MOUNT ST. MARY'S SOFTBALL (10-14-1)
Our Lady of the Meadows Field
Saturday, April 5 | 1 & 3 p.m. | Doubleheader
vs. Sacred Heart (9-11, 0-2 NEC)
Sunday, April 6 | 2 & 4 p.m. | Doubleheader
vs. Robert Morris (17-16, 0-2 NEC)
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MOUNT UPDATE: Following a 12-day layoff with no games due to inclement weather, the Mount returns to action with the first weekend of NEC play at home versus Sacred Heart on Saturday and Robert Morris on Sunday. The Mount is playing at home for the second time this season after hosting Bowling Green on March 21. With early season success, the Mount (10-14-1) is six victories shy of tying last year's win total of 16.
ONE AWAY FROM OWNING THE RECORD: In a 5-0 win over UMBC on March 23, senior pitcher Nicole Pagano moved into a first-place tie with Zena Edwards '89 for the most wins in school history with 46. This season, Pagano leads the Mount with eight victories.
LAST TIME OUT: The Mount went 2-3 in a busy three-day stretch on March 21-23. After a pair of home losses to Bowling Green on March 21, the Mountaineers split a doubleheader at Delaware State the following day and closed out the weekend with a 5-0 victory over UMBC on March 23.
ABOUT SACRED HEART: Looking to snap a three-game losing streak, the Pioneers have lost six games by one run this season. Sacred Heart is hitting .228 as a team and has hit 13 home runs, including five by Annie Dreher. The two primary starting pitchers for Sacred Heart, Jamie Carlson and Adrianna Mallory, have given up a combined 50 earned runs in 101 innings of work.
ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS: The Colonials have won three of their last four with a sweep of Youngstown State to go with a win over Pitt. Earlier in the season, RMU took #12 UCLA to extra innings and defeated Villanova in tournament settings. The Colonials' ace, Nicole Sleith, earned NEC Pitcher of the Year each of the last two seasons and is 10-6 this year with a 1.24 ERA. Offensively, Tess Apke leads the team in batting average (.366), hits (37), home runs (5) and RBIs (17).
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS WEEKEND OPPONENTS: The Mount is 10-21 in the all-time series with Sacred Heart, including a 6-12 mark at home. The Mount swept the Pioneers in a doubleheader last season, snapping a seven-game losing streak to Sacred Heart. Versus Robert Morris, the Mount is 6-37 in the all-time series and is looking to snap a 12-game slide to the Colonials. Of the Mount's six wins versus RMU, five have been at home.
MOUNT AT THE MEADOWS: The Mount is 0-2 at home this season after going 7-11 at Our Lady of the Meadows Field last spring. In Anna Nagro's four-year tenure at the Mount, the team is 17-32 at home.
FIVE GAME HITTING STREAK: Freshman Jessica Greenewald is riding a five-game hitting streak, which is the current longest streak on the team. Earlier this season, Greenewald hit safely in six-consecutive games.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Nicole Pagano was named NEC Pitcher of the Week on March 24 following a strong performance over the weekend. The senior from Winslow, N.J. gave up just one earned run in 16.1 innings of work. In a 1-0 loss to Bowling Green, Pagano struck out 14 batters. She followed up the next day with a save against Delaware State before finishing the weekend with 10 strikeouts against UMBC in a 5-0 shutout.
NEC PRESEASON POLL: The Mount was selected to finish eighth out of nine teams according to NEC coaches in the preseason poll. Defending champion Central Connecticut was picked to repeat with five first-place votes, followed by LIU Brooklyn in second with four top votes. Robert Morris checked in third, and Bryant was selected fourth in the poll. The rest of the poll followed with FDU, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis U, the Mount and Wagner.
UP NEXT: The Mount hosts Howard on Tuesday, April 8, for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.
