Softball at the N.C. State Hyatt Place Invitational This Weekend

Tournament Central w/Live Stats for All Games

BRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham softball team (9-7) returns to action this weekend at the N.C. State Hyatt Place in Raleigh, N.C., which will be held at Dail Softball Stadium. This will be team's first action in nearly two weeks.

The Rams are scheduled to play two games Friday against #21/#19 Missouri (11:15 a.m.) and Binghamton (8:15 p.m.), before taking on Longwood (11:15 a.m.) and #25/#25 North Carolina State (3:45 p.m.) Saturday. Fordham concludes the tournament Sunday afternoon against Lipscomb at 2 p.m.

Last Time Out
The Rams finished 1-2 at the rain-shortened Diamond 9 Citrus Classic II in Orlando, Fla., dropping contests against Maryland (4-3 in nine innings) and Penn State (6-1), before picking up a huge victory over #13/#11 Minnesota, 10-5. Fordham had two chances to close out the Terrapins in the seventh and eighth innings but gave up the lead each time, before Maryland scored in the bottom of the ninth to secure the win. Sophomores Sydney Canessa and Amy Van Hoven, redshirt junior Rachel Gillen and senior Brianna Turgeon each had two hits, while Gillen was the tough-luck loser in the circle despite going the distance, as she allowed just two earned runs on six hits to go along with seven strikeouts. After Canessa was the lone bright spot with a 3-for-3, one-run effort against the Nittany Lions, the Fordham bats erupted with a nine-run first inning against the Golden Gophers. Van Hoven finished with career highs of four hits and three RBI, falling a home run short of the cycle, while seniors Michele Daubman and Kayla Lombardo registered two safeties, with Daubman and Gillen collecting two RBI. Gillen moved to 5-2 on the year after tossing 5.2 innings, as she allowed four earned runs and fanned five.

Missouri
2015 Season: 15-3 (3-0 SEC)
When: Friday, March 13 - 11:15 a.m.
Where: Raleigh, N.C. (Dail Softball Stadium)
Series History: Missouri leads 1-0 (since Feb. 21, 2014)
Last Meeting: Feb. 21, 2014 - Missouri 8 Fordham 0 (5 innings) (in Cathedral City, Calif.)
What You Need To Know: The Tigers, who are ranked #21/#19 in the national polls this week, are off to a fine start this season and come into Friday's contest on a season-high seven-game win streak, which includes a doubleheader sweep of Southeast Missouri State earlier this week, a three-game road sweep at South Carolina last weekend and victories over Maryland (5-1) and Penn State (11-7 in eight innings) at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic II, where they also lost to nationally-ranked Notre Dame, 3-2. Stats are not provided on the Missouri website.

Binghamton
2015 Season: 8-6
When: Friday, March 13 - 8:15 p.m.
Where: Raleigh, N.C. (Dail Softball Stadium)
Series History: Fordham leads 7-2 (since 2004)
Last Meeting: April 13, 2014 - Fordham 10-8, Fordham 10-9 (in Bronx, N.Y.)
What You Need To Know: The Bearcats enter Friday on a five-game win streak after taking a pair of games against both Manhattan and Rider last weekend in Myrtle Beach, S.C., before defeating Toledo in Tempe, Ariz., where they also beat the Rockets in the opening game of the tournament at Arizona State. They lost to the Sun Devils twice (1-0, 22-5) and Michigan (15-0) as well in the Valley of the Sun. Binghamton, who starts the tournament with Longwood, is hitting .324 as a team and has scored 108 runs while slugging 15 home runs and stealing 25-of-36 bases. Lisa Cadogan leads the way with a slash line of .444/.608/.833, with team highs of five doubles, three home runs and 14 RBI. Sydney Harbaugh is slashing .400/.526/.600 with three doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI while leading the team with 19 runs and nine stolen bases (in 10 attempts). Pitching is a weakness, as the Bearcats have pitched to a 7.21 ERA in 88.1 innings, yielding 111 runs on 127 hits while striking out just 34 and walking 63. Sarah Miller has started seven of 10 games in the circle and is 5-2 with a 6.44 ERA and one complete game, with a team-high 23 strikeouts and 33 walks.

