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2021 Softball Team Huddle

PREVIEW: Softball opens 2022 season at the Florida Tech Invitational

2/11/2022 10:00:00 AM

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College softball team opens its 2022 season on Friday, Feb. 11 against Barry University.

The No. 8-ranked team in NCAA Division II team, according to the National Fastpitch Coaches' Association National Poll, will also play Florida Tech and West Florida on Saturday, Feb. 12 before facing Barry and Wingate on Sunday, Feb. 13.

All games will be played at the Launch Pad Sports Complex in Cocoa, Fla. Friday's first game will be the earliest game played in program history.

No. 8 SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE HAWKS (0-0, 0-0 NE10)
BARRY UNIVERSITY BUCCANEERS (3-1, 0-0 SSC)
Roster | Schedule and Results | 2022 Statistics | News

FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY PANTHERS (2-2, 0-0 SSC)
Roster | Schedule and Results | 2022 Statistics | News

No. 17 UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA ARGONAUNTS (2-2, 0-0 GSC)
Roster | Schedule and Results | 2022 Statistics | News

WINGATE UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS (4-0, 0-0 SAC)
Roster | Schedule and Results | 2022 Statistics | News

Saint Anselm captured the Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division title (21-3 record) before downing Adelphi University for the team's second consecutive postseason title. The Hawks went on to win their second NCAA Division II East Region Championship in four years, advancing to the National Championship in Denver and finishing with a 33-7 overall record.

Barry opened its season on Feb. 3 with a 5-1 win over nationally-ranked West Florida before snatching wins over Christian Brothers and No. 4 West Texas A&M. The team enters the Florida Tech Invitational with a 3-1 overall record.

The host Panthers from the Florida Institute of Technology has played a pair of doubleheaders this season, heading into its own invitational with a 2-2 record. Florida Tech finished up the 2021 season with a 13-15 overall record.

The nationally-ranked Argonauts are 2-2 to open their slate after falling to Barry on Feb. 3 in the season opener. At the Gulf Coast Invitational, the team posted wins over Palm Beach Atlantic and Union but fell to North Georgia. West Florida made it to NCAA regionals where it was tripped up by Valdosta State in the South Region title game.

Wingate is 4-0 to open the 2022 schedule after sweeping a pair of doubleheaders against Augusta on Feb. 3 and Davis & Elkins on Feb. 5. The team was slated for a doubleheader against Southern Wesleyan but those games were postponed. The Bulldogs qualified for the South Athletic Conference postseason, falling to Carson-Newman in the opening game.

Live statistics will be provided by Florida Tech for all games of the Florida Tech Invitational. The link to all the contests can be found here.

SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM
  • Saint Anselm was selected to finish second in the NE10 Preseason Coaches' Poll which was released on Jan. 27. The team garnered eight first-place votes and 159 total points, trailing Adelphi by three points. The Hawks have downed Adelphi in each of the last two NE10 postseason title games (2019, 2021).
  • The Hawks are returning 15 student-athletes from the 2021 roster including team captains senior Bre Klaiber (Ironton, Ohio) and junior Kylie Fitzpatrick (Danville, N.H.). Head coach Jill Gagnon enters her ninth season at the helm of the softball program.
  • Klaiber led the NE10 in 2021 in batting average (.417), on-base percentage (.523), RBI (30), total bases (79), and walks (24). The senior collected the D2CCA East Region Player of the Year and All-East First Team honors while being named the NE10 Northeast Division Player of the Year. She was also named to the NFCA All-East Region First Team in 2021.
  • Fitzpatrick started in all 40 games for the Hawks in 2021. The junior was tied for the NE10 lead in doubles with 12 while adding one triple and two home runs. Fitzpatrick made just one error in 103 chances in the field for a .990 fielding percentage.
  • Fitzpatrick was named the NE10 Northeast Division Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in 2021 and was named to the NFCA All-East Region First Team and the D2CCA All-East Second Team.
  • Sophomore Halie Hicks (Jefferson, N.H.) is the lone pitcher who made an appearance in 2021. Hicks played in one game for the Hawks, throwing two innings with an immaculate 0.00 earned-run average. She allowed one hit and struck out two in her time in the pitching circle.
  • Saint Anselm looks to replace the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II Pitcher of the Year, Morgan Perry '21. Perry posted a 1.01 earned-run average and a 20-3 overall mark in 138.2 innings pitched in 2021. Perry struck out 222 batters while allowing just 80 hits.
SCOUTING BARRY
  • The Buccaneers were selected to finish eighth in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Poll. In 2021, the team was 11-14 overall with a 9-12 mark in SSC play. Head coach Sean Cotter enters his fifth season at the helm of the Buccaneers softball program.
  • Three of the teams' four games have come against nationally-ranked opponents with their most recent contest coming against West Texas A&M, the reigning NCAA Division II champions, resulting in a 4-3 win for the Buccaneers.
  • Courtney Chisholm leads the team with a .769 batting average. She is 10-for-13 from the plate, netting 10 singles. Cassandra Lee and Maggie Wheless are tied for the team lead with three RBIs each.
  • Maci Barnhart has started three games in the circle for the Buccaneers. She has totaled 18 innings pitched with a 2.72 earned-run average, conceding 16 hits while striking out six batters.
  • Chisholm and Barnhart collected the Sunshine State Conference's Player and Pitcher of the Week accolades, respectively, on Monday.
SCOUTING FLORIDA TECH
  • The Panthers were selected to finish sixth in the SSC Preseason Poll, trailing Palm Beach Atlantic by one point for a top-five spot.
  • In 2021, Florida Tech posted a 13-15 record with a 10-12 record against SSC foes. Head coach Val Silvestrini enters her 13th season as the head coach of the Panthers.
  • The team split its doubleheaders to open the season, falling to Emmanuel (Ga.) and Carson-Newman before downing Carson-Newman and Georgia College on Feb. 5 and Feb. 6.
  • Allison Platon is batting a team-high .571 with a 1.381 OPS through four games. Chloe French and Ella Chang Gibson are second and third on the squad in batting average at .471 and .462. Chang Gibson leads the team with five runs driven in.
  • Kelsie Rivers and Samantha Guider have started two games each for the Panthers. Rivers has a 4.00 earned-run average in seven innings pitched while Guider has an 8.56 earned-run average in nine innings of work. Both have 1-1 records on the season. Alex Hendrian leads the team in innings pitched with 10 to her credit, working in relief across three games this season.
SCOUTING WEST FLORIDA
  • The Argonauts were selected to finish fourth in Gulf South Conference Preseason Poll, collecting 116 points and one first-place vote. They were just four points behind Alabama Huntsville for the third spot.
  • In 2021, West Florida was 33-16 overall and 22-7 in conference play. The team fell to Valdosta State in finals of the Division II South Regional. Head coach Ashliegh McLean enters her fourth season as the head coach of the softball program.
  • The Argonauts opened the season with a loss to Barry before winning their first two games of the Gulf Coast Invitational over Palm Beach Atlantic and Union University. The team closed the invitational with a loss to nationally-ranked North Georgia. They were also slated to play West Texas A&M but that contest was canceled.
  • Teala Howard leads the team with a .500 batting average, posting seven hits in 14 at-bats. Kayanna Perez is second on the squad a .300 average.
  • Kelsey Sweatt has started three games for the Argonauts. She has pitched 17.1 innings and has a 3.63 earned-run average. Sweatt has allowed 15 hits while striking out 13.
SCOUTING WINGATE
  • The Bulldogs finished as the fifth ranked team in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Poll, collecting 111 points and finishing eight points behind Carson-Newman.
  • During the 2021 season, the Bulldogs were 21-18 overall and 14-10 against conference foes. Head coach Jamie Stanclift enters her first season behind the bench for the Bulldogs.
  • The Bulldogs posted a pair of doubleheader sweeps over Augusta and Davis & Elkins to open the season. The team was slated for a doubleheader with Southern Wesleyan but that was postponed.
  • Savanna Brooks leads the team with a .600 batting average. She has belted four homeruns and driven in 12 runs in just 10 at-bats. Three student-athletes are tied for second with a .333 batting average.
  • Danielle Kirchhofer has started two games for Wingate in the pitching circle. She has eight innings pitched with 10 strikeouts. Rachel Cutcher has an earned-run average of 1.17 in three appearances with a 2-0 record.
ALL-TIME vs. BARRY, FLORIDA TECH, WEST FLORIDA
  • This will be the first meetings all-time between the programs.
ALL-TIME vs. WINGATE
  • The two programs have met once in the all-time series, making this the second meeting.
  • Saint Anselm captured a 4-3 victory on Mar. 4, 2003 in a neutral site contest.
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