PREVIEW: Softball vs. Jarvis Christian (2/26) | University of Texas-Dallas (2/28)
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
(2/26 vs. Jarvis Christian College)
Livestats (Game 2)
(2/28 vs. University of Texas-Dallas)
SOCIAL MEDIA
UD Twitter: @UDallasSports
Softball Twitter: @UDallasSoftball
Facebook: University of Dallas Athletics
Instagram: udallasathletics
FIRST PITCH
Dallas closes the month of February with four more home games as part of a pair of non-conference doubleheaders. The Crusaders will host Jarvis Christian College on Sunday at 1 p.m. and then cross-town foe University of Texas at Dallas on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
The Crusaders are 0-4 and seeking their first win of the young campaign. After a two week break, Dallas will play six games over just as many days to close a season-long, 10-game home stretch.
UD NOTES
- Jade Miller (Plano, Texas) leads the squad in hits and is batting .500 (5-10) through four games. She has the lone homer and double on the team as well.
- Allie Driskill (Houston, Texas) and Melanie Savala (Bryan, Texas) follow second on the team with four base knocks each.
- The Crusaders have 10 RBI altogether with seven different athletes contributing.
- On the basepaths, UD is six-of-nine in stolen base attempts. Miller and Diskill each have multiple successful swipes.
- Katie Lee (Houston, Texas) anchors the pitching staff with 13.1 innings thrown.
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
(Jarvis Christian)
- The Bulldogs are 2-5 this season, but have won two-of-three in the most recent trips on the diamond.
- On Wednesday, the team split a road twinbill at Southwestern Assemblies of God. The Bulldogs rebounded to a 6-3 victory after falling 3-1 in the earlier contest.
- Jarvis Christian is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and part of the Red River Conference.
- Taylor Leslie and Lithe Pokipala-Waiohu are the top hitters with nine apiece. Pokipala-Waiohu has cranked the lone homer on the team. She and Olinda Molinar pace the club with a trio of two-baggers.
- The three mentioned above all have five ribbies to combine for 15-of-19 overall.
- In the circle, Alejandra Salazar has thrown 16 innings and spun a 3.50 ERA to go with 11 walks and 14 strikeouts. Crystal Fagnana has thrown a team-high 25 innings.
- This will be the first meeting between the programs in history.
(University of Texas-Dallas)
- The Comets are off to the best start in school history with a 10-1 record.
- The latest NFCA/NCAA DII Top 25 released on Wednesday placed UTD at No. 18. (1st time to earn national ranking).
- Texas-Dallas is currently in American Southwest Conference (ASC) play at Belhaven University this weekend. A 5-1 loss on Friday snapped a five-game winning streak.
- Melissa Livermore guides the Comets' offense with 17 hits (.459 BA) and is 3rd on the team in runs scored.
- Stefanie Polderman (12), Jessica Vlasek (11), and Kendra Litchfield (10) round out the hitters with knocks that reach double-digits. Polderman has four doubles and seven RBI.
- Vlasek has sent three round-trippers and is tied for the team-most in runs driven in at 10. Brittany Perkins is the other player with 10 ribbies.
- In the circle, Lauren McLeod is 6-0 with seven appearances (six starts) and a 1.69 ERA. She has fanned 31 while walking 14 through 37.1 innings pitched.
- Allie Stephens is another player to spin an ERA beneath 2.00 and has gone 3-1 in 24.2 innings.
University of Texas-Dallas Season Stats
- The Crusaders are 5-11 in the overall series.
- Last season in Richardson, the doubleheader was split. Game one was a 6-4 setback and game two was a 7-5 triumph. The win ended a seven-game slide in head-to-head matchups dating back to 2010.
- Three Crusaders went yard in the two games combined. One that returned this year is Allison Kotlar (Edna, Texas).
- In the victory, UD swiped five bags. Lee allowed three earned runs and struck out four in a complete game.
- Last time these teams met in Irving in 2015. The Comets prevailed in both 8-4 and 9-1.
UP NEXT
Dallas will wrap up the lengthy homestand as the calendar flips to March with Southwestern Assemblies of God. First pitch on the 4th will be at 12 p.m.