The College of Staten Island softball unit has started their season 0-4 after a pair of tough doubleheader defeats in Clermont, Florida.  But the optimistic Dolphins are right back on the Florida diamond today looking for redemption, as they take on Western New England and Concordia-Wisconsin beginning at 1:45pm.  It will mark the fifth and sixth games in an eight-game set at The Spring Games.

CSI vs. WESTERN NEW ENGLAND / CONCORDIA-WISCONSIN
Matchup: College of Staten Island (0-4) vs. Western New England (0-0) / Concordia-WI (0-2)
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): Through four games, Patricia Riches continues to lead the way with a blistering .714 batting average, positing a pair of doubles and one RBI.  Freshman Sierra Kaplanek is next on the list, batting .364, with a double and three RBI, the team lead.  Antoinette Galbo is CSI’s other above .300 hitter, as she is batting .357, scattering five hits through four games.  In the circle, Jaclyn Kateridge has done most of the heavy lifting.  She has tossed 20 innings so far, earning a 3.15 ERA in her debut season.
Players to Watch (WNE): The Golden Bears are making their 2019 season debut today and are bringing back All-CCC performers from last year’s squad, including juniors Aimee Kistner and Paige Uliase.  Kistner and Uliase won a combined 24 games and struck out 221 batters in 265 innings last spring. Kistner was also one of Western New England’s top offensive threats, batting .308 with 11 doubles, five home runs and 26 RBI.
Players to Watch (CUW): Despite a very small sample size of just two games, Samantha Schloegl is the main threat at the plate, as she boasts a .600 batting average with three hits in five at-bats.  Sara Rosenow is 2-4 at the dish, while Molly O’Connell has a trio of hits in eight at-bats, good for a .375 bat.  She and Krystal Cortez have the only extra-base hits so far for CUW, with a double each.  Nicole Lewis and Gina Followell both have not allowed an earned run so far in nine innings pitched.
News & Notes:  There is no history between these three teams so the meeting today will be the first in their respective histories.  Western New England plays in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.  They are under new Head Coach Amanda Novak and had a banner year last year, posting a 25-18 season.  They are picked to finish second overall in the CCC Preseason Coaches Poll.  Concordia-Wisconsin plays in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.  They finished 22-16 a year ago.  CSI is one of seven teams that they are playing this season that made the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament a year ago.