-NEC selection at the pitcher spot. Pagano went 11-11 with a 1.47 ERA and 147 strikeouts in 151.0 innings of work. She had a perfect game on March 16 against Rhode Island while adding her second no-hitter of the year against UMBC.
PRESEASON PICKS: The Mount was picked to finish ninth in the annual Northeast Conference preseason coaches poll. Robert Morris was tabbed as the favorite with six first-place votes, followed by defending tournament champion LIU Brooklyn, who was picked second with five first-place votes. Central Connecticut was picked third, while Monmouth and Bryant round out the top five. Quinnipiac was voted sixth, followed by Sacred Heart, Saint Francis U, Mount St. Mary's, Wagner and Fairleigh Dickinson.
UP NEXT: The Mount will host another home doubleheader on Tuesday, March 26, when Lafayette makes the trip to Emmitsburg for a 3:00 p.m. start.
