After a pair of tough losses yesterday to open their season, the College of Staten Island softball team is going to try and regroup today and get into the win column.  They battle Susquehanna University and UMass-Dartmouth for a doubleheader beginning at 9am, moved up from 9:30am, hoping to get on the win ledger.  It’s the third and fourth of an eight-game swing for the Dolphins as part of The Spring Games in Clermont, Florida.

CSI vs. SUSQUEHANNA / UMASS-DARTMOUTH
Matchup: College of Staten Island (0-2) vs. Susquehanna (3-4) / UMass-Dartmouth (4-2)
Where: The Spring Games – Clermont, FL
Live Video:  FloSoftball (Subscription)
Live Stats:  https://csidolphins.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary (link is the same for all games)
All-Time Series:  First Meeting against either team
Players to Watch (CSI): Despite dropping a pair of games yesterday, the Dolphins got a huge performance from Patricia Riches, who scored six of the Dolphins’ 12 hits on the afternoon, going 6-7 at the plate, good for an .857 average.  She also blasted a pair of doubles as well and was perfect in the field on 11 chances.  Sierra Kaplanek (2-6) and Alexa Venditti (1-3) both are .333 on the year to start the season.  venditti has the only other extra-base hit for the Dolphins and Kaplanek has two of the Dolphins’ four RBI.  Claudia Porcaro has the other two RBI without having registered a hit.  In the circle, Jaclyn Kateridge went 0-1 and has a 4.67 ERA in 9 innings tossed.  Vanessa Porto tossed four innings, and has an 0-1 mark with a 5.25 ERA.
Players to Watch (SUS): Through seven games, Susquehanna has five players batting well over .300 and the team is batting .316 as a unit overall.  Kody Streeter has done damage, going .474 at the dish with a pair of extra-base hits and seven RBI/  Emily Lear is a healthy .438 with six runs scored, with Katie Koch going 7-17 at the plate with a team best 10 runs scored.  Kasey Bost has been aces with runners on base, as she is batting .364 with a team-best 12 RBI.  In the circle, Brooke Wiarda (0-1, 2.33 ERA), Alexa Gonzalez (2-1, 3.27 ERA), and Gabby Bubba (0-0, 4.00 ERA) can all see time in today’s meeting.
Players to Watch (UMASS): Through six games, Cierra Sheerin has been the most consistent hitter, batting at a .357 clip, and her six bases on balls bring her on-base percentage up to a hefty .571.  Kylie Fletcher is batting .250 and is tied for the team-lead with Leah Major with a trio of RBI.  Where the Corsairs have been deadly has been in the circle.  Annika Evensen is 2-0 this season with a miniscule 0.72 ERA, earning a save as well, and Jill Richards is not that far behind, having pitched four more innings with a 1-0 mark with a 1.05 ERA.
News & Notes:  There is no history between these three teams so the meeting today will be the first in their respective histories.  Susquehanna plays in the Landmark Conference.  They finished 27-16 a year ago, including a 9-3 conference mark.  They are just 1-3 so far in The Spring Games, although they did win their first game in Florida on Tuesday, winning 11-5.  They played twice yesterday, although their results have not been released as of press time.  As for UMass-Dartmouth, the Corsairs play in the Little East Conference.  They finished 24-15 a year ago, 7-7 in conference.  After winning three-straight, they dropped their last game on Monday to the University of New England, 5-0.