WEATHER

Weather forecast
Beautiful day tomorrow,
rain threatens on Thursday

Looking ahead to weather forecasts for this week, it appears spring showers are once again on the horizon for the Frostburg State Bobcats away game on Thursday, April 3. Otherwise, the Wesley Wolverines should be playing on the Immaculata Might Macs' field tomorrow (Tuesday) and likely back home on DuPont Field to take on the Penn State- Harrisburg Lions on the weekend.

The schedule with weather forecasts is...

►Tuesday, April 1: WOLVERINES AWAY at Immaculata Might Macs, Immaculata, PA, 3:00 PM & 5:00 PM. No chance of rain. Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High near 60.

►Thursday, April 3: WOLVERINES AWAY at Frostburg State Bobcats, Frostburg, MD, 3:00 PM & 5:00 PM. 70% chance of rain. Highs in the upper 40s and lows in the low 40s.

►Saturday, April 5: WOLVERINES HOME vs. Penn State- Harrisburg Lions, Dover, DE, 1:00 PM & 3:00 PM. 20% chance of rain. Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the low 40s.

The Thursday and Saturday contests are conference games.

Let's plan  for a huge crowd of fans in the stands for the return home doubleheader on Saturday! Click on video below...

NCAA STATS 3/23/14

USA rankings
NCAA keeps tabs on
Wolverine softball stats

Wesley Wolverine Head Coach Juli Greep has shared a link to the NCAA D3 NATIONAL softball rankings for the team stats and the individual players. The graphic below summarizes many of the categories listed.

The Wolverines as a team currently rank #6 in triples per game! #17 in scoring!! #18 in batting average!! And, #22 in slugging percentage among all D3 schools across the nation!

All the stats listed below are really an impressive achievement; those highlighted spotlight a category ranked among the top five conference leaders.

CLICK HERE for ALL the NCAA Wolverine stats – more than what's shown here – through March 23, 2014.

               ♦♦♦ TEAM STATISTICS ♦♦♦

               ♦♦♦ PLAYER STATISTICS ♦♦♦

CAC STATS 3/30/14

CAC stats
Wolverines among conference
hitting, pitching & stolen base leaders

Almost midway through the 2014 season, the Wesley Wolverines have eight players listed among the Capital Athletic Conference's (CAC's) leaders in hitting and pitching leaders, as of Sunday, March 30, 2014. 

CLICK HERE for complete CAC individual leader statistics.

The Wolverines featured in the graphics below are...

► Sophomore #2 OF/P Sarah Saunders (Wayne, NJ) stands third among the league's batting average leaders, while sophomore #8 OF Steph Caracozza (Melbourne Beach, Fla.) ranks sixth in the category.

► Senior #16 3B Ashly Bendorovich (Levittown, PA) is third in RBI production.  

► Freshman #12 P/MI Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE) is third in wins, sixth in strikeouts, and seventh in ERA. Freshman #9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE) falls eighth in wins. 

► Freshman #18 C/3B Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE) lands fourth in stolen bases, earns fifth in RBI, and ranks high in all other hitting categories. Sophomore #22 C/UT Morgan Seymour (Smyrna, DE) is sixth in RBI and sophomore #6 MI Breanna Hartman (Red Bank, NJ) is eighth in stolen bases.

AT THE PLATE... 

IN THE CIRCLE...

RUNNING BASES, SCORING...

MIGHTY MACS

Mighty Macs next up
Wolverines will travel Tuesday
north to Immaculata University

The Wesley Wolverines' next games are a non-conference doubleheader with the Immaculata Mighty Macs late Tuesday afternoon on the Immaculata University 

campus, 1145 King Road, Immaculata, PA .

The forecast right now is for perfect softball weather!

TUESDAY, APRIL 1  

Immaculata 

Mighty Macs 

versus
Wesley Wolverines

DOUBLEHEADER
3:00 PM & 5:00 PM

LIVESTATS
GAMECHANGER

Immaculata's Softball Field is billed as a Division I playing diamond. It is located near 1200 West King Rd, Malvern, PA


Weather forecast:
Sunshine & warm

PREVIEW: The Immaculata Mighty Macs own a 5-5 record with a doubleheader, a day before playing the Wolverines, scheduled for Monday, March 31. Two leaders on the team are senior P/2B/OF #2 Meagan Fitzgerald and freshman 1B/OF/P #20 Liz Biddle, both of whom also were awarded Colonial States Athletic Conference special recognition this past week. Meagan is the conference's Pitcher of the Week, while Liz is on the player Honor Roll for the second time. Meagan is 3-2 with a 2.19 ERA for the season. She has struck out 25 in 32 innings pitched. Liz, a Delaware gal, whose hometown of Townsend is just 20 miles north of Wesley College, is batting .450 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI.

