Softball Hosts Briarcliffe on Senior Day in Top 10 Matchup With USCAA Tournament Implications

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – With a United States Collegiate Athletic Association tournament bid potentially at stake, the No. 8 St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team (17-13) hosts No. 7 Briarcliffe College on Senior Day this Sunday for a pair of pivotal contests.

Game Information

Sunday, April 26

Opponent: Briarcliffe College (8-6)
Time: 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Location: Padavan-Preller Field | Bellerose, N.Y.
Coverage: Live stats (Game 1) | Live Stats (Game 2)

Team Links

St. Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Statistics | NCAA Ranking Summary
Briarcliffe: Roster | Schedule | Statistics

Quick Hits

• The Lady Bears (17-13) are victors in nine of their last 11 and enter off a 31-run outburst in the doubleheader sweep of HVIAC foe Yeshiva on Friday to remain perfect in conference play this season.
• St. Joseph's moved up to No. 8 for the second time this season in the USCAA Coaches Poll and face a Briarcliffe team ranked one spot ahead in a matchup that could decide a potential USCAA tournament berth for both squads.
• Senior Cassandra Molinari and sophomore Samantha Rossi are the team's leading run producers with 21 RBI each. Earlier this week Rossi was tabbed the HVIAC Player of the Week for the second time in her career.
• Senior Jackie Perillo owns the only two homers for the Lady Bears this season and ranks second on the team in RBI (18). She continues to chase the coveted 100-hit mark needing just four more base knocks.
• Stephanie Rancel, Maria Gentile and Erica Eddy continue their strong rookie production. Rancel has lifted her average to a team-second-best .391 while Gentile (.356) and Eddy (.339) share the team lead with Perillo with six extra base hits.
• The pitching duo of freshman Theresa Armano and sophomore Jamilynn McGowan continue to silence opponents' bats. Armano has garnered HVIAC Pitcher of the Week honors three times this season leading the Lady Bears and HVIAC in wins (9), starts (15), innings (83.0), complete games (11), strikeouts (47) and ERA (4.47). McGowan tossed a complete-game shutout on Friday to level her record at 7-7 to go along with 30 strikeouts and four complete games.
• Briarcliffe enters 8-6, including a sweep of the Lady Bears on April 11 in Holbrook, N.Y. In the midst of a four-game losing streak, the Bulldogs moved from No. 5 to No. 7 in the latest USCAA Coaches Poll.

Series History

The Lady Bears maintain a slim 11-10 edge in the tight rivalry.

Last Meeting

This season, on April 11, the Bulldogs shutout St. Joseph's 5-0 and 8-0 in Holbrook, N.Y. Freshman Heidi Gomez no-hit the Lady Bears in game one, striking out nine in a seven-inning complete-game shutout. Freshman Theresa Armano contained Briarcliffe's offense, allowing four earned runs in six innings, but suffered the loss.

St. Joseph's scraped together six hits in the nightcap, including two off the bat of Destiny Marino, but again failed to get on the scoreboard. The Bulldogs connected for 11 hits en route to eight runs and freshman Lyndsey Balder followed up Gomez's game-one gem with her own complete-game shutout.

The Lady Bear Facts

The Lady Bears (17-13) are victors in nine of their last 11 and enter off a 31-run outburst in the doubleheader sweep of HVIAC foe Yeshiva on Friday to remain perfect in conference play this season. St. Joseph's moved up to No. 8 for the second time this season in the USCAA Coaches Poll and face a Briarcliffe team ranked one spot ahead in a matchup that could decide a potential USCAA tournament berth for both squads.

Senior Cassandra Molinari and sophomore Samantha Rossi are the team's leading run producers with 21 RBI each. Earlier this week Rossi was tabbed the HVIAC Player of the Week for the second time in her career. Senior Jackie Perillo owns the only two homers for the Lady Bears this season and ranks second on the team in RBI (18). She continues to chase the coveted 100-hit mark needing just four more base knocks.

Stephanie Rancel, Maria Gentile and Erica Eddy continue their strong rookie production. Rancel has lifted her average to a team-second-best .391 while Gentile (.356) and Eddy (.339) share the team lead with Perillo with six extra base hits.

The pitching duo of freshman Theresa Armano and sophomore Jamilynn McGowan continue to silence opponents' bats. Armano has garnered HVIAC Pitcher of the Week honors three times this season leading the Lady Bears and HVIAC in wins (9), starts (15), innings (83.0), complete games (11), strikeouts (47) and ERA (4.47). McGowan tossed a complete-game shutout on Friday to level her record at 7-7 to go along with 30 strikeouts and four complete games.

Lady Bears Last Time Out

St. Joseph's (17-13, 2-0 HVIAC) remained in first place in the HVIAC with a sweep over Yeshiva University (3-11, 1-1 HVIAC) on Friday.

Reaching a season-high offensive output, the Lady Bears won a game-one shootout 19-11. Senior Cassandra Molinari finished with a game-high four RBI at the plate. Adding to her 2-for-2, three-RBI performance with the bat, freshman Theresa Armano also tossed her eleventh complete game in the circle to improve to 9-6 on the season.

In game two, St. Joseph's blanked the Maccabees 12-0 to finish off the sweep. Sophomore Jamilynn McGowan tossed a complete-game shutout to improve to 7-7, while freshman Destiny Marino finished with a game-high four RBI powered by a bases-clearing double in the fourth inning.

Lady Bears Climb up USCAA Coaches Poll

St. Joseph's moved up to No. 8 in the latest USCAA Coaches Poll released on Friday. It is the last published poll before bids to the USCAA National Championships are announced on Friday 5/1.

Inside the Doghouse

Following an eight-game win streak, including a shutout sweep of St. Joseph's two week ago, the Bulldogs are now on a four game-skid after dropping doubleheaders to Monroe College and County College of Morris. In their eight victories this season, the Bulldogs have throttled opponents by an 81-1 margin.

Briarcliffe comes into Sunday's game one spot above St. Joseph's at No. 7 in the latest USCAA Coaches Poll after peaking at No. 5. In the earlier encounter with the Lady Bears, freshman Heidi Gomez tossed a no-hitter striking out nine and currently boasts a 1.66 ERA that ranks fourth in the USCAA along with a second-best 8.73 strikeouts per game.

Senior Raina Bunai is one of the two senior leaders and swings a potent stick batting .350 on the season and going 4-for-6 with 3 RBI in the earlier meeting vs. St. Joseph's.

Freshman Lyndsey Balder leads four Bulldogs with .400-plus batting averages with a .442 average and team-high-tying 15 RBI. Fellow freshman Emily Gaeta follows closely with a .436 average and 15 RBI.

Briarcliffe Last Time Out

The Bulldogs fell 7-3 and 6-1 at County College of Morris on April 17, increasing their skid to four games.

Freshman Heidi Gomez suffered her third loss of the season in the opener, surrendering five runs, two earned, in 3.1 innings of work. Briarcliffe's bats were active, matching their opponent with nine hits, but the Bulldogs managed only one extra-base hit.

In game two, Morris held the Bulldogs to just four hits and made use of four defensive miscues, cruising to a 6-1 victory and clinching the sweep.

Next Up for the Lady Bears – vs. New Rochelle

On Tuesday, the Lady Bears will face HVIAC foes College of New Rochelle for the second time this season at 4 p.m. at Padavan-Preller Field. Live stats will be available at SJCBears.com.