Softball | April 24, 2015

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – La Salle hits the road for their final conference road series of the year as they head to George Mason for a three game set with the Patriots.
 
La Salle Explorers (11-14; 7-5 A-10) at George Mason Patriots(18-22; 10-7 A-10)
Saturday, April 25, 2015 | 12 PM| 2 PM|  GMU Softball Complex
Live Stats | Live Audio| In-Game Tweets @ExplorerGameDay | Text Alerts
 
La Salle Explorers (11-14; 7-5 A-10) at George Mason Patriots(18-22; 10-7 A-10)
Sunday, April 26, 2015 | 12 PM | GMU Softball Complex
Live Stats | Live Audio| In-Game Tweets @ExplorerGameDay | Text Alerts
 
Scouting the Explorers 
The weekend series pits two teams who are competing for spots in the Atlantic 10 Softball Tournament in early May. George Mason enters in fourth place at 10-7 while the Explorers are close behind in fifth at 7-5. The top six teams earn a spot in the tournament so this weekend series is critical for seeding purposes.  
 
Sophomore Christina Bascara has led the Explorers offensive effort. She has the third highest average in the conference and the 78^th best nationally at .424 on the year. She also is fourth in the A-10 and 87^th nationally in on base percentage (.507), and second in the conference and 86^th in the nation with a .746 slugging percentage. Bascara also leads the Explorers with 19 RBI and 25 hits on the year and ranks second with 15 runs scored.
 
Senior Linnette Siedler and sophomore Michelle Hagarty have each helped set the tone from atop the lineup. Hagarty leads the team with 16 runs scored on the year from the leadoff slot. Siedler is second on the team with a .349 batting average and third having scored 13 runs on the year. She also leads the team having stolen three bases on the season.
 
Junior Mary Cate Scott and freshman McKenzie Peace have done the majority of the work in the circle for the Explorers. Peace owns a 5-5 record with a 3.60 ERA in 60.1 innings while striking out 36 batters. Scott has the lowest ERA on the team at 2.48 and owns a 4-3 record in 59.1 innings pitched striking out 42 while allowing only 26 walks.
 
Scouting the Patriots
George Mason enters the weekend on a four game conference win streak after sweeping Rhode Island last weekend and grabbing the final game of the series against St. Bonaventure.  

The Patriots have four regular starters with batting averages north of .300. Freshman Liz Seymour leads the way with a .359 average as well as a team-high 35 runs scored on the year which ranks fourth in the conference. Seymour also leads the league with five triples on the season. Senior Brooke Blankenship is close behind at .359 along with a team-leading 18 extra-base hits, eight homers and 39 RBI on the year. Her RBI total ties for second in the league.

George Mason has utilized three different pitchers on the season with junior Christina Gabriele leading the way. She has thrown 107.0 innings to lead the team and has an 8-10 record to show for it while amassing a 4.79 ERA with 54 strikeouts. Junior Sarah Kleinfelter and senior Casey Herring have also been constants in the circle throwing 80.0 and 79.0 innings respectively with 5.18 and 5.24 ERAs.

Up Next
La Salle plays Rider in its final nonconference game of the season on Wednesday as well as a makeup doubleheader with St. Joes before closing out the regular season by hosting Dayton for a three game set next weekend.