Softball Gameday: Lady Bears vs. John Jay and Purchase

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – St. Joseph's (6-10) faces John Jay College (7-14) in a home doubleheader on Thursday, April 17th at 2 p.m. before concluding the week with a trip to Purchase College (3-15) for a twinbill on Friday, April 18th at 4 p.m.

Game Information

John Jay College (7-16, 4-6 CUNYAC) vs. St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (6-10, 1-0 HVIAC)

Thursday, April 17th • 2 p.m.
Padavan-Preller Field • Bellerose, N.Y.
Live Stats

St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (6-10, 1-0 HVIAC) at Purchase College (3-15, 1-10 Skyline)

Friday, April 18th • 3:30 p.m.
Purchase, N.Y.

Twitter | Instagram (@SJCBears, #SJCSB)

Storylines

• With a pair of wins against York on Wednesday and sweeps against John Jay and Purchase, the Lady Bears would be at .500 (10-10) for the first time this season.
• St. Joseph's tries to keep its record perfect in home games coming in 3-0.
• If the Lady Bears sweep York and win the four games against the Bloodhounds and Panthers, then St. Joseph's would improve to 10-4 in the month of April.
• The Lady Bears look to continue swinging the bats well as they come in hitting .326 as a team with 6.4 runs per game over their last eight games.
• St. Joseph's to move to 9-3-1 all-time against John Jay with a sweep and improve to 16-8 in the all-time series versus Purchase.

Series History

vs. John Jay: St. Joseph's owns a 7-3-1 mark against the Bloodhounds in a series that goes back to March 18, 2003. The Lady Bears took the previous meeting between the two schools, 11-2, on Monday with help from a ten-run fifth inning.

vs. Purchase: The Lady Bears maintain a 14-8 edge in the all-time series versus the Panthers, winning the last two meetings. The two squads last met on March 27, 2012 with St. Joseph's sweeping Purchase by scores of 4-1 and 7-6.

The Lady Bear Facts

Last Time Out: Powered by a 10-run fifth inning, St. Joseph's overcame a 2-1 deficit after four innings to earn an 11-2 victory over John Jay College in five innings on Monday afternoon at Padavan-Preller Field.

Following an 0-6 start in Florida, St. Joseph's has rebounded to go 4-4 over their last eight games and look to make a late season surge to a possible USCAA National Championship appearance at the end of the season with winnable games ahead of them. The Lady Bears' bats have started to heat up over their last six games, hitting .378 (65-for-172) as a team and have used consistent pitching to go 4-2 during the stretch.

One-time HVIAC Player of the Week Cassandra Molinari continues to swing the bat well for St. Joseph's, hitting a blistering .526 (10-for-19) over the last six games with six RBI and five runs scored. With the hot stretch Molinari now leads the team with a .450 batting average, .500 slugging percentage and has eight RBI on the year.

A pleasant surprise for Coach Carbone and his staff has been two-time HVIAC Rookie of the Week Kristin Ferrigno who is second on the team with a .350 average and leads the team with 12 runs driven in. Fellow freshman Geena Campisi has also been a key addition to the Lady Bears lineup, hitting .500 (7-for-14) with five runs scored and five RBI over the last six games.

In the circle for St. Joseph's are freshman Jamilynn McGowan and junior Jackie Perillo. After a tough start to her rookie campaign, McGowan has pitched better in her last three starts, compiling a 2-1 record on a 3.89 ERA in 18.0 innings. Perillo also struggled to begin the season, but is coming off a complete game win at John Jay where she allowed two runs on four hits.

Inside the Doghouse

Last Time Out: The Bloodhounds dropped an 11-2 decision to St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) on Monday at Padavan-Preller Field.

The Bloodhounds look to turn their season around as they are currently on pace to have their tenth straight losing season. John Jay comes into today's game with a .283 team batting average, but comes in with 103 strikeouts as a team at the plate. The Bloodhounds carry a decent 4.86 ERA in 118.0 innings, but have allowed opponents to hit of a .322.

Jennifer Varela leads John Jay in most offensive categories, including batting average (.382), hits (21), doubles (6), home runs (2) and RBIs (11). The junior also sports a team-high .600 slugging percentage and .469 on base percentage.

Also a threat at the dish is Kalyssa Daley who brings a .356 batting average into today's matchup to rank second on the team and has a team-high 20 runs scored along with ten RBI.

The Bloodhounds use only two pitchers in the circle and they are Lana Kovac and Sara McKenna. Kovac has made seven starts with three complete games, compiling a 1-6 record with a 4.45 ERA in 28 1/3 innings. McKenna leads the team with 14 starts and has accumulated a 6-8 line with a 5.00 ERA in 89 2/3 innings.

Panther Prowlings

Last Time Out: The Panthers dropped both ends of a doubleheader to The Sage Colleges on Sunday, falling 9-2 in the opener and 11-0 in the second game.

Purchase, picked to finish last in the eight-team Skyline Conference, has struggled to find its groove this season losing 14 games in a row after starting the season 3-1. With a sweep of the Lady Bears, the Panthers would match their win total from a year ago. Purchase struggles both at the plate and in the circle, ranking last in the Skyline with a .261 batting average and 8.80 ERA.

Pacing the Panthers at the dish is ToniAnn Licata who leads the team with a .426 average, three long balls and 18 RBI. The junior also has a team-high five doubles and has a .458 on base percentage and .685 slugging percentage. Last year's Second Team All-Skyline Conference selection Christine Leo provides more ammunition to the lineup with a .352 average and a team-high ten runs along with two homers and 10 RBI.

Licata also leads the team in the circle with a 9.19 ERA compiled in 42 2/3 innings. Nicole Fortuna has two of the team's three wins this season and is 2-6 overall with a 9.43 ERA in a team-high 46.0 innings.

Team Comparison

*Statistics for games played through Tuesday, April 15th

Lady Bears	Nickname	Bloodhounds	Panthers
6-10 (1-0)	Record	7-16 (4-6)	3-15 (1-10)
HVIAC	Conference	CUNYAC	Skyline
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Cassandra Molinari (.450)	Top Avg.	Jennifer Varela (.382)	ToniAnn Licata (.426)
Kristin Ferrigno (12)	Top RBI	Jennifer Varela & Jennifer Pace (11)	ToniAnn Licata (18)
Jackie Perillo (16)	Top K	Sara McKenna (44)	Nicole Fortuna (26)
.272	Bat. Avg.	.283	.261
.310	Slugging	.354	.333
.341	OBP	.379	.374
60	Runs	112	58
91	Hits	139	111
48	RBI	85	52
5	SB	21	11
7.27	ERA	4.86	8.80
.348	Opp. Avg.	.322	.387
31/74	K/BB	67/50	47/64
.935	Field %	.911	.943