Weekend Recap

Charlotte: The 49ers had an okay weekend going 2-2 at Winthrop's Adidas Invitational. Katy Hackett has just been so steady in the circle for Coach DeVos and she was on her game once again this weekend. Hackett finished with a 1-1 record and a 0.43 ERA and 11 SO in her two games. Hackett has been a rock in a circle for the 49ers and she will need to stay on her game with the upcoming matchups against UMass and Rhode Island. In the weekend preview, I mentioned the development of Katie Watkins and she did not disappoint this weekend. Watkins went 1-1 and she recorded that win in shutout fashion against Towson. She threw a 1-hitter and struck out 8 in 6 innings of work and this is an excellent sign moving forward. At the plate, Tenaya Tucker and Jalisa Rock continued to hit the ball well. Briana Gwaltney added another HR and Kendra McCall continued to wreak havoc at the top of the order and they will need to keep that up with UMass coming to town. Those four will need some help from the rest of the lineup because A10 play is going to be very intense this year.

Jamie LaBovick

Fordham: The Rams still have one game to come against Virginia tomorrow, but it has been a very good weekend thus far. Fordham broke out the bats with 9 HR after coming into the weekend with a paltry total. Coach Orchard is probably very relieved and the Rams are at their best when they are loose at the plate and that finally seems to be the case. Jocelyn Dearborn is tearing it up at the plate and she has gotten some help, as Beckah Wiggins and Chelsea Palumbo have heated up at the plate. In the circle, Chelsea Plimpton continues to be the steadying force, while Jen Mineau's health remains uncertain. Mineau has seen limited action so far this year, but the way she has been used this weekend has me a little concerned moving forward. Fordham doesn't need Mineau to pitch in every game, but they do need innings from her as Plimpton can only throw so many innings. Jamie LaBovick will be called on to throw more innings and on Sunday against Princeton she finally made her return to the circle. LaBovick's work in the circle will be crucial to the future success of the Rams since there are so many questions surrounding Mineau.


George Washington: The Colonials went 1-4 on the weekend and they now face a crucial juncture in their season: how do they bounce back from this weekend and can they avoid a tailspin like they experienced last year? The offense, which improved so much from last year all but disappeared this past weekend. The pitching staff did not do a bad job, as they kept earned runs to a minimum, unfortunately the defense was not always there behind them, including one game with a 5 error catastrophe. Kara Clauss and Heidi Penna are pitching well enough to win, but they need support from the rest of the team if the Colonials want to win. At the plate, George Washington is also suffering from the power outage which has plagued the rest of the A10 at times this year. Autumn Taylor, Katie Terrazas, and Chelsea Lenhart are doing well at the plate, but can they get some help? With A10 play coming up, GW needs to return to its winning way, as they have a crucial series with St. Bonaventure coming up.


La Salle: It was a long week for the Explorers in Florida, but I saw some very promising signs, most notably the fight in this team against Boston University and Radford. La Salle got off to a poor start against Radford, but they kept fighting and they did a good job of getting runners on base. Towards the end of the game they finally seemed to find their rhythm offensively, but it was just a little too late. Laura Beth McCreesh and DJ Guinn did a nice job in relief and really slowed down an offense that looked like it was on its way to a run-rule win. Then against BU, La Salle jumped on the Terriers early, but unfortunately they could not quite hold on. I liked the aggressiveness that La Salle showed, but they need to close out games like that in the future. I was a little disappointed at the way the rest of the weekend went following Friday. The Explorers are going to need to fight and grit their way to wins and come A10 play they are going to need to pull out all the stops.

