MOUNT ST. MARY'S (15-15-1, 3-1 NEC) at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON (10-13, 1-1 NEC)
Sunday, April 13, 2014, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. | Doubleheader
Hackensack, N.J. | FDU Softball Field
LIVE STATS
MOUNT UPDATE: The Mountaineers can surpass last year's win total of 16 games with a sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson in Sunday's Northeast Conference doubleheader. Winners of three in a row and six of their last seven entering Sunday, the Mount has gone 10-12-1 away from home this season. Of the Mount's 15 wins, eight have been shutouts, including four in the month of April. In the regular lineup, centerfielder Megan Baker leads the squad with a .275 batting average, followed closely by third baseman Cat Clifford at .270.
LAST TIME OUT: The Mount swept a mid-week home doubleheader with Howard on Tuesday, winning by scores of 12-3 and 5-0. Freshman pitcher Sam Lichtner picked up the win in both games, pitching a combined 7.2 innings without giving up a run. In game one, the Mount used a 10-run fifth inning highlighted by a Cat Clifford solo home run to pull away for a 12-3 win. The Mount went right back to work in game two with runs in the first, second and third innings before tacking on two more in the sixth in the shutout.
ABOUT FDU: The Knights are coming off a sweep of Saint Peter's on April 9 to improve their home record to 3-1 this season. Three FDU batters are hitting better than .300 led by Cindy Zamudio's .360 average with a team-best four home runs. In the circle, Megan Reiner leads the FDU pitching staff with seven wins and a 2.03 ERA. FDU is 1-1 in the NEC this season with a split in a home doubleheader with Bryant on April 2.
LAST SEASON VS. FDU: Rachel Gavigan's first inning three-run home run proved to be the difference in a 3-1 win in game one of last year's home doubleheader versus FDU. Nicole Pagano pitched a complete game with 10 strikeouts to earn the win. In game two, FDU bounced back by handing the Mount an 11-2 loss to split the series.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. FDU: The Mount's record against the Knights stands at 16-8, including a 9-3 road record in the series. Since Anna Nagro took over before the start of the 2011 season, the Mount is 3-3 against FDU.
CLOSING IN ON 20: The Mount is five wins away from 20 wins on the season. In the program's 34 year history, the 20-win plateau has been reached four times, with the last coming in 2010 when the squad won 25 games.
PAGANO'S PLACE IN HISTORY: On April 7, senior pitcher Nicole Pagano was named NEC Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season. Pagano ranks seventh among Division I pitchers with a 0.90 earned run average and 20th in strikeouts per seven innings (9.1). The Mount's captain has gone 36.1 innings without giving up an earned run. On April 5, Pagano broke the school record for career wins (46) set by Zena Edwards '89 with her third career no-hitter in a 2-0 win over Sacred Heart.
UP NEXT: The Mount returns to Our Lady of the Meadows Field to host LIU Brooklyn on Friday, April 18, for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. before taking on Wagner for a twinbill the following day at noon.
