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| Katy Hackett |
Charlotte: The 49ers went 3-1 on the weekend and may have been a pitch or two away from going 4-0. In this weekend of chaos in conference play Charlotte ended up on the better half of it. Katy Hackett was stellar all weekend long. Hackett lost 1-0 to UMass on Friday, before bouncing back to throw 14 innings in a win over the Minutewomen on Saturday and she closed out the weekend with a win over Rhode Island on Sunday. In the final game of the weekend Charlotte battled with Rhode Island before finally pulling away to win 5-4 in the bottom of the 7th. Tenaya Tucker, Kalie Lang, and Briana Gwaltney all had solid weekends at the plate and the 49ers need every bit of offense this weekend as Charlotte was involved in 3 one-run games this weekend. Charlotte is still a little vulnerable when Katy Hackett is not in the circle, but Katie Watkins and Kalie Lang seem to be getting better with every outing.
Dayton: The Flyers went 2-2 in Philadelphia, but they had a pretty darn good 2-2 weekend and I think they opened the eyes of some other teams in the A10. The Flyers bounced back Friday after dropping the first game of the double header to St. Joseph's by jumping out to an 8-0 lead before hanging on to win 8-4. That was a bit of a shocking result, as the Hawks came into that matchup heavily favored. Dayton really got going Sunday against Temple belting 9 HR over the two games, including 7 HR in game 1. Dayton has not shown this sort of firepower in a long time and I think it really sent the rest of the A10 a message. Dayton could not come back from the deficit they spotted the Owls in game 2, but they came fairly close. Lauren Nacke, Brandy Brown, and Megan Barrett all hit 2 HR on Sunday. I am really curious to see if the Flyers can keep it going at the plate. In the circle, Dayton just needs to keep the damage to a minimum. The Flyers' pitchers are not going to strikeout a lot of batters, instead they need to focus on keeping hitters off balance and limiting baserunners.
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| Nicole Callahan |
Fordham: Well, the Rams up and down season continued on Sunday with a split at St. Louis and they cannot seem to find any sort of rhythm. I don't know if they are pressing too much at the plate or what, but this does not look like a Fordham offense right now. Coach Orchard's squads have been known for their aggressive approaches at the plate, unfortunately that confidence is just not there. The good thing is that the Rams have plenty of time to figure things out, as right now there isn't really a favorite in the A10. At the plate, Jocelyn Dearborn and Nicole Callahan have been the only consistent producers and they are going to need some help. I just want to see this squad relax a bit and start letting loose with its swings. In the circle, Chelsea Plimpton and Jen Mineau have pitched well enough to win almost every game this year. With this combo, Fordham will always be in the hunt. Mineau is having a very good year, even though it is not quite as good as last year's she is still a dominant force in the circle. Chelsea Plimpton has really excelled this year with more innings and she threw a great game on Sunday against St. Louis. If Plimpton and Mineau can get just 3 runs a game, I think they could win the A10 regular season title, but that is just my take on it.
George Washington: The Colonials came through and swept St. Bonaventure on Saturday and they are the only undefeated team after week 1 in the A10. George Washington beat the Bonnies 6-3 and 5-4 and Kara Clauss picked up both wins in the circle. I said in my preview how Clauss needed to have a big weekend and she did not disappoint, as she allowed just 3 ER in 10 IP, while striking out 14. Heidi Penna helped out by throwing 4 innings of her own. These two have really bought into Coach Schramm's philosophy and it has paid off. They have improved so much from last year and it is almost as if last year never happened. At the plate, I asked for a HR and I got it as Autumn Taylor went deep for the Colonials 1st longball of the year. The rest of the Colonials also did pretty well at the plate, including Lauren Wilson who went 3-4 with 3 RBI in game 1 and Chelsea Lenhart who was 1-2 with 2 RBI in game 2. The Colonials may not have the most talent in the A10, but they definitely seem to be getting the most out of what they do have. It will be interesting to see if they can keep it up against Dayton.
La Salle: This past weekend in St. Louis was the epitome of La Salle's season so far. The Explorers fought and battled, but in the end they just didn't quite have enough to pull out a win. DJ Guinn threw a very good game on Friday allowing just 5 hits and striking out 9, but the Billikens were able to push 1 run across to win the game. The Explorers only managed 3 hits against Kelcie Matesa and Liz Reed, Shannon Skomorucha, and Megan Hodgson picked up those hits. Then on Saturday, La Salle managed to get on the board with a run, unfortunately for them St. Louis scored 6 times. The Billikens came in with a much better game plan against DJ Guinn and were able to touch her up for 4 runs. Kristen Paoletti came into the game to relieve Guinn and she did not allow any ER, but she does need to cut down on her walks in the circle. La Salle was able to grab 4 hits and score 1 run, but they are going to need to do better than that. Heather Brabazon had 2 hits and Ali Shepherd and Kristen Paoletti added the other hits. Hopefully the Explorers can get things going on Tuesday against St. Peter's. La Salle really needs at least one of those games moving forward.