EASTON FX1

Photo wins contest
Easton FX1 joins Slugger's Xeno
as new bat in Wolverine dugout

► Sophomore #2 Sarah Saunders  

steps to the plate last Friday with 

the new FX1 Easton softball bat.

Recently, the Wesley Wolverines Head Coach Juli Greep noticed, among blog pictures of the Gallaudete game, a shot of sophomore #6 Bre Hartman swinging an Easton bat. So she sent the photo off to a Easton Fastpitch photo contest that was soliciting images of players using their products. The photo won! As a prize, the team was rewarded with a brand new FX1 34/25 Easton softball bat !

Now the winning shot of Bre swinging the Easton stick appears in an Easton Fastpitch full page ad on page 42 of this month's (March 2014 edition) Balls & Strikes Online, the official magazine of the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America.

The new FX1 bat already has appeared in several Wolverines batter hands at the doubleheader sweep this past Friday and it delivered a few hits, too!

► Here is the prize winning photo of Bre...

► Here is the full page ad featuring the photo of Bre...

SVU GAMES

28 runs scored
Wolverines pick up
two conference wins

Twice the Wesley Wolverines won yesterday, Friday, March 28, by identical scores of 14-1 over the Southern Virginia Eagles, Buena Vista, VA, in the “majestic Shenandoah Valley at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains”, as the University’s website touts, on their truly first-class, beautiful Harvey-Dryden softball field.

Below are a few stats and photos from the late evening games that ended under the lights. 

CLICK HERE for the game recap and box scores.

► Senior #16 3B Ashly Bendorovich (Levittown, PA) swung 6-for-9 with 8 RBI !

► Sophomore #2 OF/P Sarah Saunders (Wayne, NJ) belted 5-for-8, including a triple, with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI !

Ashly Bendorovich and Kayla Fromal

► Freshman #18 C/3B Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE) smacked a double, drew 5 walks, scored 6 runs, and stole 2 bases.

► Sophomore #32 C/3B Kayla Fromal (Middletown, DE) slammed a home run and crossed the plate 4 times.

Morgan Seymour and Sarah Saunders

► Sophomore #6 MI Breanna Hartman (Red Bank, NJ) sped home 3 times, stole a base, and had 2 RBI.

► Sophomore #22 C/UT Morgan Seymour (Smyrna, DE) smacked 3 hits and scored.

Nina Marcano and Devin Mackay

► Sophomore #8 OF Steph Caracozza (Melbourne Beach, Fla.) delivered 2 hits and 3 runs.

► Freshman #42 P/1B Devin Mackay (Bangor, PA) scored twice and hit 2 RBI.

Brook Creighton and Alora Wilson

► Freshman #5 C/1B Alora Wilson (Salisbury, MD) contributed a single, double and 1 RBI.

► Junior #11 OF Brook Creighton (Rock Hall, MD) brought home 3 RBI and 1 run.

Steph Caracozza and Breanna Hartman

► Freshman #12 P/MI Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE) pitched the first game, allowing only 3 hits and 1 earned run for her 6th victory. At the plate, she was 2-for-4, including a double, and 1 run.

► Freshman #9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE) threw the second game, giving up just 5 hits and 1 earned run for her 5th win.

Lindsay Siok and Lily Engel

FROSTBURG CANCELED

FIELDING STATS

Fielding wins games
Expect Wolverines fielding stats
to improve on weekend road trip

Among the eight Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) teams, the Wesley Wolverines rank seventh in field percentage, though all of the teams are closely packed together. For instance, Wesley's fielding is just .024 behind this Saturday's opponent, the third ranked Frostburg State Bobcats, who have played five games less than the Wolverines. Mary Washington Eagles, who have played a total 13 games, are tied with the Bobcats on the CAC fielding percent list. CLICK HERE for conference teams fielding stats.

Defensive action from last Saturday's contest with Mary Washington. 

(Wish there were more Wolverines in these photos, 

but you have to work with what's been shot.)

Chart above: GP = games played / TC = total chances / PO = putouts / A = assists / FPCT = fielding percentage

ROAD TRIP

Two games? Four games? Other?

