PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – La Salle softball will hit the road for their final early season tournament of the season, heading south to Baltimore, Md. to take part in the Coppin State Tournament. The Explorers will play double-headers on both Saturday and Sunday. The Blue and Gold will take on Youngstown State and tournament host Coppin State in first day action. They will conclude the two-day tournament with a rematch against UMass Lowell and a contest against Mount St. Mary's (Md.).
 
Tournament Schedule
Saturday, March 15, 2014
vs. Youngstown State, 9:00 AM
at Coppin State, 11:15 AM
 
Sunday, March 16, 2014
vs. UMass Lowell, 12:15 PM
vs. Mount St. Mary's (Md.), 2:30 PM
 
Last Time Out
The Explorers enter this weekend riding a two-game winning streak. The Blue and Gold swept a double-header in the final day at the Rebel Spring Games, defeating Niagara 5-2 and UMass Lowell 10-4.
 
Freshman shortstop Michelle Hagarty and senior Megan Hodgson powered the Explorers in the sweep. Hagarty combined to go 5-for-7 in the two contests, slugging two homers and a triple. She scored five runs and collected two RBI's. Hodgson had a monster day, combining to go 4-for-7 in the two contests. She crushed three round-trippers, scoring three runs and driving in nine RBI's.
 
Scouting the Explorers
The Explorer bats have been streaky in the early part of this season; however, they enter Coppin State on a bit of a roll. They currently lead the Atlantic 10 in team batting average, going 77-for-273 (.282) as a team through their first ten games this season.
 
Megan Hodgson leads the Explorers offensively. The senior center fielder has gotten off to a fantastic start coming off of a stellar junior season, in which she broke the La Salle's single-season homerun record. She is batting .424 (14-for-33) on the season, which is the third best mark in the A-10 by players with 15 or more at-bats. She is already halfway to equaling her homerun total from last season, already crushing five long balls on the season, which is tied for the conference lead. She is also tied for the A-10 lead with 16 RBI's on the year. She is currently 6^th in NCAA Division I in homeruns/game and 11^th in RBI/game.
 
A trio of freshmen starters has been a major boon to the Explorer offense. Utility player Suzanne Swanicke, third baseman Christina Bascara, and shortstop Michelle Hagarty have had explosive starts to their La Salle careers.
 
Swanicke leads all A-10 players with more than 15 at-bats in batting average, going 11-for-23 (.478) in nine games this season. She currently ranks 29^th in all of NCAA Division I in batting average.
 
Bascara has been equally impressive, starting all ten games at third base this season. She is currently ranked 2^nd in the conference and 39^th in NCAA Division I in batting average, going 13-for-30 (.433). She is tied for second on the team with seven runs scored this season.
 
Hagarty has added substantial power from the leadoff position this year for the Explorers. She is 9^th in the conference in batting average, going 11-for-29 (.379). She leads the team with ten runs scored, while she ranks second on the team in RBI's with six. Her three homeruns are tied for fifth in the A-10 thus far this season.  
 
Scouting the Penguins
Youngstown State enters this weekend with an overall record of 10-7. They have been hot of late, emerging victorious in five of their last six contests.
 
Sophomore infielder Miranda Castiglione paces the Penguins offense. She is 22-for-50 (.440) this season, leading the team in runs scored (14), homeruns (3), and RBI's (10).
 
Casey Crozier is the ace of the Penguins staff. She has posted a 5-2 mark in seven starts this season, posting a stingy 2.23 earned run average. The senior averages better than a strikeout per inning, fanning 47 batters in 44.0 innings pitched this season.
 
Scouting the Eagles
Tournament host Coppin State enters this weekend with an overall record of 2-5.
 
The Eagles are a strong offensive club, going 61-for-182 (.335) as a team in their seven contests this season. Alyssa Barker leads Coppin State in batting average, going 10-for-15 (.667). Candice Van Horn powers the Eagles, pacing the team in homeruns (3), runs scored (11) and RBI (7).
 
Scouting the River Hawks
UMass Lowell has struggled to get things going since a season opening 8-7 win over Campbell. The River Hawks have lost their last ten contests, entering this weekend with an overall record of 1-10.
 
Sophomore outfielder Brianna Martin has been one of the lone bright spots in the River Hawks lineup thus far this season, as the team has struggled to get the bats going. She is batting .345 (10-for-29), with three runs scored and three RBI's.
 
Scouting the Mount
Mount St. Mary's has been mired in a small funk following a 6-5 start to the season. They are 1-4-1 in their last six contests, entering the weekend with a 7-9-1 mark on the season.
 
Much like UMass Lowell, the Mount's have struggled to get things going with the bat in the early going this season. They are hitting just .220 as a team. Freshmen Jessica Greenewald and Rachel Heinze have paced the offense so far this season. Greenewald has gone 15-for-51 (.294) with five runs scored and three RBI's. Heinze is batting .250 (9-for-36), while slugging one of the team's two homeruns. She leads the team with seven runs scored.
 
Senior Nicole Pagano has led a strong pitching staff that has posted a 1.83 team earned run average. She is 6-3 on the season, posting a 1.15 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 61.0 innings of work.