HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The 2018 season for Fairleigh Dickinson softball kicks off this Friday-Sunday with five games at the Dot Richardson Tournament down in Clermont, Florida.
The Knights will play twice on Friday (Liberty at 11 a.m., Toledo at 1:30 p.m.), twice on Saturday (UT Chattanooga at 4 p.m., Detroit Mercy at 6:30 p.m.), and once on Sunday (Morgan State, 12:30 p.m.).
Fairleigh Dickinson played in the Dot Richardson Tournament last season and faced UTC, Morgan State and Liberty in 2017.
First-year head coach
Chris Foye takes over in 2018 and completes his staff with
Bridget Rafter and
Ray Vander May. Foye and Rafter spent last season at NYU. Foye has also served as head coach at Felician. Vander May was the head coach at Seton Hall from 1996-2011 (423-382-1) and guided the Pirates to a pair of NCAA appearances in 2004 and 2005.
THE OPPONENTS
All-time, the Knights are 0-1 against Toledo, 1-1 against UT Chattanooga, 0-4 versus Liberty, and 3-2 against Morgan State.
THE RETURNEES
Reanna Cervantes is the leading returning hitter for the Knights. The junior hit .313/.352/.478 and drove in 16 runs ...
Serena Meehan is second at .283 last season ...
Erica Johnson logged the most innings in the circle last season with 77 1/3 and is back for her sophomore ...
Madison Emerson and
Irene Herrera were second and third in innings and both return ...
THE NEWBIES
Brianna DeLeon,
Rylie Schmeh,
Abbey England,
Amber VanderGoot, and
Logan Kolehmainen make up the freshman class this season ... Schmeh will play in the outfield for the Knights ... England will help provide depth in the circle ... Kolehmainen can play both middle infield spots ... DeLeon and VanderGoot will serve as super utility players for the Knights ...
FUTURE SCHEDULE
The Knights will have two weekends off after this five-game weekend when they travel to Baltimore, Maryland for three games against Coppin State, Hartford, and Morgan State.
