ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Mar. 18, 2016) - The Molloy College softball team will close out the winter calendar this weekend with two straight doubleheaders on Long Island. The first takes place Friday (Mar. 18) in Rockville Centre as the Lions host Philadelphia University at Bob Klein Field; the second is the East Coast Conference opener for the maroon and white and it features the defending East Coast Conference champions in Queens College on Saturday (Mar. 19) in Flushing.
About the Lions- Molloy is 7-9 on the season thus far, coming off of a 3-5 stint over the prior weekend in Clermont, Fla. at the National Training Center Spring Games. Sophomore center fielder
Olivia Banulski (Bristol, Conn.) was named ECC Offensive Player of the Week after hitting .462 through eight games, including a 5-for-5 performance against Stonehill on Mar. 12; Banulski narrowly missed hitting for the cycle in the Lions' 11-3 mercy-rule win over the Skyhakws, instead collecting three singles, a double and a triple.
- Banulski is second on the team with a .354 batting average, behind only senior
Tracey Balinskas (Edison, N.J.), who is hitting .417 while leading the team in hits (20), doubles (7), home runs (3), RBIs (13), slugging percentage (.750) and on-base percentage (.462).
- Junior
Milan Botte (Reston, Va.) is also hitting .353 with two home runs and 10 RBIs as the team has a combined batting average of .288 so far this season. Fellow junior
Chelsea Hawks (Wading River, N.Y.) is 3-5 in the pitcher's circle with a 3.73 ERA; Hawks has struck out 42 batters over 41 innings pitched thus far. Meanwhile, freshman
Jenna Turato (Garden City South, N.Y.) is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in her debut season with the Lions.
The Opponents- Philadelphia has struggled to start the season, losing eight straight games while only totaling six runs and four RBIs on offense this season. Sophomore Erica D'Angelo (Broomall, Pa.) is the team's leading hitter with a .375 batting average, but the Rams are hitting .189 as a unit (36-190). Senior Nicole Troisi (Norristown, Pa.) has a 1-3 record in the circle with a 3.85 earned-run average, allowing 20 hits and 11 earned runs over 20 innings pitched so far.
- The defending ECC champion Queens College Knights are 2-5 to open the season under interim head coach Diana DiPiano. The Knights are struggling to hit the ball so far, accumulating a .222 batting average as a team. Freshman outfielder Deanna Burbridge (Mahwah, N.J.) has a .438 average for QC while junior Kristen Boody (Centereach, N.Y.) has achieved a .368 average thus far. The Knights lost a great deal from last year's squad on both sides of the ball, with the graduation of five major players including starting pitcher Isabelle Yaroch, ECC Tournament Most Outstanding Player Monique Roberge, and middle infielders Cat Pastor and Samantha Mattsson. Sophomore southpaw ToniMarie Valeriano (Bellmore, N.Y.) is the de facto ace for the Knights with a 2-2 record and a 2.33 ERA; Valeriano has allowed just eight earned runs in 24 innings while striking out 19 batters. Freshman Lauren Pascual (Woodland Hills, Calif.) is the team's other pitcher, going 0-3 so far with a 7.68 ERA.