Caroline Raymond

UMass: The Minutewomen finally got back on track this weekend, but they are still a work in progress. Sara Plourde was practically unhittable in the 1st four games this weekend, but she may have tired out in the last game, as she was pulled pretty early against St. John's. That is a slight concern moving forward, but she should see less work once conference play starts. One positive of the weekend was Caroline Raymond out of the bullpen. Raymond saw a few innings this weekend and they went much better than her debut in California. She is a very athletic pitcher and with some more work she could be a force. Lindsey Webster entered the lineup this weekend in left field and left as the Minutewomen's top hitter. Webster really solidified the top of UMass' order and she did it all this weekend with sacrifices, extra-base hits, and singles. The rest of the team improved at the plate as well, but they still have a long ways to go. It all starts with quality at-bats and right now UMass just needs to slow things down at the plate. This team is going to be very tough in A10 play as usual, but they are definitely vulnerable.


St. Bonaventure: The Bonnies bounced back after a tough trip to Hawaii and were able to go 3-2 in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was not the easiest weekend for St. Bonaventure, as they dealt with a bout of the flu, but they battled and came through with a winning weekend. Diana Phalon had a great weekend in the circle picking up two wins and Erin Nargi was solid as well. The Bonnies were shorthanded, as Jen Sansano was out with the flu. All in all, St. Bonaventure did a really nice job in the circle this weekend. At the plate, St. Bonaventure must have read the blog because they hit some long balls this weekend, finishing the weekend with 9 HR. They really stepped it up at the plate led by Sophomore Jessenia Andujar who is hitting a scorching .480 right now. Nothing would make me happier than seeing this squad keep up this pace at the plate. Clearly, the work they did in the offseason is paying off. When Kristin Sullivan and Jen Sansano return they could be even better.


St. Joseph's: The Hawks cooled down a little bit this weekend only going 2-3, but two of those games went into extra innings. Erin Gallagher did a nice job in the circle and she pitched well enough to win in both extra inning games. Gallagher was on her game against St. John's, as she did got groundout after groundout and the Red Storm could not make solid contact against her. If she pitches like this moving forward the Hawks are going to be tough to beat. Taryn Ashway did a nice job in relief of Gallagher and they are looking like a formidable combo going into A10 play. I really like the top of the Hawks' order with Dana Parks, Laura Cardone, and Bernadette Moran starting things off, but I want to see a little more power behind them. Monica Aguilar is having a great year, but she needs some support behind her. Teams are beginning to pitch around her a little so the hitters behind her will need to start protecting her in the lineup. St. Joe's has a big weekend coming up and if the bats get going it could be a very enjoyable one.

Hannah Huebbe

St. Louis: The Billikens went out west and had some rather disappointing results only going 2-3 against some rather lackluster competition. St. Louis was able to beat Harvard and North Dakota, which a positive for the weekend, but in their two losses the Billikens were not even really competitive. St. Louis was doomed by walks in the circle, which could be a big problem moving forward. Another problem this weekend was the anemic offense, which only put up 9 runs in 5 games and 5 of those runs came in one game. Rachel Faletto is still leading the way at the plate, but her supporting cast has cooled down a bit. Kristin Nicoletti on the other hand is heating up and she has finally pushed her average over .300. Nicoletti is a great table setter and when she is on her game she gets things going. St. Louis needs to tune up some things in the circle and at the plate going into conference play. St. Louis has a good pitching staff, but they need to be a sharper pitching staff. At the plate, the Billikens need quality at-bats and they need to get on base so their speed can come into play.


Temple: Well the Rebel Games served as an opportunity to bounce back from a tough weekend at Disney and they did a fair job of that. Temple went 5-3 over its 8 games in Kissimmee. The Owls got that offense going again, as they put up 7 runs or more in half the contests, including two run-rule victories to close out their stay. In the circle, Kristen Marris and Brooklin White are leading the way, but they got some much needed help from Kylie Kristovich this week. Temple needs these three pitchers and Crystal Nyman to be sharp heading into conference play. Temple has the offense to make the A10 tournament, but they cannot have all that pressure put on them. Stephanie Pasquale and Christina Sykora are leading the way along with Rachel Knable and Kristen Marris. The Owls do need some of their other hitters to start hitting the ball with a big A10 weekend coming up against Dayton.