Blue Hens To Play Four Games at Hampton Lady Pirate Classic This Weekend
March 7, 2013
File Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell
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HAMPTON, Va. -- The University of Delaware softball team will compete in its fourth tournament of the season this weekend as the Blue Hens will play four games at the Lady Pirate Classic hosted by Hampton University.
Delaware opens play at the tournament with a 12 noon game against Canisius on Friday, before taking on Siena at 8 a.m. on Saturday. The Blue Hens will then play two games on Sunday, battling the host Pirates at 11 a.m. before facing Maryland Eastern Shore at 1 p.m. All games will take place at the Lady Pirates Softball Stadium.
The Blue Hens, whose 10-3 start is the program’s best since 1982, have won 10 of their first 13 games for just the fourth time in program history. Freshman centerfielder Hannah George leads Delaware with a CAA-best .406 batting average this season, while rookie second baseman Tori Conrad is hitting .400 with a team-high 15 walks and leads the league with a .617 on base percentage.
Junior shortstop Michelle McKinnon batted .611 during last weekend’s action at the Norfolk State Spartan Classic to raise her average to .386 for the season, while sophomore Jessica Grisler is hitting .383 with team-highs of 18 hits and 10 runs scored. Delaware, which has a .315 team batting average so far, has already posted 11 home runs on the year, with seven different Blue Hens hitting a longball.
A pair of freshmen have also led the Blue Hens in the circle, as Taylor Curran is 2-1 with a 1.58 earned run average while Kiersten Coffman has won all four of her decisions while recording a 2.01 ERA.
Canisius has opened its season with seven wins in its first eight games, including four victories at the North Carolina A&T Invitational on Feb. 24-25. Stephanie Pfentner is hitting an impressive .667 for the Golden Griffins, who have outscored their opponents by a 61-23 margin this far. Amanda Baun is 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA in the circle for Canisius, while Jen Consaul is 4-1 with a 1.27 earned run average.
Siena is 0-3 on the young season after dropping a three-game series at East Tennessee State two weeks ago. Jessika-Jo Sandrini and Stephanie Viggiano each led the Saints attack by finishing 4 for 9 in their opening series, while four other Siena players added two hits apiece.
Hampton is just 8-11 on the season, but the Pirates have won seven of their last 10 games following a 1-8 start. Margaret Wilkins is hitting .419 with team-highs of 26 hits and 11 runs scored to pace Hampton, while Bobbi Langlois is hitting .375 on the year. Jailynn Jackson is 6-4 with a 2.75 earned run average in the circle to lead the Pirates pitching staff.
UMES is 3-8 this year, and has dropped eight consecutive games after opening the season with three wins. Jasmine James is batting a team-high .379 for the Hawks and has scored 11 runs, while Vanessa Gomez is hitting .368 with 14 hits on the season.
Delaware is 2-4 against Canisius, and the teams have not played since splitting two games in 2009. Siena won the only previous meeting with the Blue Hens, a 5-4 win also during the 2009 season. UD is 3-0 versus Hampton including a pair of wins in 2011, while the Blue Hens defeated UMES, 13-2, in the teams’ only prior meeting also in 2011.
Following this weekend’s action, the Blue Hens return home to host the second annual Delaware Spring Invitational on Mar. 15-17 in their first home games of the season.
