HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson softball team heads to the Tidewater region of Virginia to play in the Hampton Classic hosted by both Hampton and Norfolk State this weekend, playing in five games over three days beginning Friday and ending Sunday.
 
GAME SCHEDULE (home team listed second)
Friday, February 28
Fairleigh Dickinson at Norfolk State – 2 p.m., NSU Softball Field
Fairleigh Dickinson at Norfolk State – 4 p.m., NSU Softball Field
 
Saturday, February 29
Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Delaware State – 10 a.m., HU Softball Field 
Fairleigh Dickinson at Hampton – 12 p.m., HU Softball Field 
 
Sunday, March 1
Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Delaware State – 10 a.m., NSU Softball Field
 
Live stats for games at Norfolk State: Click Here
Live stats for games at Hampton: Click Here
Live video stream for games at Norfolk State: Click Here
 
LAST TIME OUT
FDU won two of its five games to start the season at the Cardinal Invitational in San Antonio, Texas, defeating Grambling State 4-2 in the season-opener and then 9-2 to end the weekend tournament. The Knights also fell in extra innings to host Incarnate Word and mounted a big comeback bid against Delaware in a close 6-4 defeat. The Knights finished the weekend hitting .293 as a team while outscoring their opponents 19-18 and totaling 41 hits, including eight doubles, to go with 18 RBI. FDU pitchers combined for a 2.94 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP in 35.2 innings pitched while striking out 37 hitters. Junior Abby England, who was named a NEC Prime Performer, struck out 11 in her complete-game victory over Grambling State, setting a new career-high. Freshman Malori Bell also gained her first collegiate victory in the circle, compling a 2.33 ERA in 12 innings pitched to lead FDU's staff over the weekend. England finished with 15 strikeouts and a .90 WHIP to lead Knights pitchers, and sophomore Alayna Savaglio also totaled 12 strikeouts in 10.2 innings pitched while compling a 3.28 ERA.

NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Freshman Savannah Thornell led FDU's hitters in their opening weekend with a .417 batting average, a 1.250 OPS, two doubles, a home run and four RBI to go with two runs scored and was named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week on February 18. The freshman drove in FDU's first run of the season in the first inning vs. Grambling State on Friday with a RBI single. She also had a pinch-hit double vs. Cleveland State and two hits with a run scored and a double against Delaware on Saturday. Her biggest hit of the weekend, however, came in Sunday's finale when she launched a three-run home run over the left-center fence to provide the Knights a 3-0 lead in the third inning, which they would go on to win 9-2.

STARTING OFF SWINGING
Many Knights hitters started big out of the gate in the opening weekend. Sophomore Riley De Laval led FDU with seven hits in 18 at-bats for a .389 average and scored three runs, while freshman Jalyse Hanson drove in three runs as part of her four hits to start her FDU career. Junior Rylie Schmeh (.385) and sophomore Samantha Cortez (.313) each hit over .300 with five hits to start the season, with Schmeh hitting two doubles and scoring three runs as well. Twelve different Knights either scored or drove in a run over the five-game span, and the Knights currently lead the NEC in both batting average (.293) and team ERA (2.94).

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Norfolk State sits at 2-6 entering the weekend, having defeated NEC rival Robert Morris along with South Carolina State before dropping each of their last five games. Delaware State has lost all 11 games to start the season, and Hampton comes into the weekend with a 7-2 record that includes wins over North Carolina A&T, George Washington, DePaul, Toledo and Hartford.
 
UP NEXT
FDU begins a separate road trip next weekend down in Lubbock, Texas, to play in the Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic hosted by Texas Tech that begins Friday, March 6, and continues through Sunday, March 8.