HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson softball team hosts its first two home doubleheaders this weekend, also starting Northeast Conference play with games against Sacred Heart and LIU Brooklyn.
 
The Knights (7-20) take on Sacred Heart on Saturday starting at 1 p.m., then face LIU Brooklyn on Sunday starting at noon. All four games will take place at the FDU Softball field, and live stats will be available for all four games at fduknights.com. Sunday's doubleheader against LIU Brooklyn will be streamed live for free on NEC Front Row barring any weather concerns.
 
ENTERING THE WEEKEND
The Knights dropped a doubleheader on Wednesday at Hartford in their most recent outing, falling 4-2 in the first game and 7-1 in the later game. FDU in the first game battled down to the end in attempting rallies in the sixth and seventh innings, putting runners in scoring position with the tying run at the plate or on base in both innings. Sophomore Rylie Schmeh led the Knights with a 4-for-7 day at the plate with two triples and two runs scored.
 
TRIPLES LEADER
In collecting two triples on Wednesday, Schmeh also broke the FDU career triples record with her sixth in two seasons, passing teammate Reanna Cervantes, Caroline Kovach and Cindy Zamudio who all have five in their careers. The sophomore has four three-baggers this season, tied for the most by a Knight in a single season, and leads the NEC in triples while also tied for 12th in Division I as well.
 
CERVANTES RECORD WATCH
With three hits on Wednesday including a RBI double, senior Reanna Cervantes moved into third on FDU's all-time hits list with 140 career base knocks. Cervantes also collected her 74th career RBI and 34th career double, tying her for second-most in program history. The senior ranks in the top 10 of nearly all major hitting categories at FDU, including triples (second), slugging percentage (second), batting average (third), total bases (third), home runs (fourth) on-base percentage (sixth) and runs scored (ninth).
 
SEASON LEADERS SO FAR
Junior Madison Emerson leads the Knights with a .347 batting average and 26 hits this season, and Schmeh leads the team with nine RBI and nine runs scored to go with a .316 batting average and a .509 slugging percentage. Freshman Courtney Mahoney has hit five doubles to lead the team this season as well. In the circle, senior Baylee Ports sports a 3.65 ERA with six complete games and two shutouts in 61.1 innings pitched to go with 34 strikeouts, while junior Erica Johnson leads the Knights with 38 strikeouts in 52 innings pitched.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Entering this weekend's play, the Knights are 14-22 against Sacred Heart and 5-32 against LIU Brooklyn in each series. FDU has dropped each of the last five games against the Pioneers and each of the last three to the Blackbirds. The Knights are 8-6 against Sacred Heart at home and 4-14 when playing LIU Brooklyn in Hackensack. FDU swept its last home series with the Pioneers back in 2015 (5-2 and 6-3), while splitting its last home series with the Blackbirds two years ago, winning 4-3 in the first game of the doubleheader with Serena Meehan driving in the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning.  
 
SCOUTING SACRED HEART
The Pioneers (14-13) were shut out in both games of their doubleheader at Iona Wednesday and have lost five of their last seven games overall. Senior Hailey Desroisers leads the Pioneer offense with a .430 batting average, 18 runs scored, 10 doubles and 12 RBI, and junior Katelyn Christian has hit four home runs and driven in 18 runs while hitting .329 this season. In the circle, three pitchers each have four wins, with sophomore Shyanne Fennell leading the team with a 1.47 ERA in 47.2 innings pitched and senior Kristen McCann totaling a team-high 55 strikeouts in 59.2 innings pitched this season. Sacred Heart was picked as the preseason favorite in the NEC preseason poll.
 
SCOUTING LIU BROOKLYN
The Blackbirds (17-12) won back-to-back games against Columbia and Hofstra in the last two days and have won three of their last four games overall. Senior Schae Dickson is hitting .319 with two home runs, 19 RBI, 19 runs scored and four doubles, while freshman Samantha Garcia leads the team with four round-trippers this season. Freshman Elena Valenzuela is the LIU leader in the circle this season with a 9-3 record, eight complete games, five shutouts and 41 strikeouts in 92 innings pitched while sporting a 1.98 ERA. LIU was picked second in the NEC preseason poll.
 
UP NEXT
The Knights travel south after this weekend for their next two doubleheaders, facing Drexel Thursday starting at 2 p.m., followed by another NEC doubleheader at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, April 6, starting at 1 p.m.