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.

HIGH SCORING OFFENSE

For a high scoring offense...
Wolverines must keep hitting,
taking the extra bases, scoring!

Of course, the only softball statistic that counts in the end is the final score, and the 9-3 Wesley Wolverines are keenly focused on that critical goal of moving runners across home plate. Their high scoring has come from hot bats of several players, key hits from others, and smart base running by everyone. ALL THE NUMBERS posted below should be imposing to any opponent; highlighted are the top five stats in each category.

WALKS, STOLEN BAS

Speed, good eye important, too
Wolverines tap stolen bases
& walks to manufacture runs

A walk is as good as a single and stolen bases -- no small task in softball -- always means extra bases. The pressure a W or SB put on the opposition's defense and pitching only adds to their often unsung value. The Wesley Wolverines with both speed in the lineup and off the bench have been taking the free pass and swiping the extra bases very consistently this season.

SALISBURY #1

Coaches association names...
Salisbury Sea Gulls
tops across the nation

They are #1 – in the USA among all of the 442 D3 colleges and universities!

The Salisbury University Sea Gulls took top spot in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) polling this week of the best American D3 softball teams. They earned it on their 14-0 record, their own “best” (start) in the school's program history.

Salisbury's hard throwing junior pitcher Rachel Johnson (Preston, MD) has been named a Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) “Player of the Week” all three weeks that the honor has been awarded this year. Her teammate sophomore infielder Kim Dorsey (Baltimore, MD) has shared the recognition with Rachel twice in these same three weeks.

Rachel has a conference high 0.00 ERA, 81Ks (13.29 per game) and 2 saves after 42.2 innings pitched with a 7-0 record. Kim apparently hasn't met a pitch she can't handle with her conference high .625 batting average, 24 RBI, and 6 home runs.

The Christopher Newport University Captains also moved up in the nationwide polling from 21st to 18th best in the nation.

The two teams tangle this weekend when the Sea Gulls travel to Newport News, VA (Captain's Park) to battle the Captains in a doubleheader at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM, which should have immediate impact on next week's NFCA polling results.

Both nationally ranked teams – Salisbury & Chris.Newport – are fellow CAC members along with Wesley College and will meet up with our Wolverines later this season in doubleheader contests.

CLICK HERE for the Wesley Wolverines softball schedule.

TEAM HITTING

As a team...

Wolverines lead CAC
in batting average, triples

There are eight softball teams in the highly competitive Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) this year. Most notably, there's the Salisbury Sea Gulls, who ranked 3rd in the nation and are conference champions 17 consecutive years running as well as a new member this year, Christopher Newport Captains, who ranked 21st nationally.

In many team categories, however, the Wesley Wolverines' production numbers stand out impressively among the league's teams.

New team hitting averages posted by 

CAC on the evening of March 18, 2014

UPDATE: the chart below is taken from stats found at the CAC website on Tuesday, March 18, which then suddenly changed -- just slightly in the hitting category -- later in the evening.

The Wesley Wolverine batting average of .400 now rises to rank #1 among conference teams! The Wolverines have played 12 games, while Salisbury owns a 14-0 record. See hitting chart on right.

As a team, the Wesley Wolverines were picked to finish sixth in the CAC preseason poll. Exciting hitting and base running so far, while, admittedly, also leaving much to improve, is beginning to belie that preseason prediction in favor of a much higher probable finish in the final standings.

TEAM PHOTOS @ BEACH

Team photos
Wesley Wolverines trade dirt
for sand at North Myrtle Beach

Before a single inning was played at the Fastpitch Dreams Classic tournament, the Wesley Wolverines took a late morning on Sunday, March 9, 2014, to pose together and build camaraderie along the North Myrtle Beach shoreline, South Carolina.

The slideshow posted here are that morning's team photos, individual portraits (i.e., last 16 slides) and a few lighter moments. (NOTE: You also will find the individual player portraits by scrolling down the column to the right on this blog, where you can click on the photo of any player for the player's profile.)

The slideshow photos can also be viewed (or downloaded) at https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/103033739571870039060/albums/5991505425670807825

MARCANO WEEKLY HONORS

Stands out at tournament
Nina Marcano named
to CAC Weekly Honors 

Wesley Wolverine freshman #18 C/3B Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE) has been named to the CapitalAthletic Conference's (CAC's) March 17, 2014, softball honor roll! 

Nina Marcano

Nina earned the distinction for hitting well over .400 at last week's Fastpitch Dreams Classic tournament, Myrtle Beach, SC, while driving in nine runs.

It should be noted fellow teammates sophomore #2 P/OF Sarah Saunders (Wayne, NJ) also plated nine runs at a plus .400 clip last week and sophomore #8 OF Steph Caracozza (Melbourne Beach, Fla.) hit a team-high .583 for the week with another team-high ten runs to go with six RBIs. 

This high performance is not new to these Wolverines, especially this week's honored freshman catcher. CLICK HERE for an earlier blog entry that details Nina Marcano's absolutely OUTSTANDING stats at the beginning of this young season.

FIRST CAC CONTEST

Wednesday's games rescheduled
Saturday's home games,
first conference contests

As expected, because of weather and field conditions, the Widener University Pride doubleheader home games schedule for tomorrow, Wednesday, March 19, has been moved ahead a couple of weeks to Thursday, April 3, 2014.

NEXT UP: Wesley Wolverines' first Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) contest of the year!

► WEEKEND DOUBLEHEADER: Mary Washington Eagles vs. Wesley Wolverines, Saturday, March 22, 2014, on DuPont Field, Dover, DE, at 12:30 PM and 2:30 PM.

