University of Delaware Athletics
Delaware Closes Out Regular Season With Home CAA Series vs. Towson
4/30/2015 2:54:00 PM | Softball
NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware softball team wraps up its 2015 regular season this weekend by hosting Towson in a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series at the UD Softball Stadium.
The Blue Hens and Tigers will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Friday, followed by Saturday's single game which also begins at 1 p.m. Delaware seniors Jessica Grisler and Heather Oakley will be honored in a pregame ceremony on Saturday prior to appearing in their final game in Newark. Live stats for all three games will be available at www.bluehens.com.
Delaware enters the series with a 29-21 overall record, and the Blue Hens are seventh in the CAA standings with a 5-12 league mark. Towson is 33-19 overall and 8-10 in the conference, tied for third place in the CAA. UD needs to sweep the series from the Tigers to remain in contention for a spot in next week's CAA Tournament, which will be held at regular season champion James Madison.
Delaware, which is looking to notch the fifth 30-win season in school history, is coming off a doubleheader sweep at Saint Peter's on Wednesday. Delaware pounded out 35 hits and scored 27 runs while posting 15-0 and 12-4 victories over the Peacocks. The offensive outburst gives the Blue Hens 256 runs scored and 224 RBI this year, both UD single season records. In the previous week Delaware had already set school records for doubles and home runs in a season.
Carolyn Szymanski went 4 for 4 with two homers and seven RBI on Wednesday, while Sarah Bencivenga added three doubles and two longballs. Bencivenga, who is hitting .371 on the season, has 18 doubles this season which is one shy of the UD single season record.
Leanna Gearhart contributed six hits, five RBI and five runs scored vs. Saint Peter's, and continues to lead the nation with 11 triples on the year. Fellow freshman Mariah Kondravy added three hits and five runs batted in, as she became the UD single season leader with 49 RBI on the campaign. Additionally Grisler posted six hits and scored three runs on the day, as she is now tied for the school record with 39 runs scored this year.
Holiday Cahill paces Towson with a .407 batting average and leads the CAA with 13 home runs, one more than Kondravy. Brook Miko is hitting .358 and Olivia Yarbrough is batting .356 on the year, while Kendyl Scott paces the Tigers with 12 doubles and 35 runs scored.
Delaware and Towson have met every year in Blue Hen history dating back to 1976, with UD holding a slim 56-52 advantage. The Tigers took two of the three meetings last year in Towson.
