February 28, 2012

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Quinnipiac University Softball Homepage
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Quinnipiac University Bobcats (4-0, 0-0 NEC) at
Manhattan College Jaspers (0-0, 0-0 MAAC)
February 29, 2012 – 2 p.m. (Doubleheader)
Gaelic Park – Riverdale, N.Y.

QU Travels To Manhattan
The Quinnipiac University softball team (4-0) travels to play a doubleheader at Manhattan College on Wednesday, Feb. 29 in Riverdale, N.Y. The Bobcats take on the Jaspers after opening the season with four wins at the Longwood Spring Classic, while Manhattan begins its 2012 campaign in Wednesday’s two-game tilt. Non-conference action begins at 2 p.m. at Gaelic Park.

Multimedia
Live stats will be available for Wednesday’s games by clicking on the appropriate links on the softball schedule on the Official Website of Quinnipiac Athletics, www.QuinnipiacBobcats.com.

Scouting Manhattan
The Jaspers open their season against the Bobcats on Wednesday. Last year, Manhattan finished the 2011 season with an overall record of 25-23. The Jaspers finished second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) with a 12-4 mark in league play. The Jaspers are guided by head coach Tom Pardalis, who enters his third season with Manhattan. The team has lost eight starters, but returns 10 letterwinners and three starters from last year’s squad. Last season, Kate Bowen led the Jaspers with a .336 batting average and 40 hits as she tallied 25 RBI and scored 21 runs in her rookie campaign. Manhattan also returns junior Jen Keller, who contributed 25 hits, 13 runs and 14 RBI last year. The Jaspers were recently selected to finish seventh in the 2012 MAAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

All-Time Against The Jaspers
Quinnipiac holds an all-time record of 6-2 with Manhattan. The Bobcats swept the Jaspers in a doubleheader last year, while QU split two games against the non-conference foe in March of 2005 in Miami, Fla. Quinnipiac is undefeated against Manhattan at home, 4-0.

Last Year Against Manhattan
Last season, the Bobcats swept the Jaspers in a doubleheader played at the QU Softball Field on March 27, 2011. QU defeated Manhattan, 5-2 and 10-9, in eight innings. Quinnipiac’s Jordan Paolucci was 4-for-7 with two home runs and six runs batted in against the Jaspers, while Heather Schwartzburg earned a win from the mound as she struck out 11 batters on the afternoon.

A Great Start
The Bobcats went undefeated in its opening weekend at the Longwood Spring Classic on Feb. 25-26. QU swept each of its opponents, including Iona and Saint Peter’s, in a pair of non-conference games. Quinnipiac defeated Iona, 2-0 and 4-3, and Saint Peter’s 14-1 in a five-inning contest and 11-3 in six innings.

Homerun Hitter
Senior Mina Duffy led the Bobcats as she went 6-for-11 with five runs and a team-leading 10 RBI at the Longwood tournament. As the designated hitter, Duffy also had three homeruns on the weekend, including a grand slam against Saint Peter’s. The Piedmont, Calif. Native collected a total of 15 bases across four starts for the Bobcats.

Perfect Pitching
Quinnipiac’s Heather Schwartzburg and Katie Alfiere each earned two wins at the Longwood Spring Classic last weekend. Each Bobcat made two appearances and combined for 21 innings. Together, they allowed eight hits and struck out 20 batters. Opponents only scored four earned runs against all of Quinnipiac’s pitchers at the tournament, which also included Christy Cabrera and Mina Duffy.

Preseason Picks
The Bobcats were recently selected to finish second in the 2012 Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll, as announced by the league on Feb. 14. The defending NEC regular season champion Robert Morris was picked as the favorite to win this year’s title, as they received six first-place votes, while QU garnered three first-place nods. Last season’s NEC tournament champion Sacred Heart was tabbed third in the poll, while Bryant was chosen fourth, followed by LIU Brooklyn and Central Conn. St. in the fifth and sixth positions, respectively. Monmouth landed seventh as it received a first-place vote, while Fairleigh Dickinson was picked eight and Wagner followed in the ninth spot. Mount St. Mary’s and Saint Francis (Pa.) rounded out the field.

What’s Ahead For The Bobcats
Quinnipiac will compete in three tournaments throughout the month of March, including the USF Tournament in Tampa, Fla., the UC Riverside Tournament in Riverside Calif., and the SDSU Classic II in San Diego, Calif. After playing a pair of games at Harvard in late March, QU opens conference play at Mount St. Mary’s and Monmouth on March 25-26, prior to playing Massachusetts in a two-game tilt on March 28. The Bobcats face league foe Sacred Heart in their home opener on April 1.

Contact: Lindsay Oliveri, lmoliveri@quinnipiac.edu