HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson University softball team will travel to Connecticut for a pair of Northeast Conference double headers this weekend. The Knights will face Quinnipiac on Saturday, April 20 with a 1 p.m. start time and will take on Central Connecticut State on Sunday, April 21 at noon.
The Knights are 17-16 on the season after dropping a midweek contest to St. John's. The team is 6-6 in Northeast Conference play, with one win and one loss against each conference foe they've faced.
As a unit, the Knights have hit .263 this season and have outscored their opponents, 118-100 through 33 games.
Freshman Madelaine Wilen (Bakerfield, Calif./Ridgeview High School) currently leads FDU with a .324 batting average. The rookie catcher has a team-leading 11 doubles and has knocked in 15 runs. Senior Mikayla Fernandez (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) and freshman Courtney Slye (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley High School) also maintain averages over .300 with marks of .316 and .312, respectively. Fernandez and Slye both have five home runs on the season.
The FDU pitching staff holds a team ERA of 2.5 with rookie Loren Stavrou (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson Classical High School) leading the way. Stavrou holds an ERA of 1.64 and a win-loss record of 5-3.
The Bobcats of Quinnipiac are 14-26 on the season with a 7-3 NEC record. QU was swept by Harvard in a double header on Thursday but has won six consecutive conference games in recent weeks.
As a team, the Bobcats are hitting .280 on the year with three athletes hitting over .300. The team has been outscored by opponents, 239-177 in 40 games and holds an ERA of 5.18.
Sophomore Nikki Barba leads the squad with an average of .364 and a team-leading 12 doubles. Freshman Courtney Solt is hitting .362 with 29 runs scored, while senior Alex Alba is hitting .325. Sophomore Jordan Paolucci leads the conference and the Bobcats with 10 home runs on the year.
Hannah Lindsley paces the Bobcats with a team-best ERA of 4.45 and a win loss record of 5-10. Lindsley has struck out 46 batters in 91.1 innings.
The Knights have fallen to Quinnipiac in seven consecutive meetings, with their last win in 2009.
Following the Saturday bout in Hamden, the Knights will travel to New Britain to face the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State. CCSU is 23-12 on the season and 11-3 in Northeast Conference action. Under fourth-year head coach Jeff Franquet, the Blue Devils lead the conference in wins.
The Blue Devils lead the NEC with a team batting average of .306 and have outscored opponents, 193-108 in 35 games. Kat Malcolm leads the team with a .412 average in 25 games with nine home runs and 29 RBI. Six other Blue Devils currently maintain an average of over .300 to help the team's combined average.
Lauren Messina leads the pitching staff with a 2.04 ERA and a 17-6 win loss record. Messina has recorded 172 strikeouts in 164.2 innings this season.
The Blue Devils won 10 straight conference games to begin the season and have since split with Mount St. Mary's and lost two at Monmouth.
In recent years, the Knights and Blue Devils have alternated sweeps, with each team recording a mark of 4-4 in the previous four seasons.
Following the weekend trip, the Knights will host Iona on Wednesday, April 24.
