Softball Plays In South Florida's Under Armor Invitational This Weekend

SunshineState
The Quinnipiac University softball team will travel to Tampa, Fla. this weekend to compete in the Under Armor Invitational hosted by the University of South Florida. The Bobcats will play 11 games over a nine-day span in the tournament, starting with five games this weekend. Quinnipiac will play against Austin Peay and Temple on Friday, Virginia Tech and Western Michigan on Saturday and will take on tournament-host, South Florida, on Sunday. In their last outing, the Bobcats defeated Rider University, 9-1, in the Norfolk State Invitational.

Scouting the Governors
Quinnipiac starts the tournament with a 10:30 a.m. game against Austin Peay on Friday, Mar. 5. The Lady Governors head into the weekend with a 3-9 overall record, and most recently lost, 9-0, to Kansas at the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. Junior Tiffany Smith currently leads Austin Peay offensively, batting .308 on the year with eight hits and four RBI. Senior LHP Abby Mabry leads the Governors pitching rotation, posting a 3.59 ERA with 22 strikeouts.

Scouting the Owls
The Bobcats second game on Friday will be against Temple at 12:30 p.m. The Owls currently post a 1-3 overall record this season, falling in their last game against East Tennesee State, 12-2. Temple is led by junior pitcher Kristen Marris, who posts a .375 batting average and a 3.00 ERA. Marris has the lone win from the circle for the Owls this season.

Scouting the Hokies
Quinnipiac will take a late start on Saturday, Mar. 6, playing in its first game against Virginia Tech at 4 p.m. The Hokies have compiled a 4-10 record thus far on the year, most recently losing to Nebraska, 2-0. Senior outfielder Whitney Smith leads Virginia Tech offensively as she bats .405 on the year with 17 hits and eight RBI. Junior RHP Kenzie Roark holds a 1-6 record this season with a 3.16 ERA and 26 strikeouts.

Scouting the Broncos
The Bobcats will close out Saturday with a night game against Western Michigan, starting at 7 p.m. The Broncos have put together a 2-4 record so far this season, defeating Maine, 3-2, in their last outing on Mar. 3. Junior Lexi Jager leads Western Michigan as she is batting .471 with two doubles, a triple and two homeruns so far this year. Senior RHP Meredith Whitney has seen the most appearances from the circle for the Broncos, posting a 4-3 record while striking out 15 batters on the year.

Scouting the Bulls
The final game of the first weekend of the Under Armor Invitational will be played against tournament-host South Florida on Sunday, Mar. 7 at 2 p.m. The Bulls post a 5-5 record thus far on the year, most recently losing to Arizona State, 8-7, in eight innings on Feb. 27. Senior third baseman Alison Savarese currently leads the team offensively, as she bats .345 with ten hits and 11 RBI. Freshman RHP Lindsey Richardson has five appearances from the circle for the Bulls this year, holding a 2.13 ERA with 36 strikeouts.

Weekly Winner
Sophomore second baseman Alex Murray (Milford, Mass.) was named the Akadema/Northeast Conference Player of the Week after her performance at the Norfolk State Invitational. Murray batted .500 through four games in the tournament, compiling six hits, five runs and six RBI. The sophomore hit the first homerun of her career in the game against Norfolk State, in addition to hitting the second and third doubles of her career in the games against Rider. It was the first time Quinnipiac had received a Player of the Week award since 2008.

Match Game
The Bobcats won three out of four games last weekend at the Norfolk State Invitational, leveling their season schedule at 3-3 so far this season. Quinnipiac is currently on a three-game winning streak heading into the Under Armor Invitational.

Twenty-Two In Two
Last Saturday in Day Two of the Norfolk State Invitational, the Bobcats scored a total of 22 runs on the day against Iona and Rider. It was the highest amount of runs scored by Quinnipiac in a single day since May 6, 2005, when the Bobcats scored 22 runs against St. Francis (NY) in a doubleheader.

The Run Producers
Seniors Kim Le Bel (Quincy, Mass.) and Katie Allendorfer (Glenside, Pa.) produced a majority of the Bobcats' runs last weekend, combining for 13 of the total 38 RBI. Le Bel drove in six runs with six hits and her first homerun of the season, while Allendorfer generated seven runs with two doubles and two sacrifice hits.

Feel the Heat
Sophomore RHP Heather Schwartzburg (Mission Viejo, Calif.) threw for two of the Bobcats wins over the weekend at Norfolk, picking up her first W's of the 2010 season. Schwartzburg pitched against Iona in Day Two, and Rider in Day Three of the Norfolk Invitational, allowing just seven hits while striking out 14. The sophomore currently posts a 3.00 ERA on the year.

First Time Around
Freshman RHP Alejandra Alba (Sylmar, Calif.) picked up her first win of the 2010 season in her first appearance in a Quinnipiac jersey. The rookie pitched in Day Two against Rider, allowing four hits while striking out four. Sophomore utility player Jessica Amenda (Milford, Conn.) caught for Alba, in her first appearance behind the plate for the Bobcats.

Making the Rounds
Senior Emily Bellush (Newton, Mass.) hit her first homerun of the season as well as hitting a triple at the Norfolk Invitational. It was the first triple of her career, while the homerun was the sixth in her four years at Quinnipiac.