April 3, 2012

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Game #25
Quinnipiac University Bobcats (15-9, 4-2 NEC) vs.
Fairfield University Stags (14-7, 0-2 MAAC)
Wednesday, April 4 – 3:30 p.m.
QU Softball Field – Hamden, Conn.

Bobcats Face Fairfield
The Quinnipiac University softball team (15-9, 4-2 NEC) will host Fairfield University (14-7, 0-2 MAAC) in a non-conference game on Wednesday, April 4 at 3:30 p.m. at the QU Softball Field in Hamden, Conn. The Bobcats enter the match-up after sweeping Sacred Heart in a Northeast Conference doubleheader on Sunday afternoon, 12-7 and 5-4.

Multimedia
Live stats and audio will be available by clicking on the appropriate links of the Quinnipiac softball schedule on the Official Website of Quinnipiac Athletics.

Scouting the Stags
Prior to playing Quinnipiac, Fairfield will host Rhode Island in a pair of contests on Tuesday, April 3. The Stags enter the contests at 14-17 overall and 0-2 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. In their most recent outing, the Stags dropped two games to Iona College. Fairfield lost, 3-1, in game one and fell, 4-3, in the second contest of the MAAC twinbill. Sophomore Lauren Liseth contributed three of the team’s five hits on the day and is currently batting .239. Leading the Stags with a .319 batting average is sophomore Kristen Filicia, who also paces the team in total bases (39), hits (30) and runs (20). Filicia has also compiled 18 stolen bases in 31 contests this season. Senior Alli Wigand leads Fairfield with 18 RBI, while sophomore Rae Ball’s four homeruns and .474 slugging percentage ranks first on the team. Rebecca Trott has led the Stags from within the circle, recording a team-high eight wins and a 2.82 ERA in 19 appearances.

All-Time Against Fairfield
Quinnipiac leads the all-time Division I series with Fairfield, 8-5, dating back to the 2003 season. The Bobcats are 6-1 in neutral locations, 0-3 on the road, and 2-1 at the QU Softball Field. Last season, Quinnipiac split a pair of games against the Stags. The Bobcats lost, 6-1, at Fairfield on April 7. Later in the year, QU shut out Fairfield at home, 2-0, on May 5.

Last Time Out
In their most recent outings, the Bobcats picked up a NEC sweep of Sacred Heart on Sunday, April 1 in their 2012 home opener. The Bobcats earned a 12-7 victory in game won and came back to defeat the Pioneers, 5-4, in the second game of the league doubleheader. QU sophomore Katie Alfiere and senior Heather Schwartzburg each earned a win from within the circle, while junior first baseman Jacquie Ristow batted a team-high .714 (5-for-7) in the two-game series. Senior Mina Duffy led the team with five RBI and 10 total bases. Overall, Quinnipiac outhit the Pioneers, 20-14, and compiled seven homeruns as five Bobcats each launched homers on the day. The team also posted a perfect showing defensively.

NCAA Recognition: Bobcats Tie NCAA Record
Quinnipiac matched a NCAA record for consecutive homeruns on Sunday as the Bobcats put together four straight homers in the first inning of game one against Sacred Heart. After junior Alex Alba launched a three-run homerun, senior Mina Duffy homered to left field. Sophomore Katie Alfiere and freshman Nikki Barba then hit back-to-back homers, the first of their careers, to give QU the four consecutive homeruns. The NCAA went on to feature Quinnipiac’s accomplishments on the softball homepage at the official NCAA website, www.NCAA.com.

Weekly Accolades
Senior Mina Duffy was named Northeast Conference Softball Player of the Week and the College Sports Madness NEC Player of the Week after a stellar performance in the Bobcats’ doubleheader against Sacred Heart. Duffy went 4-for-7, batting .444, the second best for QU. She also contributed a team-high five RBI while hitting two homeruns on the day. Duffy started each game in the outfield, recording two putouts and no errors. Duffy currently ranks 128^th in the national standings in homeruns per game (0.22). This marks the Piedmont, Calif. native’s first NEC weekly award of the 2012 season and second College Sports Madness honor of the year.

Heather’s Heating Up
Senior pitcher Heather Schwartzburg improved to 9-3 on the year after leading Quinnipiac in its 5-4 defeat of Sacred Heart in the second contest of Sunday’s NEC twinbill. Schwartzburg has continued to lead the Bobcats’ efforts to rank third in the conference in team pitching, as QU currently posts a 2.74 ERA.  The Mission Viejo, Calif. native leads the team in all pitching categories, while ranking second in the NEC in ERA (1.29) and opposing batting average (.185) and fourth in strikeouts (98) and wins (9). Her 7.9 strikeouts per seven innings stand 49^th in the national rankings, while she ranks 30^th in the country in hits allowed per seven innings (4.52).

Alba Leads The Bobcats
Junior Alex Alba continues to lead the Bobcats with a .377 batting average, which ranks fifth in the NEC. Her team-leading .623 slugging percentage also stands fifth in the conference and 150^th in the national rankings, while her nine doubles are third amongst league opponents.

RPI Rankings
The Bobcats currently stand 121^st in this week’s NCAA Softball RPI Rankings, which make Quinnipiac the second NEC school tabbed in the standings. League opponent Fairleigh Dickinson currently occupies the 115th position in the national rankings.

Dangerous Defense
Quinnipiac currently leads the conference and ranks third in the national standings in fielding percentage at .979. Together, the Bobcats have only made 14 errors on the season.

Walk This Way
Senior Christy Cabrera is currently the most walked member of the Quinnipiac softball team. Cabrera has been walked 12 times this season, helping Cabrera post a team-best .395 on-base percentage this season.

Salgado Can Steal
Salgado continues to lead the Bobcats’ efforts in stolen bases as she leads the team with five on the season. Quinnipiac has out-stolen its opponents, 20-to-11 throughout the 2012 campaign.

What’s Ahead For Quinnipiac
The Bobcats resume NEC play when they travel for a pair of doubleheaders against LIU Brooklyn and Central Connecticut State this weekend. The Bobcats will first play the LIU Blackbirds on Friday, April 6 at 1 p.m., followed by the CCSU Blue Devils on Saturday, April 7, also with a 1 p.m. start.  

Contact: Lindsay Oliveri, lmoliveri@quinnipiac.edu