Softball Gameday: Lady Bears vs. Briarcliffe

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – St. Joseph's (16-15) tries to extend its winning streak to a season-high nine games as they host USCAA rival Briarcliffe College (14-11) for a doubleheader on Wednesday, May 7th at 4 p.m in their 2014 season finale.

Game Information

Briarcliffe College (14-11) vs. St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (16-15)

Wednesday, May 7th • 4 p.m.
Padavan-Preller Field • Bellerose, N.Y.
Live Stats

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Storylines

• St. Joseph's looks to conclude their 2014 season on a nine-game winning streak and finish a season-high three games over .500.
• The Lady Bears try to improve to 8-3 in home games with a pair of wins and finish the month of May undefeated at 5-0.
• St. Joseph's holds a 10-7 edge in the all-time series, but lost previous meetings earlier this season.
• Briarcliffe tries to head into the USCAA Small College World Series on a high note, having won three of their last four games entering today's doubleheader.
• With at least a split the Lady Bears would secure a winning record for the fifth time out of the last six seasons.

Series History

St. Joseph's maintains a 10-7 advantage in the all-time series but have lost the last four meetings, including dropping 9-1 and 8-7 decisions to the Bulldogs on April 10th.

The Bear Facts

Last Time Out: St. Joseph's captured the 2014 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) Tournament title defeating The College of New Rochelle, 18-0, in the semifinals and Yeshiva University, 14-1, in the championship on Sunday afternoon at Mary Levine Field.

After falling to 9-15 on the season after being dealt a tough sweep at the hands of borough rival Brooklyn College, St. Joseph's has bounced back to win seven games in a row and get over .500 for the first time this season. The Lady Bears have gone on this streak using an offense that has averaged 12.6 runs per game and pitching staff that has surrendered just five runs.

This week's USCAA Player of the Week Cassandra Molinari is having a stellar junior season for St. Joseph's, leading the team in hitting all season and now has a sparkling .478 average. The catcher/second baseman also has 24 RBI and a team-best .620 slugging percentage. On Sunday, the one-time HVIAC Player of the Week became the 12th Lady Bear in school history to record 100 hits as she smacked a home run in St. Joseph's semifinal win over New Rochelle.

Last week's HVIAC Rookie of the Week Samantha Rossi has been impressive in her first year on campus, batting .402 with a team-high-tying two long balls and a team-high 25 RBI. The outfielder also leads the team with ten doubles and has scored 23 runs. HVIAC All-Conference selection Kristin Ferrigno continues to be a steady contributor for St. Joseph's in her rookie campaign, batting .388 with 21 RBI.

Samantha Simon, a HVIAC All-Conference performer, has played well for the Lady Bears in her debut season, hitting .369 with a team-high 31 runs scored along with 18 RBI in 84 at bats. Another freshman Geena Campisi has made 21 starts on the year and has accumulated a .444 average with 18 runs and 15 RBI and recorded her first collegiate home run on Sunday.

Anchoring the St. Joseph's pitching staff is freshman Jamilynn McGowan who leads the team with a 4.66 ERA and is 8-8 with 12 complete games. The rookie has tossed a team-high 85.2 innings and paces the team with 51 strikeouts. This week's USCAA Pitcher and AD3I Player of the Week Jackie Perillo also pitches for the Lady Bears, compiling an 8-7 record and a 6.91 ERA with 13 complete games in 75.0 innings.

Inside the Doghouse

Last Time Out: Briarcliffe swept Globe Tech on April 29th, earning a 19-1 victory in game one before taking the nightcap 12-0.

The Bulldogs are a perennial USCAA power and are once again headed to the USCAA Small College World Series, going as a No. 5 seed and will face Carlow on May 12th in the opening round. Briarcliffe is one of the top slugging teams in the USCAA, ranking No. 3 with a .494 slugging percentage. The Bulldogs also rely on one of the top pitching staffs in the association coming in with a team ERA of 2.67.

Leading the Briarcliffe attack is last year's USCAA All-American Lyndsay Coppola who has had an outstanding season this year, batting a ridiculous .494 in 81 at bats with a team-high 39 runs scored (No. 3 in USCAA), 20 doubles (No. 1 in USCAA), eight homers (No. 2 in USCAA), 1.086 slugging percentage (No. 2 in USCAA) and 37 RBI (No. 3 in USCAA). Also providing support is Emily Mazzaro who is batting .410 with 35 RBI (No. 4 in USCAA) and two home runs on the year.

The pitching staff is led by Laura Arabito who is 6-5 in a team-high 16 appearances and has thrown a team-high 86 2/3 innings. Arabito has compiled a 2.75 ERA and has tossed 11 complete games. Also, starting for the Bulldogs is TinaMarie Callanan who is 5-2 in the circle with an impressive 1.78 ERA in 43 1/3 innings.

Team Comparison

Lady Bears	Nickname	Bulldogs
16-15	Record	14-11
HVIAC	Conference	USCAA
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Cassandra Molinari (.478)	Top Avg.	Lyndsay Coppola (.494)
Samantha Rossi (25)	Top RBI	Lyndsay Coppola (37)
Jamilynn McGowan (51)	Top K	Laura Arabito (34)
.372	Bat. Avg.	.350
.477	Slugging	.494
.441	OBP	.428
216	Runs	176
287	Hits	235
184	RBI	153
27	SB	58
5.94	ERA	2.67
.311	Opp. Avg.	.292
101/129	K/BB	60/49
.944	Field %	.882