MOUNT ST. MARY'S (10-18, 2-4 NEC) at WAGNER (6-23, 0-6 NEC)
Saturday, April 6, 2013, 1:00 p.m. (DH)
Wagner Softball Field, Staten Island, N.Y.
LIVE STATS
MOUNT ST. MARY'S (10-18, 2-4 NEC) at QUINNIPIAC (7-21, 1-1 NEC)
Sunday, April 7, 2013, 12:00 p.m. (DH)
QU Softball Field, Hamden, Conn.
LIVE STATS
MOUNT UPDATE: The Mount took down Towson, 10-0, on Thursday for the team's first win over the Tigers since the 2007 season. In the win, Nicole Pagano pitched her eighth complete game of the year and was aided by two hits and three RBIs from Liz Christiansen and two RBIs on one hit from Erin Leddy. Eight of the team's 10 wins this season are credited to Pagano, who is now fourth in school history with 32 career victories.
ABOUT WAGNER: The Seahawks swept a home doubleheader with Saint Peter's on Wednesday before falling in both games of a twinbill with Temple on Thursday. Wagner will be looking for its first NEC win of the season after losing six in a row to begin the conference schedule. Abigail Beasley has tallied a team-best 26 hits and brings a .356 batting average into the weekend action, although the offense has been outscored, 161-77. Samantha Bedkar and Judy Betz have logged most of the innings from the circle with Bedker putting together a 4.75 ERA and Betz a 4.97 ERA.
ABOUT QUINNIPIAC: The Bobcats split a doubleheader against Monmouth on March 29 then dropped two road games at Stony Brook on April 4. Jordan Paolucci has proven to be the Bobcats' biggest offensive threat with six home runs and 22 RBIs to lead the offense. Hannah Lindsley, who has logged a team-high 63.1 innings pitched, has the most strikeouts on the team with 28 and the staff's top ERA at 4.20 in 12 starts.
LAST TIME WE MET: In a March 23, 2012 home doubleheader, the Mount defeated Quinnipiac, 1-0, in game one, then fell by a 2-0 score in game two. Bre Lohman's RBI fielder's choice in the bottom of the eighth gave the Mount a 1-0 win in the first game. Nicole Pagano struck out six in eight innings, allowing just one hit for the win. The Mount also split an April 29, 2012 doubleheader with Wagner. Erin Leddy hit a walk-off home run in game one for a 4-3 victory over the Seahawks.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Mount is 8-31 against Wagner dating back to the initial matchup in 1990. The Seahawks have won 15 of 18 games in the series played in Staten Island. In the last three years, the Mount is 2-4 against Wagner. Against Quinnipiac, the Mount has compiled a 10-18 mark with the two sides splitting doubleheaders each year since the 2008 season. In the past five matchups, the Mount won the first game of the doubleheader and fell in the nightcap.
RBI LEADER: Liz Christiansen recorded her 103rd career run batted in during game two against Canisius on March 30 to pass Amanda Burk for the most in school history.
30-WIN CLUB: Nicole Pagano's complete game four-hitter in game one against FDU on March 24 was her 30th career win. She joins elite company as Zena Edwards, Jamie Fowler and Maria Lutz are the only other players to accomplish the feat in their Mount careers. Edwards holds the school record with 46 career victories.
RECORD BOOKS: Liz Christiansen, who already holds the Mount's career home run and RBI records, ranks in the top 10 in other career offensive categories including third in total bases (233) and walks (61), tied for fifth in doubles (27) and seventh in hits (132). Other Mount players in the top 10 are Erin Leddy, who is tied for fifth for walks (55) and seventh for runs (73) and Cat Clifford is fifth for home runs (13). From the circle, Nicole Pagano checks in at fourth for wins (32) and third for strikeouts (385).
ON THE MOVE: Holly Buckel and Rachel Gavigan are tied for the team lead with eight stolen bases this season. As a team, the Mount ranks 89th nationally with a 1.15 stolen bases per game average.
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 28 games, while Hayward has 21 starts to her name, and Baker has started 25 games without an error. Junior Bre Lohman has also made nine starts in right field with zero errors.
FIVE-GAME WINNING STREAK: The Mount's five-game winning streak, which was snapped against Bryant on Saturday, March 23, was the second-longest winning streak in the program's Division I history. 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 in 1988-89.
HEAD COACH ANNA NAGRO: Anna Nagro is the eighth head coach in Mount St. Mary's softball history. She has compiled a 42-83 overall record, including 15-31 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 Anna Nagro's tenure, the Mount holds a 14-24 record at home at Our Lady of the Meadows Field. The Mountaineers are 4-4 at home this season after a 3-9 record last season and a 7-11 mark 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 finished the season as the Mount's all-time leader with 24 career home runs and was 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, 2012 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 George Washington for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday, April 9, at Our Lady of the Meadows Field at 3:00 p.m.
