University of Delaware Athletics
Blue Hens Head South To Open 2016 Season at FIU Panther Invitational
2/18/2016 10:09:00 AM | Softball
John Seneca, returns 17 letterwinners and seven starters for the 2016 season. The Blue Hens went 30-23 last year but finished seventh in the league standings with a 6-14 CAA mark. UD was picked sixth in the league preseason poll announced in late January.
Delaware set school records for runs scored, RBI, doubles and home runs a year ago, while its .304 team batting average was the program's highest since 1977. The Blue Hens will be paced by sophomore Mariah Kondravy, who batted .380 during her rookie year while setting UD single season records with 15 home runs and 55 RBI. Classmate Leanna Gearhart will return to her shortstop position after she hit .360 a year ago and led the nation with 11 triples.
Lisa Stacevicz batted a team-high .392 with 13 doubles last season, while Shelby Jones, Giovanna Kolofer and Danielle Wissinger are also back for the Blue Hens.
Junior Carolyn Szymanski returns to lead the UD pitching staff after she went 17-13 with a 2.93 earned run average in 2015, while Kiersten Coffman and Jordan Cargile also are expected to see significant work in the circle.
Holy Cross is also opening its 2016 campaign this weekend, after going 11-17 overall and 9-9 in the Patriot League a year ago. The Crusaders, who return 15 players from last season, were picked sixth in the league's preseason poll. Senior outfielder Emily Jarvis and sophomore first baseman Taylor Moss return for Holy Cross after earning first team all-conference honors in 2015.
Indian kicked off its season at the Kajikawa Classic last weekend in Tempe, Ariz., going 2-3 with wins against Utah State and Georgia State. In the victory against Georgia State, freshman pitcher Tara Trainer fired 10 strikeouts, the most for an Indiana pitcher since 2014. The Hoosiers return the majority of their 2015 bats that set the single-season IU record for home runs and finished second in program history in runs scored, RBI and walks.
FIU is 4-1 on the year, with its lone loss coming to 10th-ranked Florida State. The Panthers are batting .413 on the young season, while junior Stephanie Texeira is tied for the Conference USA lead with three homers. Freshman Jackie Schoff went 7 for 14 at the plate during her opening weekend while both freshmen hurlers, Abby Summers and Megan Kugelmann, picked up wins in their first career starts.
Delaware will be playing their first ever games against Holy Cross and Indiana, while the Blue Hens dropped a pair of games to the Panthers in the 2012 FIU Invitational.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Kevin Tritt at: ktritt@udel.edu (email) / 302-831-8715 (office) / 302-383-5005 (cell)
Delaware set school records for runs scored, RBI, doubles and home runs a year ago, while its .304 team batting average was the program's highest since 1977. The Blue Hens will be paced by sophomore Mariah Kondravy, who batted .380 during her rookie year while setting UD single season records with 15 home runs and 55 RBI. Classmate Leanna Gearhart will return to her shortstop position after she hit .360 a year ago and led the nation with 11 triples.
Lisa Stacevicz batted a team-high .392 with 13 doubles last season, while Shelby Jones, Giovanna Kolofer and Danielle Wissinger are also back for the Blue Hens.
Junior Carolyn Szymanski returns to lead the UD pitching staff after she went 17-13 with a 2.93 earned run average in 2015, while Kiersten Coffman and Jordan Cargile also are expected to see significant work in the circle.
Holy Cross is also opening its 2016 campaign this weekend, after going 11-17 overall and 9-9 in the Patriot League a year ago. The Crusaders, who return 15 players from last season, were picked sixth in the league's preseason poll. Senior outfielder Emily Jarvis and sophomore first baseman Taylor Moss return for Holy Cross after earning first team all-conference honors in 2015.
Indian kicked off its season at the Kajikawa Classic last weekend in Tempe, Ariz., going 2-3 with wins against Utah State and Georgia State. In the victory against Georgia State, freshman pitcher Tara Trainer fired 10 strikeouts, the most for an Indiana pitcher since 2014. The Hoosiers return the majority of their 2015 bats that set the single-season IU record for home runs and finished second in program history in runs scored, RBI and walks.
FIU is 4-1 on the year, with its lone loss coming to 10th-ranked Florida State. The Panthers are batting .413 on the young season, while junior Stephanie Texeira is tied for the Conference USA lead with three homers. Freshman Jackie Schoff went 7 for 14 at the plate during her opening weekend while both freshmen hurlers, Abby Summers and Megan Kugelmann, picked up wins in their first career starts.
Delaware will be playing their first ever games against Holy Cross and Indiana, while the Blue Hens dropped a pair of games to the Panthers in the 2012 FIU Invitational.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Kevin Tritt at: ktritt@udel.edu (email) / 302-831-8715 (office) / 302-383-5005 (cell)
Players Mentioned
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