HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson softball team hosts Iona in a non-conference doubleheader Thursday afternoon starting at 3 p.m. at the FDU Softball Field.
 
There will also be a student activities event, "The Big Game", organized by FDU Athletics and the Office of Student Affairs taking place in conjunction with the games at FDU Softball Field. The games will be streamed live for free on NEC Front Row and live stats will be available follow on fduknights.com as well.
 
ENTERING THE GAMES
The Knights (9-26, 2-4 NEC) earned a split of a doubleheader with LIU Brooklyn Sunday afternoon, winning the second game 2-1 thanks to Serena Meehan scoring the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Junior Erica Johnson tossed a complete game and earned the victory for the Knights, allowing only an unearned run in seven innings while striking out two batters.
 
SEASON LEADERS
Senior Reanna Cervantes in 30 games has hit .293 this season with a team-high 27 hits and six doubles. Sophomore Rylie Schmeh leads the NEC in triples with four, leads the Knights with 11 runs scored and is tied for the team lead at nine RBI with freshman Courtney Mahoney and sophomore Abby England. England hit a home run at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday to up her team-lead to two home runs this season. In the circle, England sports a team-best 2.92 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 50.1 innings pitched to go with 42 strikeouts. Senior Baylee Ports leads the Knights with 50 strikeouts in 78.1 innings pitched and has a 3.57 ERA, while Johnson has struck out 46 batters in 75.1 innings with a 3.25 ERA.
 
CERVANTES RECORD WATCH
Cervantes launched her first home run of the season at Mount St. Mary's and in doing so moved into a tie for second on FDU's all-time home run list with 16 career roundtrippers. She also added to her career totals with her 36th career double (second in FDU history), 147 career hits (third), 77 RBI (third) and 241 total bases (third). Cervantes also ranks among the top 10 in program history in triples (five, tied for second), slugging percentage (.524, second), batting average (.320, third), and runs scored (64, tied for seventh) in 156 career games started (seventh among non-pitchers).
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Knights are 4-7 all-time against Iona entering the doubleheader this week, having won each of the last three meetings. The two teams have not played since the 2015 season, when the Knights defeated Iona, 7-5, in a neutral site game played in California. FDU previously hosted Iona back in 2013, winning 9-1 in five innings. 
 
SCOUTING IONA
The Gaels (8-18) swept a doubleheader at Saint Peter's on Sunday in their last outing, winning 10-0 and 16-2. The Gaels hit two home runs and seven doubles among their 27 hits in the two games. Iona started the season 1-13, which included a 10-game losing streak, before going 7-5 in their last 12 games. Jessica Chilcott leads the team with 25 hits and a .316 batting average in 26 games, also leading the team with 13 runs scored and eight doubles. Jasmine Temple leads the Gaels with two home runs and 15 RBI this season. Kara Zazzaro leads the Iona pitching staff this season, going 5-7 in 16 games, sporting a 1.94 ERA and recording 77 strikeouts in 88.1 innings pitched. Iona was picked to finish sixth in the MAAC in the conference preseason poll, going 19-27 while finishing fourth in the MAAC in 2018.
 
UP NEXT
The Knights return to Northeast Conference play this weekend, going north for conference doubleheaders at Bryant and at Central Connecticut State. The Knights first face Bryant on Saturday, April 13, then play at CCSU the following day. Both doubleheaders are scheduled to begin at noon.