HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson softball team makes its second trip to Texas this season, playing five games over three days in the Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic hosted at Texas Tech University.
 
GAME SCHEDULE (home team listed second)
Friday, March 6
Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Marist – 1:30 p.m. CT, Rocky Johnson Field
Fairleigh Dickinson at Texas Tech – 6:30 p.m. CT, Rocky Johnson Field
 
Saturday, March 7
Delaware State vs. Fairleigh Dickinson – 1:30 p.m. CT, Rocky Johnson Field 
Fairleigh Dickinson at Texas Tech – 6:30 p.m. CT, Rocky Johnson Field 
 
Sunday, March 8
Marist at Fairleigh Dickinson – 1:30 p.m. CT, Rocky Johnson Field
 
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LAST TIME OUT
The Knights (3-7) capped off their trip to Virginia this past weekend with an extra-inning victory over Delaware State, 6-5 in eight innings. FDU twice rallied from behind, taking a 5-4 lead on a three-run home run by freshman Hailey Ramberg in the fifth inning before the Hornets tied the game to force extra innings. Junior Rylie Schmeh then knocked in the winning run on a sacrifice fly, as sophomore Alayna Savaglio pitched the final three innings without allowing a hit and striking out eight of nine batters she faced to earn the victory. The Knights suffered two close losses to Norfolk State (2-1) and Delaware State (4-2) earlier in the weekend and scored six runs in a second game against Norfolk State, which included a solo home run by senior Madison Emerson that marked her first career dinger. Emerson led FDU with a .471 batting average (8-of-17) over the weekend, scoring three runs and driving in two more.

NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Freshman Hailey Ramberg earned the second NEC Rookie of the Week honor of the season for FDU on Tuesday. The Elkridge, Md., native accounted for 10 runs in her 11 at-bats over the weekend, driving in seven runs and scoring three more, and all of her hits were of the extra-base variety. Along with her three-run shot against Delaware State, she also launched a three-run dinger vs. Norfolk State, her first home run as a Knight. She also hit a RBI double in FDU's first game against Delaware State and later scored FDU's second run of a two-run first inning. The freshman leads the Knights this season with seven RBI and has a slash line of .308/.438/.846 through her first five games of her career. Ramberg is tied for the lead among all NEC freshmen with her 7 RBI and two home runs as well.

KNIGHTS ON THE LEADER BOARDS
Through 10 games, the Knights have already accounted for 34 runs and 32 RBI while collecting 76 hits, with five Knights hitting over .300 to start the season. Sophomore Riley De Laval leads the team with a .412 average, 14 hits and six runs scored, ranking third in the Northeast Conference in both batting average and hits. Emerson is hitting .375 with six runs scored as well, ranking eighth in the conference in batting average, and Schmeh is hitting .345 with two doubles and four runs scored. As a team, the Knights are second in the NEC in team batting average at .274, and the Knights also rank second in the NEC in team ERA at 3.72 while leading the league with 77 strikeouts in 67.2 innings pitched. Junior Abby England has 28 strikeouts and only four walks in 21 innings with a 3.33 ERA, while freshman Malori Bell is sixth in the NEC with a 3.13 ERA. Sophomore Alayna Savaglio ranks third in the league with 32 strikeouts in 21 innings, with England right behind her in strikeouts and right behind Bell in ERA on the league leaderboard.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Host Texas Tech was ranked to start the season but has since slipped to receiving 19 votes in the latest USA TODAY/NFCA Coaches Poll. The Red Raiders were picked 19th in the USA Softball Preseason Poll and enter the weekend with a 11-9 record, losing six straight before ending their weekend at Cal State Fullerton with a 6-2 win over Grand Canyon. Marist enters the weekend with a 6-8 record, defeating UNC Wilmington and Robert Morris as part of its five-game recent weekend at UNC Wilmington. Delaware State carries a 1-15 record into the weekend.
 
UP NEXT
FDU returns to New Jersey to play its home opener against St. John's on Wednesday, March 11, at 3:30 p.m., at the FDU Softball Field.