Softball Set for Six Games in the Sunshine State

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Off to a 7-8 start to the season, the Army West Point softball team will head to the Sunshine State to compete in the USF Under Armour Showcase. The Black Knights will play in six contests in Clearwater Fla., March 11-16.

HOW TO FOLLOW
LIVE STATS • http://bit.ly/SBlivestats2016
TWITTER • @ArmyWP_Softball
INSTAGRAM • @ArmyWP_Softball

"Spring break is a great opportunity to get out of the traditional northeast winter when we are off from school and have a week to limit our focus to the sport, our team, and preparing for conference games that are right around the corner," said head coach Michelle DePolo. "Florida itself is a very traditional location for training because we are usually assured some great weather and a wide variety of competition."

The Black Knights are riding a 3-2 weekend at the Patriot Classic where they defeated George Mason (4-3), Marist (4-3) and Howard (7-0) to improve to 7-8 on the season. This was the team's first time beating Hudson Valley rival Marist since the 2013 season.

Army will first face Quinnipiac (2:15 p.m.) and Wisconsin Green Bay (6:45 p.m.) on Friday, March 11. The Black Knights will have another two games on the 12th when they face South Dakota (9:15 a.m.) and North Dakota (2 p.m.).

On Saturday, March 13, the Cadets will take on USC Upstate at 9 a.m. Army will then have a two-day break until its final game of the showcase when it faces UMass Lowell at 6 p.m. on the 16th.

"Our season is very much like that where you play several games back to back to back, then have a few days rest before the before the next cluster of games," said DePolo. "Playing so much in a short amount of time really requires a lot of mental and physical preparation.

"The structure of the games will force us to have very short memories with any plays from the past and either keep the energy going in the direction we are headed or be resilient in the face of adversity. We are going to keep building off our experiences and face some more good competition this week so that we are playing our best ball of the season as we approach conference play."

Freshman pitcher Renee Poirier was been named the Patriot League's Rookie of the Week on Tuesday, after clinching two saves in the circle during the team's 3-2 weekend at the Patriot Classic.

The Plainville, Mass., native saw action in 16.0 innings over the weekend and had back-to-back saves with a combined nine strikeouts. Poirier allowed 10 hits and four runs with an ERA of 0.56.

Mae Wadyka leads the Cadets with a batting average of .375 and is followed by Kasey McCravey (.314). Caroline Smith is the team's RBI leader with nine, while Kristen McPeek has eight. McCravey and Gladys Esparza-Gallegos have each tallied seven RBI.

Smith (2-4) and Kristen West (5-1) have seen the most time in the circle this season. West has earned seven starts with 11 appearances and has pitched for 41.2 innings with an ERA of 2.35. She has also tallied 24 strikeouts and a shutout. Smith has started in five games and has eight total appearances with 29.0 innings pitched and seven strikeouts.

"One of things that has been great, is every game is a full team effort," DePolo added. "Every game a new player has stepped up in a big way for us. I could go down our entire roster and name something valuable that each player has brought to our team thus far to help us be successful. I think it's nice for each member of the team to know they may be having an off day but someone is there to pick them up."

Army has a record of 5-6 during day games and is 2-2 during night games. The Black Knights' longest winning streak of the season has been three games, which they have achieved twice.

"Additionally our whole team has had a great attitude about our own abilities," said DePolo. "We could be losing in the bottom of the 7th with two outs and we still feel confident we can take the game."

QUINNIPIAC - The Bobcats head to Florida with a 5-4 mark. Quinnipiac leads the all-time series over the Cadets 9-3, and the last time Army defeated the Bobcats was in the 2011 season.

WISCONSIN GREEN BAY – Wisconsin Green Bay is 4-13 on the season with wins over South Dakota, Western Illinois, Loyola and Quinnipiac. The Black Knights lead the Phoenix 8-5 in the all-time series that dates back to 1994.

SOUTH DAKOTA – The Coyotes have defeated Texas Tech and LIU Brooklyn this season to bring their record to 2-18. This will be Army's first-ever meeting with South Dakota.

NORTH DAKOTA – North Dakota heads to Florida with a 5-13 record. This will be the first contest between the Cadets and the Fighting Hawks.

USC UPSTATE – The Spartans boast a 17-2 mark this season and have won by mercy rule in six contests. USC Upstate's only losses have come from Kent State and Virginia Tech. Army's game against the Spartans will be the first meeting between the two schools.

UMASS LOWELL – The River Hawks have a record of 3-8 this season and have wins over Manhattan, South Carolina State and Campbell. UMass Lowell leads Army 2-0 in the all-time series. The two teams faced each other in 2015 at the USF Under Armour Classic where the River Hawks squeaked by with an 8-7 victory. The Cadets and UMass Lowell had also met earlier in the season at the Charleston Classic and the River Hawks came away with the 13-8 win.

For up-to-date information about Army softball, please follow @ArmyWP_Softball on Twitter and Instagram.

Softball Set for Six Games in the Sunshine State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Gladys Esparza-Gallegos

Kasey McCravey

Kristen McPeek

Renee Poirier

Caroline Smith

Mae Wadyka

Kristen West

Army West Point Athletics