Orange Begins Key BIG EAST Stretch with Two at St. John's
4/8/2005 11:05:38 AM | Softball
JAMAICA, N.Y. - The Syracuse softball team (13-11, 1-1 BIG EAST) begins a stretch of six consecutive league games with a doubleheader at St. John's (14-18, 1-1) on Saturday, April 9. The Orange will travel to league-leading Seton Hall (16-9, 3-1) for a twin bill on Sunday, April 10. SU has won three of its last five games.
The Orange is coming off a doubleheader split at Hofstra. After mustering just four hits in a 3-0 loss in game one, the Syracuse offense rebounded to take an 8-0 victory in the nightcap. Alexis Switenko led the attack with two hits and three runs batted in. Chanel Roehner also drove in two runs. Erin Gray contributed her first home run of the season. Rookie Erin Downey struck out 10 and allowed only four hits in her first career shutout.
SU has split its last two doubleheaders, losing game one each time. The Orange has yet to score a run and has combined for just seven hits in those two games. In the second games of the doubleheaders, SU has scored 16 runs on 21 hits.
Switenko is the Orange's leading hitter with a .333 batting average. She is also tops on the squad with 15 runs batted in and a .486 slugging percentage. Roehner is hitting .291 with seven doubles, two home runs and 13 driven in. Tanya Rose has scored a team-best 17 runs and paces the Orange with 12 walks and a .386 on-base percentage from the leadoff spot.
Downey 2-0 with one save in her last three appearances. For the season, she is 6-4 with a 2.19 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 76 and two-thirds innings. Courtney Mosch boasts a 1.42 ERA and is limiting opponents to a .198 batting average. She is 6-7 on the season after losing her last two starts, despite giving up only three earned runs and striking out 10 in her last 10 and one-third innings of work.
St. John's is coming off a doubleheader split at Fairfield, winning game one, 8-2, and losing the second game, 7-1. Tami Hill leads five players hitting above the .300 mark with a .396 average. She has scored 24 runs and driven in 11 more. Christina Tucker and Jo Sherlock share the home run lead with four. Tucker has driven in 26 runs, while Sherlock has 24 RBI. As a team, St. John's is hitting .285 and averaging 4.2 rusn per game. In the circle, Brittany Crouch has a team-leading five wins (5-8). She owns a 2.43 ERA, combining for two shutouts. Kimberly Lerch is 4-4 with a 2.21 ERA, while Lisa Geer (3-4) leads the team with 59 strikeouts.
Seton Hall has split its last three doubleheaders, including a twin bill with Long Island on Thursday. Pitcher Megan Meyer has been the winner in the Pirates' last three victories. For the season, the third-team All-American is 11-3 with a 0.77 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 91.0 innings. Meyer has seven complete-game shutouts and has combined for two more. Jessica Jones is 2-3 with a 2.73 ERA, while Maura Lund onws a 3-3 record with a 4.88 ERA. Katie Pierce and Catilin White lead the team in batting at .440 and .423, respectively. Pierce and Laura Taylor pace the Pirates with five home runs and 19 batted each.
Syracuse is 3-4 all-time against St. John's. The Orange has lost three straight to the Red Storm, including two games at Red Storm Field last season. The Pirates have an 8-3 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams split a doubleheader at Ivy Hill Park on the final day of the 2004 regular season.
