For the next few days there won't be much turn-around time for the Clarkson University Softball team as the the squad looks to squeeze in eight games in four days, including three doubleheaders at Scott Field.
The Golden Knights enter the week with a record of 0-18 overall and 0-6 in conference play, but the team played some of its best games of the season this past weekend, nearly taking a one-run game from RIT and playing well against currently unbeaten league foe University of Rochester. Clarkson will hope conditions are favorable enough to face SUNY Canton on Wednesday, followed by a doubleheader against Potsdam State on Thursday before traveling to play Johnson State on Friday. The Knights will close out the streak with a doubleheader against St. Lawrence on Saturday afternoon.
The Knights dropped four league contests this past weekend in Rochester, but played well enough to win in a few games. Freshman pitcher Jamie Bridge (Plymouth, CT) allowed five earned runs against the Yellowjackets, but is the only pitcher in the conference to keep them from scoring more than five runs in a game so far. Bridge then came back to post a career-high 13 strikeouts against RIT in a 2-1 loss on Sunday. One of only two pitchers in the league to average more than a strikeout per inning, Bridge's 4.41 earned run average would drop by more than a run and a half (2.84) without a start in Florida in which she was suffering from illness before being relieved after three innings. She has posted four double-digit strikeout games in nine starts and has allowed only 14 walks in her past 39-plus innings averag allowing eight in the first 13 frames. Her earned run average in conference games is 3.68 through 20 innings. Sophomore Kat Tamburro (Frankfort, NY) leads the team in hitting at .261 (12-for-46) and on-base percentage at .333 with a team-best seven steals.
The first opponent up for the Knights will be SUNY Canton (4-11) on Wednesday at Scott Field. Shannon Dowling leads the Kangaroos in hitting at .447 (21-for-47) and she has also posted a .490 on-base percentage and .660 slugging percentage to go along with 10 runs batted in. Stephanie LaValley is hitting .311 (14-for-45) with a team-best 13 runs scored, while Hallie Fenti is hitting .323 with 11 RBI and a .613 slugging percentage. Jordan Podkladek is the team's top pitcher, having posted a 2.63 ERA with 28 strikeouts in just under 55 innings. She has pitched nearly 60 percent of the team's innings and is no slouch at the plate, having scored 11 times and driven in 11 more.
Potsdam State (1-13) is Thursday's scheduled opponent at Scott Field, and the team has struggled offensively with a .193 batting average and 19 runs scored in 14 games. Jordan Ott leads the squad in hitting with a .350 batting average (14-for-40), .448 on-base percentage and .550 slugging percentage. Katie Marsman is next at .311 (13-for-42) and a .405 slugging percentage. The Bears' pitching staff has tossed reasonably well, but doesn't strike out many hitters as they have managed 19 strikeouts in 83 innings so far. Megan Briner has a 4.78 earned run average in 33.2 innings and Megan Johnson has a 5.75 mark in 28 innings with a team-best 10 strikeouts.
Clarkson will take to the road on Friday to fae Johnson State (5-12). No player truly stands out offensively for the Badgers as the team has seven regulars hitting better than .250, but none above .315. Anna Bingham is the team's leader at .312 (15-for-48) and Shannon Grier is next at .295 (13-for-44). Johnson State's offense likes to swing the bat, having worked only 22 walks in 17 games. Andrea Williams has done a good job of keeping the team in games, with 69 strikeouts in 73 innings with a 2.21 earned run average.
Finally, on Saturday the Knights will host St. Lawrence at Scott Field in what should prove to be the final home games of the 2014 schedule, potential make ups pending. St. Lawrence (5-13 overall, 0-5 Liberty League) has one of the top pitchers in the league in Kyle Plimpton, who has struck out a conference-high 92 batters in 76 innings this season with a 4.13 earned run average. Hannah Sears makes up most of the other innings and has whiffed 32 over 27.2 innings. Rebecca Allen leads the team in hitting at a .360 clip (18-for-50) with eight extra-base hits and 14 runs batted in. Nicole Matthews is also batting .326 (14-fo-43) while Aisha O'Connor leads the team with 11 runs and eight stolen bases.
