ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Apr. 5, 2016) – With conference season rolling along, the Molloy College softball team will look to grab some more wins in East Coast Conference play on Wednesday (Apr. 6) and Thursday (Apr. 7). The Lions will host back-to-back doubleheaders versus Dowling College and Saint Thomas Aquinas College at Bob Klein Field.
About the Lions- Molloy's 9-3 record in ECC play is just part of the story for the Lions this season, as the maroon and white currently boast an 18-12 record in the 2016 season. Before sweeping Queens College on Saturday (Apr. 2), the maroon and white had split its last six contests in conference competition with Mercy, Bridgeport and NYIT.
- Senior
Tracey Balinskas (Edison, N.J.) is on an absolute tear at the plate. The 2015 ECC Player of the Year is hitting .438 with 12 doubles (she already has the all-time career record for most doubles in program history), six home runs and a team-high 25 RBIs. Her .753 slugging percentage is by far and away the best percentage on her team as well. Sophomore
Brianna Dalton (Northampton, Pa.) has kept her hitting streak going, as she has now reached base safely in 13 straight games and collected a hit in 12 straight games.
- The pitching for the maroon and white has had its ups and downs. Freshman
Jenna Turato (Garden City South, N.Y.) is 3-1 with an earned-run average of 2.53 while junior
Chelsea Hawks (Wading River, N.Y.) has won seven games and struck out 100 batters so far this season. That said, the Lions' rotation has yielded 20 home runs to the opposition.
Concerning the Golden Lions- It has been tough sledding for Dowling College this season, as the Golden Lions have a 7-17 overall record and a 2-8 mark in ECC play in 2016. Dowling scored just two runs in its last doubleheader against Bridgeport on Saturday (Apr. 2), but the Golden Lions split that two-game set with the Purple Knights by losing 2-1 and winning 1-0.
- Sophomore Gianna Gatto (Smithtown, N.Y.) has a team-best .371 batting average with 12 RBIs and graduate outfielder Crystal Tarango (Fontana, Calif.) leads her squad with 14 runs batted in. As a team, Dowling is hitting .267 and yielding a team earned-run average of 5.48. Sophomore lefty hurler Vanessa Juengerkes (Islip, N.Y.) is 6-6 with a 3.56 ERA; the Golden Lions' staff has allowed 19 home runs this season.
Scouting the Spartans-STAC is 10-17 with a four-game winning streak, coming off of back-to-back doubleheader sweeps of Mercy and Queens College. The Spartans throttled the Knights by a 12-2 score in five innings in the final game of the double-dip on Tuesday (Apr. 5).
- Where has the offense come from for a team that is currently sporting a .222 team batting average? Both Alyssa Chelak (Poughquag, N.Y.) and Kelcy McGeehan (Bayville, N.J.) have hit two home runs in STAC's last four games and the Spartans have scored a total of 33 runs in the wins.
- Freshman Brianna Keaveney (New City, N.Y.) is 6-5 in the pitcher's circle so far this season while Julie Sosnicki (Wurtsboro, N.Y.) is 3-10 with ten complete games. Sosnicki has won her last two decisions and has done it by tossing seven innings in wins over Mercy and Queens College.
