Softball faces FDU in Sunday doubleheader

GAME INFORMATION
Bryant University (12-11, 4-0 Northeast Conference) at Fairleigh Dickinson (13-10, 0-2 Northeast Conference)* as of 4/01/11

Sunday, April 3, 2011 – 2/4 p.m.
Teaneck, N.J. – FDU Softball field
Live Stats

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University softball team (12-11, 4-0 NEC) heads into conference action this weekend against Fairleigh Dickinson (13-10, 0-2 NEC) riding a seven-game winning streak. The Bulldogs have started league play 4-0 in 2011 after sweeping both Saint Francis (PA) and Wagner College this past weekend.

Scouting Bryant

The Bulldogs are coming off a sweep over Albany, in which the Bulldogs won 8-0 and 5-2 in games one and two, respectively. Bryant, picked to finish tied for ninth in the NEC Coaches Preseason Poll, has turned heads around the league with a 4-0 start to the team's conference schedule. The Black and Gold started the season with a thrilling 16-15 win over Utah Valley at the Texas Tech Tournament in Lubbock, Texas but stumbled after with 10 loses in the next eleven games. The Bulldogs put a halt to the losing skid and responded with 10 wins in the next eleven outings to move to 12-11 on the season.

Bryant set a new high for wins in Division I (12) against the Great Danes on Tuesday, just one day after freshman Kendall Corder (Carmichael, Calif.) made history in receiving the team's first-ever NEC Player of the Week award.

In the circle, Bryant's one-two punch of Samantha Houseal (Mount Joy, Pa.) and Brittany Hart (North Andover, Mass.) has paved the way for the team's success, as both starters have each won their last three starts. Houseal has posted a team-best 2.61 ERA in 12 appearances with 58 strikeouts, while issuing 26 walks in 69.2 innings of work. Hart has appeared in 14 games and posted a 3.76 ERA throughout 63.1 innings.

In the batters' box, Bryant has a quartet of players batting above .300 through the first 23 games. Corder aside, Aubrey Mable (Aurora, Colo.), Lauren McCart (Voorhees, N.J.) and Regina Burdo (Wayne, Pa) each have at least 15 hits and 10 RBIs in 2011. In what's turning to be an extremely deep lineup, the freshmen have made major contributions to the early success. Freshman Aubrey Mable is leading the team in several statistical categories, including average (.388), hits (19) and doubles (7). Fellow freshmen Lauren Guy (La Habra, Calif.), Taylor Bell (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Corder have collectively recorded 31 hits and 29 of the team's 100 RBI's this season.

Scouting the Knights

Fairleigh Dickinson enters the weekend 13-10 overall and 0-2 in Northeast Conference action following a sweep by Robert Morris last weekend. The Knights hoist Central Connecticut on Saturday before playing the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.

FDU, picked to finish last in the 2011 NEC Coaches Preseason Poll, finished 16-34 overall and 6-14 in league action. The Knights are in third place for team batting average (.275), one point above the Bulldogs (.274) and have registered the best team-ERA through the first 21 games (2.53) in the NEC.

Freshman Berkleigh Massey is pacing the Knight lineup with a 3.58 batting average including 16 RBIs and 4 doubles. Massey's on base percentage of .394 is more than the team's .345 mark and her four home runs are leading the squad.

In the circle, FDU's Maire Shaughnessy is leading the league with a 1.62 ERA and has picked up four wins in nine total starts. Shaughnessy is holding opposing batters to a mere .207 batting average and has struckout 30 batters in 57.1 innings of work.

Three up… Three Down

- Bryant has registered 18 home runs so far in 2011, surpassing the previous team-high in Division I of 16 in 2009.

- The Bulldogs have already matched their 2010 NEC win total (4) after the first weekend of league action, as the Black and Gold will have a chance to set a new-high for wins against conference opponents this Sunday. Bryant went 4-5 against league foes in the 2009 campaign.

- The all-time series between FDU and Bryant is tied, 2-2, as both teams have won once away from home.

- Both FDU and Bryant have scored a total of 16 runs each ater the first four games of the series.

- Bryant finished the month of March 11-7, eight more wins than the team earned during the month in the 2010 season.

- Bryant's lineup has been highly efficient this season, recording 117 runs on 156 hits. The Bulldogs nearly score a run every two hits (1.3hits/run).