Friday's Softball Doubleheader Changed to 2 p.m.
3/31/2005 1:32:26 PM | Softball
Live Stats
Listen to the Game (Windows Media Player)
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The softball doubleheader between Syracuse and Connecticut will begin at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 1. The first game was originally slated to start at 4 p.m. The new time is an attempt to make sure the games are completed before the poor weather predicted for Friday night reaches the Syracuse area.
Syracuse (11-9, 0-0 BIG EAST) is 3-2 all-time in home openers. Last season, the Orange also opened its home schedule with a BIG EAST game, defeating Boston College, 5-4. SU has won its last three conference openers.
The Orange is coming off a 6-1 victory versus Lehigh on Wednesday. Sophomore Courtney Mosch returned to her home area and earned the victory, giving up just one run on three hits in four innings. Mosch also doubled and scored a run. Freshman Erin Downey picked up her school-record fourth save of the season with three innings of hitless relief. Downey struck out six and did not allow a ball to be hit out of the infield. Senior Tanya Rose had two hits and three RBI, while freshman Chanel Roehner had two hits and a run batted in.
Mosch (6-5) leads the Orange with a 1.37 ERA in 66.1 innings of work. She has the Orange's only shutout of the season, a 2-0 no-hitter against Cornell. Mosch is limiting opposing hitters to a .190 batting average. Downey is 4-4 with a 2.15 earned run average. She leads the team with 63 strikeouts in 62 innings of work.
Roehner has gotten off to the fastest start of any Orange rookie in school history. She leads the team with a .328 average and 22 hits. She is the first SU freshman ever to have at least 20 hits before the Orange's first 20 games. She is currently on a five-game hitting streak. Roehner's .522 slugging percentage is also tops on the team, while her two home runs and 10 RBI rank second. Junior Alexis Switenko is SU's other .300 hitter with a .317 average. She leads the team with 11 runs batted in and ranks second with a pair of homers. Senior Shawna Norris is SU's top home run hitter with three.
Connecticut (6-13, 0-2 BIG EAST) has lost four straight games and is coming off two losses at Seton Hall in its conference opener, 5-0 and 2-1 in nine innings. Jessica Gurney has five of the Huskies victories in the circle (5-5). Gurney has a 3.57 ERA wiht two shutouts. She has 68 strikeouts in 63 innings. Michelle Caouette is 1-8 with one shutout. She has a 3.35 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 53.2 innings.
As a team, the Huskies are hitting .201. Suzy de Bary leads the regulars with a .250 batting average. Jessica Quan owns UConn's only home run, while 2004 second-team All-BIG EAST pick Mandy Schettini paces the team with five runs batted in.
UConn leads the all-time series with the Orange, 6-3. The two team ssplit a doubleheader at the SU Softball Stadium last season. Syracuse won the opener 3-2, but the Huskies came back for a 4-3 win in the nightcap. Connecticut has won four of its five games at the Orange's home field.
Friday's doubleheader begins the Orange's first BIG EAST weekend. SU will also host Providence on Sunday, April 3 at noon.
