PREVIEW: REGIS COLLEGE SOFTBALL TO COMPETE IN TOUGH WEEK OF GAMES

WESTON, Mass.—The Regis College softball team will face three tough opponents this week, one with a respectable 9-5 overall record, while the other two are 6-10 and 5-11, respectively. Regis College (1-16, 0-6 TCCC) will host the conference’s top seed, the University of New England (9-5, 4-0 TCCC) Wednesday. Saturday it will travel to Roger Williams (5-11, 4-0 TCCC), and then to Curry College (6-10, 3-3 TCCC) on Sunday.

All three The Commonwealth Coast Conference opponents are in the top seven in conference standings. The Nor’easters of UNE are certain to be a tough opponent. Four players have a batting average above .400, with Ashley Gott having the conference’s third best batting average at .467. In 44 at bats, Gott has 23 hits, 16 runs, and a team-high five doubles.

Pitcher Erin Lyons has a position best 1.29 ERA and 3-2 record. Teammates Amber Zablowsky and Julie Bigelow have ERAs or 2.48 and 3.10, respectively. Defensively, Megan Gauger has a team-high 58 putouts and fielding percentage of .949. Gott has 44 putouts and a slightly higher percentage at .982.

The Nor’easters have caught seven stealing, and have a solid infield to make the Pride think twice about taking extra bases secretly.

Curry, which Regis will face Saturday, is similar to UNE in terms of its defensive stand. As a team, the Colonels have turned five double plays, and put opponents in a position to leave 91 runners on base. Curry has four pitchers at its disposal, with Jennifer Lundstrom having the best ERA (2.52) and record (3-1). She has had eight appearances, and five starts. Janelle Mayo has the second best ERA (4.00), but a 0-5 record.

Lundstrom has walked 10 batters, not given up any homeruns, and thrown 36 strikeouts in 33.1 innings pitched.

Offensively, Heather Carrier has 10 runs batted in, a team-high, and .327 batting average for Curry. Six players are batting better than .300 that have appeared in at least 10 games this season. Mikaela Carney has two doubles as well as Stacy Norton.

Roger Williams has a slightly more aggressive batting rotation. Hannah Pirez has smacked four homeruns, four doubles, a triple, and a team-high 15 runs batted in, with a .341 batting average. Teammates Erica Castro, Sarah Grill, and Lauren Tierney have all hit at least three doubles this year. Pirez also has the Hawks’ best slugging percentage (.780).

Defensively, pitchers Jaclyn Doolin and Kelly marcin have an even record of 8-8, with Doolin having the slightly better ERA of 2.98. Marcin has an ERA of 7.29.

Regis College is led by Kara Donovan and Hope Benjamin offensively. Donovan has a team’s best .408 batting average. Benjamin, leader in homeruns (3), has a .364 batting average.

Either is capable of having a respectable day at the plate given their pitch comes down the pipe. Both are powerful hitters, and drive the ball where they need it to go. Teammate Rachel Cavella is another hitter that appears early in the batting order. Cavella has a .310 average.

As a team, Regis College is batting just .238 overall, and .211 against conference teams. With three upcoming conference games such a batting average could be a problem for Regis to score runs. Against TCCC opponents Regis College has scored just 11 runs, and 38 runs against 11 non-conference opponents.

The Pride has had a tough time fielding in some areas. Donovan, Cavella, and Benjamin have been solid, committing few errors, but forced throws have led to runs scored on mistakes.

Freshman catcher Alex Manavas has shown a glimpse of potential as she matures within the system. She has been smart with the ball and keeping it in front of her. As well, she is smart about holding runners on base. Offensively, Manavas has been helpful at the plate, and will develop her swing as the season progresses.

UNE will be by far the Pride’s toughest games, and the other two, if played well, could be split decisions, as those games are doubleheaders.