Softball Hosts Fairfield On Wednesday At 3:30 PM
Fairfield University (18-13, 3-1 MAAC)
Wednesday, April 13, 2011 - 3:30 p.m.
Quinnipiac Softball Field - Hamden, Conn.
Quinnipiac Faces Fairfield At Home
The Quinnipiac University softball team (22-16, 6-2 NEC) hosts Fairfield (18-13, 3-1 MAAC) in a non-conference match-up on Wednesday, April 13 at 3:30 p.m. at the Quinnipiac Softball Field in Hamden, Conn. The Bobcats enter the game after sweeping Bryant in a Northeast Conference doubleheader on Sunday, while the Stags look for their eighth-straight win on Wednesday.
Follow Your Bobcats Live
Live stats and audio for Wednesday's contest will be available by clicking on the appropriate links on the official website of Quinnipiac Athletics, www.QuinnipiacBobcats.com.
Scouting Fairfield
At 18-13 overall, Fairfield enters Wednesday's game, since winning seven straight games. The Stags also post a 3-1 mark in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, after splitting two games with Iona College and sweeping Siena College in a doubleheader. Fairfield is led by Lauren Liseth, who posts a .347 batting average. Liseth leads the Stags in hits (33), doubles (9) and home runs (5), while Kristina Lingo has picked up 25 RBI and Kristen Filicia has scored a team-high 27 runs. Sarah Minice has posts an 8-5 record and 1.76 ERA this season. Minice leads Fairfield with 87 strikeouts and has held opponents to a .247 batting average.
All-Time Against The Stags
Quinnipiac holds an all-time record of 6-5 with Fairfield, dating back to 2003. In their most recent match-up, the Bobcats fell to the Stags, 6-1, at the Alumni Softball Field on April 7, 2011. Quinnipiac's Jacqueline Ristow scored the team's only run. Last season, the Bobcats went 1-2 with Fairfield as Quinnipiac won, 4-3, on March 20, and lost in two contests later in the year.
Last Time Out
On Sunday, April 10, the Bobcats swept Bryant on the road in a NEC doubleheader, 4-2 and 6-3. With the victories, Quinnipiac improved to a 6-2 mark in conference play and at first place in the NEC standings, alongside Central Connecticut State. The Bobcats' Jacqueline Ristow went 3-for-7 against the Bulldogs, scored one run and picked up a team-high 3 RBI. In addition, freshman Jordan Paolucci went 3-for-6 with two runs scored and a RBI. Juniors Mina Duffy and Christy Cabrera each went 2-for-6, while Cabrera also scored a team-high three runs and drove in two runs for the Bobcats.
Extra Innings
Quinnipiac split a pair of NEC contests against Wagner on Saturday, April 9. In game one, the Bobcats lost 4-3 in a meeting that lasted 15 innings. As the scoreboard read 2-2 entering the seventh inning, both teams could not score and the game was forced into extra innings. Quinnipiac and Wagner each put up a run in the 10th, but it would be the Seahawks who would score the winning run in the bottom of the 15th. Mina Duffy led the Bobcats in the loss as she went 3-for-6 with a run scored. Quinnipiac went on to beat Wagner, 11-1, across six innings in game two.
Double-Digit Scoring
In the second match-up against Wagner last weekend, Quinnipiac put up a season-high 11 runs against the Seahawks, defeating them by 10 runs, 11-1. The Bobcats' were led by shortstop Alex Alba who went 3-for-4, scored three runs and drove in a run. Quinnipiac's Jordan Paolucci went 2-for-4 and scored three runs, while Kim Brzezinski went 2-for-3 and picked up one run and two RBI. Freshman Katie Alfiere led Quinnipiac from inside the circle as she picked up her third win of the year. Alfiere pitched six innings and only allowed three hits and one run.
Rookies Rule
Freshman Jordan Paolucci picked up her first career NEC weekly accolade as she was named the softball Akadema/NEC Rookie of the Week on Monday, April 11. Paolucci started in all five of Quinnipiac's games last week and helped the team pick up three conference wins over the weekend. Paolucci led all Bobcats with a .500 batting average, a .571 on base percentage and a .944 slugging percentage. The rookie went 9-for-18, scored a team-high six runs and drove in three runs for Quinnipiac. Paolucci also hit two home runs, increasing her season total to eight, and added two stolen bases against Wagner.
Keeping Up With Kim
Senior Kim Brzezinski hit her first home run of the 2011 season in the Bobcats' 6-3 win against Bryant. With the scoreboard tied at three runs apiece, Brzezinski led off the sixth inning with a homer to take a 4-3 lead over the Bulldogs. The Bobcats' went on to add two more runs in the inning, picking up their second victory of the day.
Schwartzburg In The Spotlight
Heather Schwartzburg has made 24 appearances and 18 starts this season for the Bobcats. She currently holds a 14-7 record, with three saves, and has picked up 187 strikeouts across 142.2 innings on the year.
Schwartzburg has earned a 1.47 ERA and leads pitching across the NEC and NCAA. The right-handed junior was recently named Quinnipiac's March female Athlete of the Month for March and has picked up three Akadema/NEC Pitcher of the Week titles this season.
Leading Ladies
Freshman Jordan Paolucci leads all Bobcats in batting average (.337), slugging percentage (.563) and on base percentage (.492). Paolucci also leads the team with 27 runs, 19 RBI and eight home runs this year. In addition, second baseman Jacqueline Ristow leads Quinnipiac with 38 runs, while third baseman Bridget Figmic has posted eight doubles this season.
Stealing Bases
Sophomore Lauren Salgado leads Quinnipiac in stolen bases, with 12 on the year. Salgado has been successful on each of her 12 steal attempts this season.
Power At The Plate
Jordan Paolucci leads Quinnipiac with eight home runs in her freshman season. Paolucci has hit at least one home run in each of the Bobcats' four NEC doubleheaders this year. The freshman has hit four homers in the month of April alone.
What's Next For Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac returns to action when it plays Long Island and Central Connecticut State in back-to-back NEC doubleheaders this weekend at the Quinnipiac Softball Field. The Bobcats will host Long Island on Saturday, April 16 starting at 1 p.m. and will face Central Connecticut State on Sunday, April 17 beginning at noon.