The Mount St. Mary's softball team opens the 2020 season at the Campbell Invitational on Feb. 14-16 at Campbell University.
Saturday, February 15
10:00 a.m. vs. Bucknell
LIVE STATS
5:30 p.m. at Campbell
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Sunday, February 16
10:00 a.m. vs. Bucknell
LIVE STATS
12:30 p.m. vs. Howard
LIVE STATS
ABOUT CAMPBELL: Campbell opened the 2020 season at the Kickin' Chicken Classic in Conway, S.C. last weekend, posting a 1-4 record at the tournament. The Camels downed Coastal Carolina (4-3) in their final game of the weekend after falling to East Carolina twice, Iowa and Virginia Tech in the first four games. Cassie Wancheck (3-for-8, .375, 1 HR) and Destini England (4-for-13, .308) led the offense. Georgeanna Barefoot leads the pitching staff with a 1-2 record and a 4.29 ERA in three starts.
ABOUT BUCKNELL: Bucknell opened the season with a 2-2 record at the Upstate Classic hosted by USC Upstate last weekend. The Bison defeated Towson (9-1) and Saint Francis U (10-2) while falling to Marshall (9-4) and host USC Upstate (3-2). Jess Horn went 6-for-10 (.600) with a double and two triples to lead Bucknell's offense while Allyse Volpe went 7-for-13 (.538) at the plate. Raeanne Geffert went 2-1 with a 1.29 ERA in three complete games with 23 strikeouts in 16.1 innings of work.
ABOUT HOWARD: Howard opened the 2020 season last weekend by going 0-5 at the Red & Black Showcase hosted by Georgia. The Bison lost a pair of games to Kent State and Georgia while also falling to UNC-Wilmington. Camille Navarro went 6-for-14 (.429) at the plate to pace the offense while Sydney Hixenbaugh went 0-2 with a 7.95 ERA in three appearances and two starts in the circle.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES…
vs. Campbell: The Mountaineers are 0-2 all-time against Campbell. This will be the first meeting between the teams since Campbell swept a doubleheader on Feb. 26, 1996. The Camels won both game by an identical 8-0 score.
vs. Bucknell: Bucknell holds a 28-8-1 lead in the all-time series with the Mount that began back in 1989. Last year, the teams split a doubleheader at Bucknell with the Bison taking a 2-0 win in the opening game before the Mount capture game two, 5-4. The Mount is 3-14-1 at home, 5-13 on the road and 0-1 at a neutral site against Bucknell. The Mount is 1-8-1 over the past 10 meetings with the Bison.
vs. Howard: The Mount is 9-1 all-time against Howard. This is the first meeting between the two teams since the Mount swept a twinbill at Howard on April 26, 2017, winning by the scores of 12-4 and 13-1.
PRESEASON POLL: The Mount St. Mary's softball team has been picked to finish in fourth place in the annual Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Long Island was selected as the preseason favorite, capturing seven of the 10 first-place votes. Defending champion Saint Francis U is picked to finish second, followed by Sacred Heart, the Mount, Bryant, Robert Morris, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, Wagner and Merrimack.
SEASON OPENERS: The Mountaineers are 3-6 all-time in season openers during head coach Anna Nagro's tenure. The Mount lost last year's season opener to UMKC, 7-1. The Mount's last win in a season opener was a 14-1 victory over North Carolina Central on Feb. 25, 2017. The Mount is 10-29 all-time in season openers.
STONER MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Senior Kaylee Stoner enters the 2020 season with 32 career stolen bases, good for a tie for sixth on the Mount's all-time list. She needs five steals to move into second place on the list. Patti Schaefer holds the program record with 67 career steals. Stoner also has 130 career hits, and needs eight to move into 10th place on the Mount's all-time list.
2019 RECAP: Mount St. Mary's looks to continue the momentum generated by last season's success. In 2019, the Mount won 26 games, the second-best mark in program history. The Mountaineers advanced to the Northeast Conference Tournament for the first time since 2006, and posted their first NEC Tournament win since 1995, a 4-3 victory over Sacred Heart. The Mount returns a trio of All-NEC performers in Kaylee Stoner (1st Team in the outfield), Amanda Berkley (2nd Team at pitcher) and Shelbee Holcomb (2nd Team in the outfield).
HEAD COACH ANNA NAGRO: Nagro begins her 10th season at the helm of the Mount softball program, the longest tenure by a head coach in the history of the program. Last season, she guided the Mount to 26 wins, the second-most in program history. Mount St. Mary's advanced to the Northeast Conference Tournament for the first time since 2006, and posted their first NEC Tournament win, a 4-3 victory over Sacred Heart, since 1995. Her 156 coaching victories are the most in program history.
UP NEXT: The Mount heads to the GWU Softball Tournament hosted by Gardner-Webb on Feb. 22-23. The Mountaineers will face Northern Kentucky, Eastern Illinois and Gardner-Webb (twice).