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| Lindsey Webster |
UMass: The Minutewomen went 1-1 in Charlotte this past weekend and suffered its 1st loss in conference play since a 5-4 loss to Fordham on May 3rd, 2009. On Friday, Sara Plourde was sharp in the circle throwing a 3-hitter with 8 SO and Audrey Boutin provided enough offense with her solo HR, as UMass won 1-0. On Saturday, nothing seemed to go right for the Minutewomen, but they still almost won the game. UMass was not sharp in any facet of the game and it showed. At the plate, the Minutewomen were not patient and Katy Hackett really had them on edge which led to some poor swings and outs. Sara Plourde was not especially sharp and had some trouble finding the zone at times and she did not help her own cause with an error that led to a run. One positive for UMass was the way this team was able to battle back when they were down 2-1 to take the lead, but unfortunately they could not hold on. The Minutewomen of this year don't seem to have that "UMass swagger" that other A10 teams had come to fear. This team is very young and they really need to figure things out at the plate if they want to turn things around. However, despite the struggles this team is still in the hunt.
Rhode Island: The Rams have to be disappointed after this weekend, first the Rams were swept at USC Upstate, then they were swept at Charlotte to open up conference play. There weren't many highlights from the double header with USC Upstate other than maybe the fact that URI held them to only 4 runs in one game and that they were not no-hit by Morgan Childers in the other. In game 1, Jocelyn Mattison and Shelby Marquis both went deep off of Katy Hackett to bring home URI's runs. Freshmen Fallon Scorpio and Charlotte Conaway also tallied hits for the Rams. In game 2, the Rams actually out hit Charlotte 10 to 5, unfortunately for the Rams the run totals were not correlated to the hit totals. Stacey Fox, Kelly Coker, and Conaway all had multi hit games and Brittany Julich also got in on the action with a hit and RBI. Allison Hartzell through a solid game, but she absolutely has to cut down on the walks. 7 walks in the circle is just now going to get it done. It could be another tough weekend for the Rams down in Philly so hopefully they can right things in the circle.
St. Bonaventure: The Bonnies definitely had their chances against George Washington, but they could not close it out. Jen Sansano was out once again due to some extenuating circumstances and I think the Bonnies missed her presence out in the circle. St. Bonaventure was in control of game 1 before the Colonials fought their way back in erasing a 4-0 deficit. These were two games that St. Bonaventure really needed to have and it puts them in a bit of a hole moving forward. On offense, Ashley Snider went 2-3 with a HR and 2 RBI in game 1 and Maureen Wells and Kara Morenus also came through with multi-hit games, but it wasn't enough. The Bonnies needed more runs, but they are much improved at the plate, which should be taken into account. Those two losses may loom over the Bonnies the rest of the year, as they will be battling conference rivals and weather the rest of the way. I think first and foremost this squad needs to get healthy and I think the importance of that cannot be understated.
St. Joseph's: The Hawks went 1-1 on the weekend, splitting a doubleheader with Dayton on Friday. Erin Gallagher was on her game for game 1, tossing a 5-hit shutout of the Flyers. Then Dayton broke out the bats when Gallagher went out in the circle for game 2, putting up 3 runs on her and knocking her out of the game and in the next inning the Flyers added 5 more off of Taryn Ashway and Lauren Pembleton. Even though the Hawks went down early, they battled and put 10 hits on the board. Dana Parks and Monica Aguilar continued to hit the ball well and Rochelle Christman also had a solid game 2. In game 1, Maria Ficca and Dana Parks both hit triples to get things going for the Hawks. St. Joe's also got RBI from Parks, Aguilar, and Laura Cardone. One thing that the Hawks need to work on moving forward is defense, as they committed 5 errors over over the two games. The Hawks are also missing Dana Bienek who has been a great leader out on the field, but this adversity is only making St. Joe's stronger.
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| Hannah Huebbe |
St. Louis: The Billikens went 3-1 on the weekend and definitely came out a winner. First the Billikens went out and took care of business against La Salle sweeping the games 1-0 and 6-1. That was exactly what the Billikens needed to do especially against a squad that has given them fits in the past. Then on Sunday the Billikens went toe to toe with Fordham, a squad that did not lose to an A10 team other than UMass last season. The Billikens came away not only with a split, but also the confidence that they could go toe to toe with this Fordham squad that advanced to regionals last year. Hannah Huebbe and Kelcie Matesa had great weekend and definitely showed that they are forces to be reckoned with. Matesa was flat out dominant against La Salle recording 13 strikeouts in a shutout win. Huebbe picked up the other win against La Salle, but against Fordham she brought her game to another level, firing a 3-hitter without allowing a single walk. If Huebbe and Matesa keep throwing like this St. Louis might be the favorites in the A10. On offense, the Billikens weren't great, but they were able to do enough.
Temple: The Owls split their double header with Dayton on Sunday losing the 1st game 13-4 and winning the 2nd 10-5. In game 1, Temple could not keep the Flyers in the ballpark, as Dayton hit an astonishing 7 HR. Kristen Marris and Kylie Kristovich were not sharp with their pitches and the Dayton hitters made them pay. At the plate, Temple was able to score 4 runs on 7 hits, but they may need to be even more productive. In game 2 the offense broke out of its shell a little, scoring 10 runs on 12 hits. Gina Sciarrone and Devynne Nelons both went deep and Kristen Marris, Samantha Schoell, and Christina Sykora all had multi hit games. Every starter in the Owls lineup scored a hit and if they can do that moving forward this may be a good year for the Owls in the A10. One of the best parts about Fordham's win was the way Brooklin White threw in the circle. White kept the Flyers off balance, but she does need to cut down on the free passes moving forward. Temple will have another big A10 weekend with UMass and URI coming to town.
