TOURNAMENT: LMU/Muscle Milk Softball Invitational
DATES: Thursday, March 19-Monday, March 23
TEAMS: UC Riverside, Bethune-Cookman, Fairleigh Dickinson, Harvard, Loyola Marymount, Seattle
LOCATION: Los Angeles, Calif. (Smith Field)
Ten of the 14 Bethune-Cookman softball players will be making an appearance in their home state, as the Wildcats travel west to take part in the LMU/Muscle Milk Softball Invitational hosted by Loyola Marymount, Thursday, March 19 – Monday, March 23 in Los Angles, California.
The tournament field in includes UC Riverside, B-CU, Fairleigh Dickinson, Harvard, Loyola Marymount and Seattle.
The Cats open with Harvard on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. (PT), followed by an early morning rematch with the Crimson at 9 a.m. (PT) Friday before wrapping up the day with a 3 p.m. (PT) date with the host Lions. A single game against UC Riverside on Saturday at 11 a.m. (PT) gives the Wildcats an off night before B-CU finishes tournament action on Sunday at 10 a.m. (PT) against Seattle.
Wildcat Facts
Senior Calesha Shelly and freshmen Mariah Davis are batting a team-best .313 and .310 respectively.
Sophomore's Bailey Conner (3-4) and Sabrina Anguiano (3-16) have split the Wildcat victories on the mound while Conner boosts a 4.93 ERA and Anguiano a 5.25. The duo has fanned a total of 73 batters with 26 and 47 respectively.
Rookie Nereyda Gutierrez and Ortega earning All-Tournament Honors at the Charleston Challenge.
Ortega was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Week while Anguiano earned MEAC Pitcher of the Week and Gutierrez Rookie of the Week (Feb. 9).
Sophomore Bailey Conner earned MEAC Pitcher of the Week honors (Feb. 23) while freshman Mariah Davis earned Rookie of the Week (March 2).
Scouting the Opponents
UC Riverside (23-7): The Highlanders have won seven of the last eight heading into this weekend including going 4-1 two weekends ago in their own Highlander Classic (Mar. 6-8) with wins over Howard, LMU, and two vs. UNC Greensboro. Most recently, UCR took a doubleheader from Bryant (Mar. 10) and split in a doubleheader vs. Weber State (Mar. 11). Jenna Curtan and Haley Harris lead at the plate, each with a .370, while in the circle, Chelsea Ponce has a team-low 1.28 ERA, 16-3 record, and 91 strikeouts.
Harvard (3-9): The Crimson had a tough start to its spring break trip, dropping all five of its games at the San Diego Classic II tournament in Santee, California. Harvard opened the tournament with an extra-innings loss to Weber State and the dropped the nightcap to New Mexico State, 7-2. Santa Clara, San Jose State and Utah State went on to shutout the Crimson in the final three games of the weekend.
Harvard's pitching has been a bright spot thus far, posting a staff ERA of 3.68, limiting walks to 2.6 per contest and holding batters to a .270 average. Taylor Cabe leads the Crimson with 32 innings pitched and 21 strikeouts. In her last outing, Cabe tossed three scoreless frames against Utah State, while sitting down four batters. Laura Ricciardone and Morgan Groom have each made six appearances, posting ERAs of 4.32 and 2.83, respectively.
Senior Katherine Appelbe continues to be the offensive leader, batting .400 with six RBI and a .400 on-base-percentage. Junior Haley Davis is second with five RBI, while freshman Maddy Kaplan's batting average of .286 is next up.
LMU (12-19): LMU knocked off Grand Canyon and Sacramento State at the Sacramento State Tournament over the weekend, but dropped its other four contests to fall to 12-19 on the year. Smith Field, the home field of the Lions, readies to host 20 games this week, six midweek and 14 over the weekend as part of the LMU Muscle Milk Classic.
Rachael Farrington is the workhorse for the LMU pitching staff, earning an 8-9 record in 102.2 innings of work. She has made 18 starts this year, tossing 10 complete games, while allowing opposing hitters to post a .315 average. Stephanie Crist is second on the team with a 4.84 ERA in 50.2 innings.
At the dish, Amanda Dirks has a team-best .390 average and 25 RBI. Alex Finie and Alicia Brown top the .300 mark at .374 and .338, respectively, with all three of these hitters knocking three homers this year.
Seattle (9-7): The Knights close out their stay in Los Angeles against the Redhawks, who own a 9-17 record after five tournaments to start the season and three home contests. Bubba Morrow, a senior, paces the team with six home runs, 18 RBIs, and a .356 average in 26 starts. Three others join her in batting over .290. Isabella Geronimo walks at a high clip and leads the team with eight steals. Potentially facing FDU in the circle is Mandie Sugita, an owner of a 2.79 ERA and 6-4 record in 16 appearances.
