HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson softball team returns home for its final non-conference doubleheader of the season, hosting Lafayette at 3 p.m., Wednesday afternoon at the FDU Softball Field.
 
The games will be streamed live for free on NEC Front Row, and live stats for both games of the doubleheader will be available at fduknights.com.
 
ENTERING THE GAMES
The Knights (12-31) have not played since splitting their doubleheader at Rider last week. The Knights won the first game, 3-2, on a game-winning, two-RBI single by freshman Amarys Miller-Godsey with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. FDU then fell in the nightcap, 4-2, after scoring both runs to take a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Junior Erica Johnson earned her fourth win in the opening contest, pitching her sixth complete game of the year while collecting five strikeouts.
 
SEASON LEADERS
Junior Madison Emerson continued her hot hitting with a 2-for-3 effort in the Knights' win at Rider and leads the team with a .341 batting average and .419 on-base percentage in 27 games. Senior Reanna Cervantes has collected 32 hits, including six doubles and three home runs, to go with a team-best 12 RBI. Seniors Serena Meehan and Holly Mercier have each scored a team-high 13 runs, and Meehan has stolen five bases this season. Sophomore Rylie Schmeh leads the NEC with four triples. In the circle, the top three pitchers for the Knights each sport an ERA below 3.70, with sophomore Abby England leading the way with a 3.30 ERA in 57.1 innings pitched. Senior Baylee Ports is not too far behind with a 3.32 ERA in 99 innings pitched and has recorded 69 strikeouts, third-most in the NEC. England and Ports are third and fourth, respectively, in the NEC in ERA this season.
 
HIT AFTER HIT
Meehan enters Wednesday's games carrying a nine-game hitting streak that began in the Knights' 2-1 win over LIU Brooklyn on April 7. During her nine-game run, Meehan has batted .423 (11-for-26) with four runs scored, two doubles and three RBI. She also has raised her season batting average by nearly 50 points since starting the streak.
 
SERIES SCORE
The Knights have not faced Lafayette since 2009 and enter Wednesday's doubleheader with a 3-14 all-time record when facing Lafayette. FDU has not defeated the Leopards since 2004, when the Knights won two of four games played at home against the Leopards by identical 4-1 scores. Lafayette has since won the last 12 games against the Knights.
 
SCOUTING LAFAYETTE
The Leopards (7-31-1) were swept in their Patriot League series this past weekend against Boston University, scoring only one run over the course of the three games. Before that series, Lafayette had won three of their last four games, sweeping Saint Peter's in a doubleheader and splitting with Monmouth. The Leopards this year also have wins over La Salle (two), Army and Penn. Senior Brooke Wensel is batting .294 with 18 runs scored, 35 hits, eight doubles, two triples and a home run to lead them offensively, while freshman Erin Scott has a team-high 16 RBI this season. Freshman Kinzi Van Wyk and senior Stacy Gordon are the two primary pitchers for the Leopards, with each having thrown 110 innings his season. Gordon has 72 strikeouts, while Van Wyk sports a 4.89 ERA to lead the team.
 
SCHEDULE UPDATE
The Knights have rescheduled both of their Northeast Conference doubleheaders from this past weekend that were postponed due to weather. Following their trip to Wagner on Saturday, April 27, FDU will now host Saint Francis U the following Saturday, May 4, for a doubleheader starting at noon, and the team will play Robert Morris the following day (Sunday, May 5) with games starting at 2:30 p.m. These three series of games will conclude the regular season for the Knights, who are seeking to qualify for the NEC Tournament for the first time since 2015.