Weather changing times,

may alter Saturday schedule

Rain clouds are storming toward Virginia and Maryland...

► Tomorrow’s, Friday’s, March 28’s Southern Virginia game pushed back an hour to 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM from it’s original 3:00 PM & 5:00 PM starts.

► Saturday’s, March 29’s, Frostburg doubleheader still scheduled to play, but weather may postpone games based on Friday’s, March 28’s mid-afternoon forecast.

NOTE: If Saturday contests canceled, team may return to Dover campus on Friday evening. 

On the road again
Wolverines away overnight at
CAC Virginia, Maryland games

FRIDAY, MARCH 28  

Southern 
Virginia Knights vs
Wesley Wolverines

DOUBLEHEADER
4:00 PM & 6:00 PM

Live stats...
PRESTOSPORTS
GAMECHANGER

Harvey-Dryden Field
Ridge Ave, Buena Vista, VA

Weather forecast:
Warm, mid-day showers  

PREVIEW: The Southern Virginia Knights are seeking their first win of 2014 this Friday in what also will be their first conference games of the year. The roster has gathered talent mostly from western states, including Utah, Ore., Idaho, Ariz. and Calif. Eastern states of NC, Fla., and the hometown of Buena Vista, Va. are represented, too. Two freshmen provide plenty of lumber at the plate. Outfielder #10 McKenzie Packard (Spanish Fork, Utah) has a .421 batting average with .500 OBP and .684 SLG. She has stolen 5 bases, as well. Outfielder #7 Kelsey Bair (Hyrum, Utah) brings a .364 average with .417 OBP and .455 SLG.

SATURDAY, MARCH 29

Frostburg Bobcats  
vs Wesley Wolverines

DOUBLEHEADER
1:00 PM & 3:00 PM

Live stats...
PRESTOSPORTS
GAMECHANGER

Bobcat Field
near Midlothian Rd 
& University Dr, Frostburg, MD  

Weather forecast:
Chilly, cloudy, rain probable

PREVIEW: This will be the Frostburg State Bobcats  (5-4) first conference games of the 2014 season. The Bobcats so far have played all but two of their games at a tourney under the tall palm trees of sunny Clermont, FL, outside Orlando. Freshman pitcher/ infielder #16 Hannah Tavik (Glen Burnie, Md) leads the team with 11 hits, .458 average, .536 OBP, and a .583 SLG. She also is 4-2 from the circle with a 2.65 ERA. Sophomore infielder #8 Lauren Capece (Hampstead, Md.) is close behind her with 9 hits, a .360 average, .467 OBP, and .520 SLG.

SOFTBALL HISTORY

Thumbnail history of game
Game of softball born of
boxing glove & yacht club

The first game of what would become "softball" was played 127 years ago on Thanksgiving Day 1887. It actually was a hastily configured baseball game, which pitted Yale versus Harvard inside Chicago's Farragut Boat Club. The ball was a tied boxing glove with a broom handle for a bat. There were no gloves, but alumni George Hancock did write down that day's rules for posterity.

     After 1889, the game was played indoors and outdoors with 

     a ball the size of a small medicine ball with a bat two inches 

     thick. By the 1930's, rules standardized the game to appear 

     more like what's played today.

In 1889 the game moved outdoors. Minneapolis fireman Lewis Rober marked up the first field and set seven innings as the game's official contest. By this time, the ball had become a small medicine ball with a bat two inches thick.

The games – known variously as cabbage ball, mush ball, kitten ball, pumpkin ball, diamond ball, etc. --began to draw as many as 3,000 fans. 

In 1926, the Denver YMCA dubbed the sport “softball” for the first time. The name caught on.

The first travel team formed in 1931. It was a squad entirely of men, 75 years-of-age and older, taking the field in business suits, who called themselves Kids and Kubs.

Newspaper reporter Leo Fischer and sporting goods salesman Michael Pauley brought the game to the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, where 55 teams participated before 350,000 fans who watched different games of men's and women's slow and fastpitch. Softball had arrived. The ASA – Amateur Softball Association – was founded that fall.

CLICK HERE for the full story at ASA/ USA Softball
CLICK HERE for the full story at softballperformance.com

NFCA POLL 3/26

NFCA national poll
Sea Gulls rank #2,
Captains jump to #15

They were #1 in the nation – for a week, last week. Now the Salisbury Sea Gulls have slipped to #2 -- still very impressive! 