Longwood
2015 Season: 3-12
When: Saturday, March 14 - 11:15 a.m.
Where: Raleigh, N.C. (Dail Softball Stadium)
Series History: Fordham leads 2-1 (since March 18, 2009)
Last Meeting: Fordham 3 Longwood 0 - March 3, 2012 (in Orlando, Fla.)
What You Need To Know: The Lancers snapped an 11-game losing streak in their last contest when they salvaged a 10-game trip to Hawaii with a 3-0 victory over East Carolina. Longwood opened the season 2-1, with a 3-1 loss to South Carolina sandwiched between, and played nationally-ranked California tough twice in Hawaii, dropping games by scores of 4-3 and 3-0. The Lancers, who will have played Binghamton, N.C. State and Lipscomb before facing the Rams in the tournament, struggle at the plate, as they are hitting .237 with 46 runs. Megan Baltzell paces the offense with a slash line of .317/.472/.537, with team highs of 13 hits, 11 runs, three doubles and two home runs. The pitching staff has pitched to a respectable 4.16 ERA in 97.2 innings while yielding 115 hits and recording only 61 strikeouts. Elizabeth McCarthy has started six of eight games and is 2-5 but has posted a 3.13 ERA to go along with five complete games and 41 strikeouts.

North Carolina State
2015 Season: 11-7 (3-0 ACC)
When: Saturday, March 14 - 3:45 p.m.
Where: Raleigh, N.C. (Dail Softball Stadium)
Series History: N.C. State leads 2-1 (since 2006)
Last Meeting: N.C. State 6 Fordham 4 - March 19, 2009 (in Raleigh, N.C.)
What You Need To Know: The Wolfpack, who come in ranked #25 in both national polls this week, has won four straight and eight of nine after starting the season 3-6, which included losses at #9/#15 Louisiana-Lafayette, #19/#19 LSU (two) and at #1/#1 Florida (three). The eight-of-nine stretch started with two victories each over Eastern Kentucky and Atlantic 10 foe Dayton, followed by a 3-2 loss at Elon, a three-game sweep at #23/#22 Notre Dame, and earlier this week at Campbell, 3-1. Pitching is the strength of the team, as N.C. State has a 2.47 ERA in 119 innings with 150 strikeouts while allowing only 116 hits. Emily Weiman has started 12 of 14 games and is 7-5 with a 2.81 ERA, 87 strikeouts in 74.2 innings and seven complete games while issuing just 19 walks. Courtney Mirabella has started six of eight games in the circle and is 4-2 with a 1.79 ERA, 60 strikeouts in 43.0 innings and four complete games, including one shutout. The offense is hitting only .245 with 81 runs but as slugged 25 home runs. Molly Hutchinson leads the way with a slash line of .377/.468/.736 and has team highs in hits (20), runs (14) and home runs (6) to go along with 12 RBI. Tyler Ross is hitting .328 with three doubles, four home runs and a team-best 15 RBI.

Lipscomb
2015 Season: 9-10
When: Sunday, March 15 - 2 p.m.
Where: Raleigh, N.C. (Dail Softball Stadium)
Series History: First Meeting
What You Need To Know: The Bisons saw a three-game win streak snapped in a 8-7 loss March 3 at UAB, before defeating Southern Illinois, 3-2, Wednesday at home. Previously, Lipscomb defeated Dayton twice and Akron at home, which ended a six-game losing streak that included losses to #5 Michigan and #3 Alabama, after starting the season 5-2. The offense is hitting .248 with 67 runs and 28 stolen bases (in 32 attempts). Brittany Elmore leads the way with a .333 batting average and also paces the team in hits (18), runs (13) and stolen bases (14-for-14). Paige Neely adds a .321 average and eight doubles, while Abby Fenichel has slugged four home runs and scored 10 runs. Baylee Williams also adds two home runs and a team-high 10 RBI. In the circle, the team ERA is 4.53 with 108 strikeouts in 111.1 innings. Kelly Young is 4-5 with a 3.80 ERA, five complete games (two shutouts), 57 strikeouts in 59.0 innings, and has started eight of 13 games. Tanner Saunders has started 10 of 11 and is 4-5 with a 3.82 ERA, five complete games and 48 strikeouts in 51.1 innings.

Up Next
The Rams open Atlantic 10 play March 21-22 with three games at Saint Louis. Fordham will play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m., before concluding the series Sunday at 1 p.m.