ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Mar. 23, 2016) - The Molloy College softball team last met NYIT on May 1, 2015 in an elimination game of the East Coast Conference Softball Championship at Queens College. The Lions were the victors, eliminating the Bears after a gritty 3-2 win. Over ten months have passed since that moment in Flushing, but now the Lions and Bears will meet on the softball field again with Molloy looking to extend its winning streak to ten games on Thursday (Mar. 24) in Old Westbury.
About the Lions-Molloy currently holds a 13-9 record with a 4-0 mark in ECC play after winning both games of a doubleheader on Tuesday (Mar. 22) at Saint Thomas Aquinas. The Lions took a 1-0 decision in game one before holding onto a 6-5 victory in the nightcap of the doubleheader.
- Reigning ECC Pitcher of the Week
Chelsea Hawks (Wading River, N.Y.) tossed a seven-inning three-hitter in the first game against the Spartans, striking out 15 batters. The junior has collected victories in four straight starts, yielding 15 hits and two runs over 26 innings pitched with 37 strikeouts over that span of time. Hawks leads the East Coast Conference with six wins and 72 strikeouts with an average of 8.26 strikeouts per game.
- The Lions as a team are first in the ECC in a bevy of statistical categories including runs (88), hits (175), doubles (26), RBIs (78), walks (60), total bases (234), stolen bases (14), sacrifice flies (5), batting average (.294), on-base percentage (.364) and shutouts (4).
- Junior catcher/outfielder
Milan Botte (Reston, Va.) has collected nine multi-hit games so far this season, including knocking two hits in four of the last five games she has played in. Botte leads the team with a .391 batting average, three home runs and 18 RBIs on the season. Meanwhile, sophomore outfielder
Olivia Banulski (Bristol, Conn.) has put on a clinic in swiping bases as she leads the ECC with five steals so far this year.
About the Bears-The Bears are 9-7 so far this season, after splitting a doubleheader with the University of Tampa on Tuesday (Mar. 22). The Bears dropped the first game by a score of 8-0 before knocking off the Spartans in the nightcap, 4-3.
-Reigning ECC Player of the Week Kat Zabielski (Farmingdale, N.Y.) leads the conference with a .439 batting average, a full 24 points higher than the second-place batter in the conference statistics. Zabielski is also the pace-setter in five other categories: home runs (8), RBIs (25), total bases (46), on-base percentage (.500) and slugging percentage (1.122). The slugging percentage also leads all players in NCAA Division II softball.
-The Bears have two other players batting above .360 on the year. Christina Pantages (Whittier, Calif.) has a batting average of .372 while Madison Smith (Tustin, Calif.) currently possesses a .370 batting average.
-Junior pitcher Laura McLaughlin (Gilbert, Ariz.) has a 4-1 record with a 1.81 ERA so far this season. The junior has given up just 40 hits in 38.2 innings. She pitched a complete game in the 4-3 win for NYIT over Tampa on Tuesday, surrendering seven hits and three runs (two unearned) while striking out four.
- NYIT is tied for the conference lead with Molloy, as both teams are currently hitting .294 on the season. The Bears rank first in the East Coast Conference in triples (8), home runs (15), extra-base hits (40) and team slugging percentage (.507).
