April 28, 2005

Games 35 and 36: Mount Saint Mary's University vs. Sacred Heart University

When: Sat.., Apr. 30, 2005, 1 p.m.

Where: MSM Softball Field, Emmitsburg, Md.

Series Information: Sacred Heart leads the series, 8-4

Last Meeting: SHU (4-3) 4/5/04

First Meeting: SHU (0-6) 4/13/86

Last Mount Win: Apr. 19, 2003 4-1

The Word on Sacred Heart: The Pioneers enter the contest 12-18 overall and 5-7 in Northeast Conference play. The last time out Sacred Heart split a double header against conference foe Monmouth University. Sacred Heart used a seven-run third inning and held on late to earn a 7-6 win in the first game. In the second game, the Pioneers fell short of a win by losing 6-2.

Last Time Out: The Mount was swept in a doubleheader at Virginia on Wednesday.  Danyale Goode (Ellicott City, Md./Seton Keough) paced the Mount (11-24) with a double and an RBI in the Mount's 6-1 loss in the second game. Maria Lutz (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddon Township) posted a hit and scored the squad's only run in the twinbill.  Virginia won the opening game, 16-0.

Next on Tap: The Mount's final game will be held at Robert Morris in Moon Township, Pa. at the North Athletic Complex.

Conference Record: The 8-8 mark by the Mount marks only the third time in program history the squad has posted eight wins in the Northeast Conference. The 8-8 record also marks the best 16-game conference start in program history, matching the 1999 team that started 9-7.

Up Against the Teacher: The game against UMBC marked the first time first-year head coach Larry Alvis will face his former team. Alvis, a 1979 graduate from UMBC, was a member of Joe French's Retriever staff for three seasons prior to coming to the Mount. Alvis helped the Mount to its first win against UMBC in 10 games and only the second victory in 27 tries.

First College Win: With a 1-0 victory against Delaware State on Mar. 5 against Delaware in the Malhini Aloha Kipa Tournament, head coach Larry Alvis picked up his first collegiate victory as a head coach.

First Impressions: Freshmen Jessica Burke and Lindsay Nolan both made their collegiate debuts at the Malhini Aloha Kipa Tournament on Mar. 3-6. Burke made her first appearance in the starting lineup against Hawaii on Mar. 3 and picked up her first career hit and stolen base against Portland State on Mar. 4. Burke knocked in her first collegiate run to help the Mountaineers defeat St. Francis (Pa.) on Apr. 5. Nolan made her first appearance in Mount uniform as a pinch runner in the game against the Vikings.

Sidelined In Honolulu: Sophomore Ashley Monsour returned to the lineup against Wagner after breaking her hand in the game against Alabama on Mar. 4. Before the injury, the sophomore was batting .333 with two hits and a run scored in three games.

Mary's Second To None: Senior Mary Dillon moved to second base after sophomore Ashley Monsour was sidelined with an injury in the game against Alabama on Mar. 4. The senior played primarily third base in her first three years at Mount St. Mary's.

Sarah, The Thief: Junior Sarah Ramsburg enters the contest ranked fourth on the program's all-time steals list with 31. Ramsburg needs six steals to move into the No. 2 spot on the all-time list and pass Tonia Bruno (33, 1994-97) and Nancy Tenaglio (36, 1983-86). Patti Schaeffer (1983-86) holds the program mark for steals with 67.

Ramsburg's Other Flights: Junior Sarah Ramsburg ranks sixth on the program's all-time hit list with 110. The junior also cracked the Top-10 in at-bats in the game against Monmouth and needs six runs to reach the Top-10 in runs scored.

Maria's Winning Ways: Junior Maria Lutz ranks third on the program's all-time career wins list with 22, tying Sue Merolla (22, 1985-88) after the victory against Fairleigh Dickinson on Apr. 25. Jess Miller (27, 1998-01) ranks second and could all be in the junior reach this season.

Lutz and Company: Junior Maria Lutz ranks fourth on the all-time career strikeouts list with 174. Next on the list is former teammate Allison Moraca with 214 strikeouts. Lutz also ranks sixth with 365.2 innings pitched. The junior also ranks second to Zena Edwards (1.11, 1987-88) for career earned run average with a 1.96. Sophomore Reanna Tuczynski ranks seventh on the all-time strikeouts list with 103. Next on the list is Jamie Mataldi (1995-98) with 115 Ks. The sophomore moved into ninth place in innings pitched against St. Francis (Pa.) and stand at 193.2.

Triples Threat: Senior Shalise Tolentino can establish a new program record with her next triple. Tolentino is currently tied with Amy Chambers (6, 1984-86), Zena Edwards (6, 1987-89) and Kim Rhock (6, 1987-88) for the top spot.

Power Outage: Junior Danyale Goode smacked the Mount's first home run of the season in a 7-4 victory against UMBC on Mar. 22. The junior then belted her second homer of the year against Monmouth on Apr. 17, recorded her third roundtripper against James Madison on Apr. 20 and her fourth of the year against Fairleigh Dickinson on Apr. 25. The junior ranks sixth on the all-time list in roundtrippers with eight. Senior Maria Dillon belted her first collegiate homer against the Hawks on Apr. 17. The Mount had just one home run last season and that came off the bat of Eileen Williams, who graduated. Dillon, Goode and Maria Lutz are the only two players on the 2005 roster to go yard in their career. Goode hit four homers in 2003 while Lutz hit one in that campaign.

Back for Goode: Junior Danyale Goode, an All-NEC second-team selection in her freshman year, returns in 2005 after missing most of the 2004 season. Coming into the season, the junior is a career .308 hitter with four home runs, eight doubles, three triples, 20 RBIs and 22 runs scored.

White Out: Mount St. Mary's was supposed to start the season at the George Washington Challenge on Feb. 26-27, but the tournament was cancelled due to snow.

Facing New Territory: The Mount softball team never played a team that is located west of Tennessee before playing Hawaii, Portland State, Alabama and California in the Malhini Aloha Kipa Tournament on Mar. 3-6. The squad has faced East Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky, Georgia, Ohio, Dayton and numerous programs up and down the East Coast.

Aloha, Hawaii: The Mountaineers flew over 12 hours to participate in the Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament on Mar. 3-6. It marks the second time in two years a Mount program has visited the two newest members of the United States. Last season, the Mount St. Mary's women's basketball team participated in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska.

Against Ranked Opponents: The Mountaineers battled seventh-ranked Alabama at the Manhini Aloha Tournament on Feb. 4 and also played second-ranked California on the next day. It was the first time the Mount has played a ranked opponent in program history.

The Roster: The 2005 softball roster is made up four seniors, six juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen.

Coaching Move: Larry Alvis takes over the helm of the Mount softball team in 2005. Alvis comes to Emmitsburg after serving as an assistant coach at his alma mater University of Maryland-Baltimore County. In his three years with the Retrievers, the squad won the Northeast Conference (NEC) title in 2002 and advanced to the NEC tournament in 2003 before the university moved to the America East Conference last season.

More Coaching Moves: Mount St. Mary's has added Jaime Smith and Terry Burdette to the coaching staff this season. Burdette was a volunteer assistant coach last season.