MOUNT ST. MARY'S (10-22) vs. GEORGE WASHINGTON (14-17)
Tuesday, April 9, 2013, 3:00 p.m. (DH)
Our Lady of the Meadows Field, Emmitsburg, Md.
LIVE STATS
MOUNT UPDATE: Following a tough 0-4 weekend, the Mount begins a 10-game homestand with a doubleheader against George Washington at 3:00 p.m. at Our Lady of the Meadows Field on campus. During the weekend series at Wagner and Quinnipiac, Rachel Gavigan compiled seven hits and three RBIs. Cat Clifford also put together a strong weekend with five hits including her team-leading seventh home run in game two against Wagner on Saturday. With eight strikeouts in 13.0 innings of work on Saturday and Sunday, Nicole Pagano is six strikeouts away from tying Jamie Fowler's school record of 399 strikeouts.
ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON: After falling to Butler on Friday, the Colonials earned a bounce-back win against the Bulldogs on Saturday then swept a doubleheader with Saint Louis on Sunday to enter Tuesday on a three-game winning streak. Victoria Valos has hit a team-best eight home runs on the season and also leads the team in hits (32), runs (24), doubles (7) and batting average (.344). Courtney Martin headlines the pitching staff with 11 complete games, 109 strikeouts and a 2.01 ERA.
LAST TIME WE MET: The Colonials swept a doubleheader against the Mount earlier this season on March 9 in Washington, D.C. GW scored in five out of six innings, including four runs in the third for a 9-1 win in game one. Cat Clifford hit a home run in the game, but the Colonials outhit the Mount, 11-5, in the first contest. The Mountaineers saw its late-inning rally fall short in game two as the Colonials completed the sweep with a 6-2 victory.
ALL-TIME SERIES: The Mount is 7-8 in the all-time series with the Colonials. From 2008-10, the Mount won five out of six matchups between the two schools. GW has won the last four meetings, however.
COMMON OPPONENTS: The Mountaineers and Colonials have faced four common opponents this season. Both teams lost to Robert Morris and Princeton earlier this year. Against Seton Hall, the Mount dropped the only meeting, while the Colonials went 2-1 against the Pirates. Towson, a team the Mount defeated 10-0, beat GW by the same 10-0 score.
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 tied for second in walks (62), third in total bases (236), tied for fifth in doubles (27) and seventh in hits (135). Other Mount players in the top 10 are Erin Leddy, who is tied for fourth for walks (56) and seventh for runs (75) and Cat Clifford is tied for fourth in home runs (14). From the circle, Nicole Pagano checks in at fourth for wins (32) and second for strikeouts (393). Pagano is six strikeouts away from tying Jamie Fowler for the most in school history with 399.
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.
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 32 games, while Hayward has 22 starts to her name, and Baker has started 29 games without an error. Junior Bre Lohman has also made 11 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 42-87 overall record, including 15-35 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 Central Connecticut State for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 13 at 1:00 p.m. for Breast Cancer Awareness Day. The following day, the Mount will play another home doubleheader against Saint Francis U on Sunday, April 14 at noon.
