HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson softball team is set to play its home opener on Friday when they welcome Central Connecticut State to the FDU Softball Field. The teams will play doubleheaders over two days, with the first pair of games being played on Friday at 1 p.m. and approximately 3 p.m. and the second set on Saturday at 12 p.m. and approximately 2 p.m.
Series Info
Central Connecticut (6-5, 4-0 NEC) at FDU (0-6, 0-4 NEC)
Game 1: Friday, April 2 at 1:00 p.m. – FDU Softball Field
Game 2: Friday, April 2 at 3:00 p.m. – FDU Softball Field
Game 3: Saturday, April 3 at 12:00 p.m. – FDU Softball Field
Game 4: Saturday, April 3 at 2:00 p.m. – FDU Softball Field
No spectators will be permitted throughout the 2020-21 season
Coverage: Watch |
Live Stats
In-Game Updates: @FDUKnightsSB
All-Time Series
CCSU leads… 23-13
Streak…W1
First Meeting…4/8/01 (CCSU 5, FDU 0)
Last Meeting…4/14/18 (FDU 10, CCSU 2)
NEC Season Format and Preseason Poll
There will be a 32-game conference schedule that will be played in a round-robin (four-game series) format over eight weeks from March 20-May 9. The NEC will only have four teams qualify for a double-elimination NEC Championship that will take place from May 13-15. FDU was predicted to finish seventh in the NEC Preseason Poll.
Scouting the Blue Devils
CCSU (6-5, 4-0 NEC) opened NEC action with a four-game sweep of Mount St. Mary's. Since then, CCSU has since played series against Connecticut, Maine, and Albany. Junior Rian Eigenmann leads the CCSU offense with 13 hits, a .382 batting average, nine runs, and five stolen bases. Freshman Paige Stringer leads the Blue Devils in homers with four and RBI's with 12. Junior Carli Backlund is slashing .323 from the dish and has belted three homers. Senior Ashley Antonazzo leads the pitching staff with a 3.09 ERA in 11.1 innings and the Blue Devils have five pitchers that have logged over 11.1 innings on the season.
More on the Blue Devils
Scouting the Knights
FDU (0-6, 0-4 NEC) has opened the season with a pair of losses to Stony Brook and a series loss to LIU this past week. The Knights in their last game against LIU, almost came back to beat LIU after being down 4-0 with three runs in the fifth, but fell 4-3. Graduate student
Madison Emerson leads the team with seven hits, a .438 batting average, and three RBI's. Fellow graduate student
Summer Mendoza is batting .286 through six games and reached base all eight times in the Knights doubleheader on Wednesday against LIU. Sophomore
Cassidy Triska is batting .300 through four games. Freshman
Abbey Hoesman belted her first career home run against LIU on Wednesday in game one. On the mound, junior
Alayna Savaglio has started three games on the mound and has struck out 14 batters in 15.0 innings and has a 1.60 WHIP. In game two on Wednesday, Savaglio pitched six innings and struck out six batters.
More on the Knights
Coach Foye's Thoughts
"Overall our offense was better as we were able to get more hits, runs and base runners then we did our previous four games, but we need to do a better job of finding ways to get them across," said coach Foye.
"Summer had great overall at bats in both games and played solid defense. Cassidy had timely hits and was getting on base consistently, she was seeing the ball well today. Abbey was a wall back behind the plate, she made a big play on a bunt and her first college hit was a HR that cut the deficit in half. Alayna pitched great for the second game in a row and combined with our solid defense we were able to hold them scoreless for a few innings which was a big confidence booster."
"This weekend vs CCSU is a big conference series for us as they are 4-0 and we are 0-4. We are still working our way back from Covid issues, but have improved every game so I feel we are headed in a positive direction going into this weekend."
What's Next
After this weekend's series against CCSU, the Knights will travel to Saint Francis U on Wednesday, April 7 with a four-game series starting at 12 p.m.