This is after the Sea Gulls faced Christopher Newport Captain's CAC Pitcher of the Week freshman P/ 1B #48 Makayla Jenkins (Gloucester, VA) in the second half of a doubleheader played last Saturday, March 22. Makayla allowed 3 hits in a 2-0 triumph over Salisbury.

The victory also jumped the Captains up in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's (NFCA's) D3 polling to rank now #15 nationally. CLICK HERE for the rankings.

In Saturday's opening game between the two teams, junior P #9 Rachael Johnson (Preston, Md) continue her dominance for her eighth win against no losses by giving up just three hits and striking out 13 Captains in a 11-2 romp. The two runs allowed raises Rachael's ERA to a miniscule 0.42.

Both teams will play the Wesley Wolverines later in April.

OFFENSIVE STATS

Offensive numbers
Wolverines post impressive stats,
averages, slugging enjoy high rank

After 14 games, the Wesley Wolverines are averaging 8 runs per game (CAC rank #3) on an average 10+ hits (CAC rank #3), of which almost 3 are an extra base hits (CAC rank #6). Plus Wolverines also average 1.3 stolen bases per contest (CAC rank #3). 

The team batting average is .375 (CAC rank #2) with a .439 on base percentage (CAC rank #2) and a .517 slugging percentage (CAC rank #2). These stats as of Tuesday afternoon, March 25, 2014.

Below are the individual Wolverine leaders. Except for stolen base records, player stats are based on 20 or more at bats.

MARCANO PHOTOS

TODAY'S CABRINI GAME IS POSTPONED 

Check the Wesley's online softball schedule for latest times & dates.

Instead of the game, enjoy Jose Marcano's slideshow in the blog post below!
_________________________________________________

1082 shared photos
Parent captures softball
at Myrtle Beach tourney

You may have noticed Jose Marcano, father of Wolverine catcher Nina Marcano, and his Sony Digital SLR behind the backstop, sometimes leaning over the fence in dead center field, or just snapping shots from the sidelines at the Wesley Wolverines' games.

Jose shared with this blog a whopping 1082 photos taken earlier this month at the Myrtle Beach Fastpitch Dreams Classic tournament. Of course, most are of Nina, though many are of the rest of the team. The musical slideshow below are 30 of these photos. The pictures shown here have been added – and others will be, too, from the 1082, as time permits – to the slideshow titled “WOLVERINE SLIDESHOW 2014” at the top of the column on the right of this blog.

Click on the arrow below to start slideshow. Click on pause button to stop video.

LINDSAY SIOK

Saturday's performance
Lindsay Siok named on
CAC Weekly Honor Roll

Lindsay Siok

Wesley Wolverine freshman #12 P/MI Lindsay Siok's (Milford, DE) hitting and pitching has earned her recognition on the Capital Athletic Conference's (CAC's) March 24, 2014, Weekly Honor Roll.

The CAC weekly report cited Lindsay for her two singles at the plate and the two earned runs allowed over 6.2 innings tossed from the circle in last Saturday's doubleheader. As reported before at this blog, Lindsay hurled a 2.10 ERA for the day and held opponents to a stingy .192 batting average against her.

On the year, Lindsay's has a .406 OBP (On Base Percentage), while slugging at a .483 rate. Her pitching record is 5-2 with a 2.56 ERA.

CABRINI PREVIEW

POSTPONED!
GAME STILL SCHEDULED

____________________________________

Weather threatens

Wolverines travel north
to Philadelphia suburbs

Cabrini Cavaliers (2-7)
vs Wesley Wolverines (9-5)

DOUBLEHEADER
Tuesday, March 25
3:00 PM & 5:00 PM

CABRINI FIELD
Cabrini College, 610 King of Prussia Rd, Radnor, PA

Weather forecast:
Bundle up:
Cold, some snow/ rain

PREVIEW: Cabrini Cavaliers (2-7) are coming off an exciting win against the Immaculata Mighty Macs (5-5) last Saturday, March 22, when they tied the game in the seventh inning only to give up four runs in the eighth, but quickly rallied in the bottom of the inning to answer with five runs of their own, including a walk-off single by Cavalier #4 OF Brianna Milillo. (Immaculata plays Wesley in Dover, Tuesday, April 1.) Two of Cabrini's big hitters are sophomore #20 SS Kaitlyn Cooper (.419 average, .548 slugging) and freshman #9 3B/ P Taylor Gallagher (.414 average, .414 slugging).

