The College of Staten Island softball team will be fighting off elimination this afternoon, when it takes on Neumann University as part of loser’s bracket competition in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. The Dolphins lost a narrow, 1-0, decision to hosts The College of New Jersey yesterday after a four-hour rain delay, while the Knights fell to Manhattanville, 9-0, in their half of the bracket. The loser of this game is eliminated while the winner will turn right around and play at 3pm against the loser of Manhattanville/TCNJ in a game that will be played at 10am.
CSI vs. NEUMANN UNIVERSITY AT-A-GLANCE
Matchup: CSI (25-13 Overall) vs. Neumann University (26-15 Overall)
Where: Dr. June Walker Field – 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ
First Pitch: 12:30pm
Ticket Info: Adults – $6 / Students – $3 / Senior, Veterans – $4 / Children under 12 – $3 / Children under 2 – Free
Live Statistics: http://www.sidearmstats.com/tcnj/softball/
Live Video: http://www.boxcast.com/show/#/ncaa-regional-game-4—4-the-college-of-staten-island-vs-3-neumann-university-167999
All-Time Series: First Meeting
Players to Watch (CSI): Jacqueline Cautela was dynamite in the circle yesterday, holding the Lions of TCNJ to just four hits, allowing a single unearned run. Chyanne Gilliam notched a base hit in CSI’s three hit affair yesterday and she is now batting .339 this season. Vanessa Joia also stayed hot, notching a hit to extend her average to .386.
Players to Watch (NU): Neumann is batting a whopping .351 as a team, led by the hot-hitting Julia Cox, who is batting .418 this season in 122 at-bats. Danielle Grayson bats an identical .418 as well in 91 at-bats, while Sarah Murray is at .403 in 72 plate appearances. Cox leads the way with 16 extra base hits, while Grayson has bashed eight homeruns this season. In the circle Lauren Wilkie is the ace, boasting a 10-5 mark with a 2.60 ERA. She and Haley Brommell have 15 starts each this season.
News and Notes: This is the first-ever meeting between the two sides. Neumann was held in check yesterday, victims of a perfect game thrown by Manhattanville in the shutout. It marked the 10th time this season Neumann was held between 0-2 runs and the Knights are 0-10 in those games. The same was true for CSI, who have now scored just two runs in their last 19 innings played in NCAA Tournament competition. They are just 3-12 when held to 0-2 runs in games this season. Yesterday marked the first time that the Dolphins were held without an extra base hit since April 17, a span of 17 straight games. Today is the first neutral site game for the Dolphins this season; Neumann is 2-4 in such games. Both teams will also be looking to improve on their out-of-conference record. CSI is 11-12 against non-CUNY teams and NU is just 3-14 outside of their conference schedule.
