Softball Opens Weekend Set with Saint Anselm Thursday
WARRIORS SET FOR THREE-GAME SERIES AT SAINT A'S THURSDAY (3PM) / SATURDAY (12/2PM)
Links: Live Stats
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – A winner of four straight while sitting in fourth place in the Northeast Division standings, the Merrimack College softball team travels to Manchester, N.H., to open up a three-game, two-day weekend series with Saint Anselm on Thursday afternoon starting at 3 p.m.
The Basics
Date/Time: Thursday/Saturday, April 17/19, 2014 | 3 p.m. / 12 p.m.
Records: Merrimack (14-16, 7-5 NE-10) | Saint Anselm (16-9, 8-5 NE-10)
Location: South Athletic Field | Manchester, N.H.
Last Time Out: Perry, Finigan Power Softball to 5-1 Win vs. Bentley Monday
Backed by an impressive start on the mound by sophomore Alexis Perry and a timely two-RBI double from rookie Kaleigh Finigan, Merrimack moved into fourth place in the Northeast Division thanks to a 5-1 home victory against rival Bentley on Monday afternoon at the Warrior Softball Diamond.
Aside from a solo home run yielded in the top of the third inning, Perry gave the Warriors plenty of support from the mound on Monday while her offense capitalized on a pair of Bentley miscues to build an early lead before Finigan put the game out of reach with a key double in the bottom of the sixth.
Perry finished with four strikeouts while allowing seven hits and just one run to improve to 7-6 on the year, while Finigan led all players with two RBI.
From the full recap from Monday, please click here!
Last Season vs. Saint Anselm
Merrimack and Saint Anselm played four times in 2013, with the Hawks coming up victorious in three of them, including 2-of-3 Northeast Division games.
Merrimack and Saint A's split a doubleheader on April 21, 2013, with the Warriors coming out on top in Game 1 (5-4) before the Hawks came back to split the afternoon with a 13-8 decision in Game 2. (Recap)
The next time the two teams met, Merrimack was edged, 4-2, in the first of two games on April 26 before falling in the fourth and final game of 2013 by a 3-2 margin. (Recap)
The Warriors:
- Are riding a season-high four-game winning streak and sit in fourth place in the Northeast Division by 1-1/2 games over Bentley, who has three games in hand against the Warriors
- Bat .286 overall (5th/NE-10) with 40 doubles (4th) and 20 homers (3rd), as well as league-best 39 stolen bases; defensively, own 4.9 staff ERA (11th) and .291 average against (11th)
- Freshman Kaleigh Finigan leads team with .405 batting average and 13 RBI, while senior Jaclyn Giovannini owns team-best five homers and classmate Jessica Fugazzotto's 13 stolen bases rank third in the conference
- Freshman Haley Currie (NE-10 Pitcher of the Week) owns team-best 2.90 ERA over 96 2/3 innings with team-best 76 strikeouts
The Hawks:
- Since the start of April, are 8-3 over their last 11 games but dropped a pitcher's duel against first-place Southern New Hampshire yesterday afternoon
- Sitting in third place in the Northeast Division but still have 14 divisional games to play
- Bat just .231 as a team (14th/NE-10) but boast second-best staff ERA in NE-10 (2.32)
- Starting pitcher Tayla Trask owns league-best 0.72 ERA in the circle while Nicole Boucher's is a dual threat in power and speed with five homers (4th/NE-10) and 16 stolen bases (1st)
Up Next
After the weekend, the Warriors will turn their sights to the last weekend of the regular season, where they will first host Stonehill on Monday (April 21) in a makeup doubleheader beginning at 3:30 p.m. at the Warrior Softball Diamond.
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