BRE & SAM

Breanna & Samantha
Sophomores playing hard,
fielding, batting and scoring

Spotlight on...

►Sophomore #6 MI Breanna Hartman (Red Bank, NJ)
►Sophomore #25 1B Samantha Mahoski (Schnectady, NY)

Bre and Sam are roommates off the field in the Wesley dorms as well as "roomies", so-to-speak, on the softball field, playing side-by-side at first and second base for the Wesley Wolverines. The two boast the team's highest fielding percentages last year -- Sam even led the conference with zero errors -- and this year they are back with hot bats. 

Bre and Sam are two more reasons to watch the exciting Wolverines play!

Breanna Hartman slides into home. Samantha Mahoski stretches 

for an out at first. Photo inset: left-to-right, Breanna and Samantha.

HARD LOSSES

Lindsay Siok

Tough losses
Wolverines drop
conference games


“Hard to take” were doubleheader losses of the Wesley Wolverines on Saturday, March 22, to the Mary Washington Eagles, especially after Wesley led 7-2 heading into what should have been the final inning of the second game. 

There were a few bright spots, however.

On the day, freshman #12 Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE), as a pitcher, threw a 2.10 ERA just an out shy of 7 innings hurled and allowed a stingy .192 batting average against her by the Eagles. At the plate, Lindsay had two hits and scored a run.

Left-to-right, Ashly Bendorovich and Nina Marcano

Both senior #16 Ashly Bendorovich (Levittown, PA) and freshman #18 Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE) had two hits, a run, and 3 RBI. One of Nina's hits was a double.

Left-to-right, Breanna Hartman and Brook Creighton

There were other noteworthy contributions, too.

Junior #11 
Brook Creighton (Rock Hall, MD) swung for two hits, a run and an RBI. Plus sophomore #6 Breanna Hartman (Red Bank, NJ) doubled and scored, while sophomore #22 Morgan Seymour (Smyrna, DE) knocked out a single for two RBI and scored a run, as well.

CLICK HERE for a recap and box scores of the games.

Morgan Seymour

MUNZIO AD

Mizuno brand advertising
The power of a team:
What's "TEAM" to you?

Mizuno is currently running a series of commercials focused on the value of teamwork in the sports of softball, baseball, and volleyball. 

"Through teamwork, athletes gain invaluable life skills of sacrifice, compromise, commitment, accountability, discipline, and camaraderie," says Dick Lyons, a Mizuno USA vice president. Here is Mizuno's softball video...

EAGLE'S GAME

First conference games of season
Wolverine CAC doubleheader,
Saturday, DuPont Field, Dover

__________________________

Mary Washington Eagles (5-4) 

versus Wesley Wolverines (9-3)

__________________________

TWO GAMES

Saturday, March 22
12:30 PM & 2:30 PM

Capital Athletic 

Conference (CAC)

This one counts!

DuPont Field,
500 Mary Street, Dover, DE

Weather forecast:
Warm, possible shower

Preview: As reported at this blog before, the Mary Washington Eagles, 5-4, have split their first three doubleheaders of the season, picking up wins on the strength of 2013 All-CAC-Conference #9 junior pitcher Hannah Otterman's 2.19 ERA. She will take the circle this Saturday with a perfect 5-0 record on the year. At the plate, #13 junior infielder Brittany Scites, recognized this week on the CAC honor role, has punched out a .500 average in the last four games, scoring six times. She has 10 hits for a .370 average on the season followed by Otterman at .313 and #2 senior infielder Bireet Chitty's .310 average.

STEPH/ SARAH

A dynamic duo
Steph and Sarah excel
at every aspect of the game

On any day, any Wesley Wolverine may stand out. The team is that balanced. But, every day, you can count on Steph and Sarah to bring their whole game – fielding, batting, running the bases, and scoring! These two are that talented. They have it all covered.

Steph Caracozza

Sarah Saunders

Sophomore #8 OF Steph Caracozza (Melbourne Beach, Fla.) and sophomore #2 OF/P Sarah Saunders (Wayne, NJ) lead the Wolverines in Hits (19) and Batting Average (.500), while holding first and second place for Walks (5/4) and tied in the 2nd spot for At Bats (38). 

Steph also ranks #1 on the team for Runs (17), Triples (4), and On Base Percent (.558). She was last year's only Wesley all-conference softball selection.