The Mary Washington Eagles split their 

doubleheaders with Randolph-Macon

and Lynchburg this past week

► WEATHER: forecast for Saturday at this date welcomes the week's warmest day with temperatures in the 60s, while predicting a 30% chance of a few showers.

► PREVIEW: 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.

PITCHING STRONG

Pitching starts strong
Staff well armed with
starters & relief work

Pitching has stepped up this year with three new freshmen arms joining the team. Wesley's 2.80 team ERA ranks third in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) among teams that have played four or more games. Ahead of the Wolverine hurlers are the always strong staffs from Salisbury Sea Gulls (0.67 team ERA) and the Christopher Newport Captains (2.20 team ERA).

Freshman Lindsay Siok

Wesley freshmen #12 pitcher Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE) and #9 pitcher Lily Engel (Dover, DE) have controlled the circle for the bulk of the Wolverine innings. Lindsay owns a 5-1 win/loss with a 2.65 ERA, while Lily has tossed a 4-1 record with a 3.20 ERA. At the plate, Lindsay also has 8 hits with two doubles, a triple, 8 RBI and a .500 slugging percentage.

Freshman #42 P/1B Devin Mackay (Bangor, PA) has struck out five over her 5.2 innings of work for a 1.24 ERA, while sophomore #2 P/OF Sarah Saunders (Wayne, NJ) has allowed only one hit and no runs from the circle in her two innings of relief. 


Both Devin and Sarah excel as outfielders in the day-to-day lineup, where Sarah is hitting .500 (ranked #1, tied, on team) and Devin has a .440 average (ranked #5 on team).

Wolverine pitchers, L-to-R, Lily Engel, Sarah Saunders, Lindsay Siok, & Devin Mackay

AMAZING GAME

Playing hard
Slugging, scoring, all
part of amazing game

A Wesley Wolverine has crossed the plate 102 times so far as Spring nears – an average of 9.3 runs per game – for the team slugging at a .558 pace in route to their current 9-3 record. 

►► CLICK HERE for the latest CAC Wesley Wolverine team profile stats.◄◄

College softball is an exciting sport played by 1,656 colleges and universities across the United States. The season is young, and there are many more games still to be contested, while being both intently watched and avidly followed by loyal fans!

►► CLICK HERE for the latest CAC Wesley Wolverine individual player stats.◄◄

FOUL WEATHER

Snow, snow go away
Weather threatens to cancel
Wolverines' weekday games

Sure and begorrah, it looks more like Christmas than St. Patrick's Day in Dover, DE.

The Wesley Wolverines, back from warm-to-chilly at times Myrtle Beach, awake this morning to what might be 3-to-5 inches of snow blanketing DuPont Field. It certainly is not green grass and softball weather!

The prospect for better days soon is not good, either. More light snow and rain is in the forecast. Already the previously scheduled SUNNY Cobleskill home games for tomorrow, Tuesday, March 18, had been canceled last week because the visitors own schedule was crowded with make-up games from earlier snow and foul weather on their upstate New York campus.

Dover, DE, weather forecast

Now, the Widener University doubleheader in Dover for this Wednesday, March 19, definitely seems threatened. 

Compared to a year ago, the Wolverines are actually way ahead of themselves. By March 17, 2013, the Wolverines had played just 10 games with a 5-5 record. Although last year, they had had two games dropped as rainouts at the Myrtle Beach tournament. Of course, this year, the team has already played a dozen games at a more impressive 9-3 clip.

CLICK HERE to keep an eye on what might be a changing Wesley Wolverines schedule.

NINA MARCANO

Freshman catcher
Marcano shines at the plate,
behind plate & on the bases

After 12 games played, freshman #18 C/ 3B Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE) leads the team in home runs, doubles, and RBI, which awards her the top spot in slugging as well. She's also a threat on the base paths, where she's swiped more bases than anyone else!

WOLVERINE FOURSOME

Wolverine foursome
Wesley hitters rank among
conference batting leaders

Four Wesley bats have been wearing out the base paths after a dozen games played. Standing among the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) leaders are (pictured below, top-to-bottom), sophomore #8 OF Steph Caracozza (Melbourne Beach, Fla.), sophomore #2 P/OF Sarah Saunders (Wayne, NJ), freshman #18 C/3B Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE), and sophomore #6 MI Breanna Hartman (Red Bank, NJ).

According to the CAC stats, these kids do not settle for just singles. Early in this season, Steph also has contributed two doubles and four triples, while Sarah has knocked out three doubles and a triple, Nina has slugged five doubles, a triple and two home runs, and Breanna has added four doubles and another triple!

The complete stats can be found at 

http://www.cacsports.com/sports/sball/2013-14/leaders

Statistics shown below reflect CAC numbers posted Sunday morning, March 16, 2014

MYRTLE BEACH GAMES SLIDESHOW

Record improves to 9-3
Myrtle Beach tournament
nets 7 wins for Wolverines

The slideshow below are photos of Wesley softball at the Fastpitch Dreams Classic tournament in North Myrtle Beach, SC. There were 10 games played against nine different colleges or universities over a six day span, Sunday through Friday, March 9-14, 2014.

The Wolverines posted a 7-3 record, where all games, except one, were played at the beautiful North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex, which had just opened the week prior. Its six fields are one of the superior softball venues in the state. Wesley softball returns home to the Dover, DE, campus with an overall record now of 9-3.

Not all stats for the games are posted or available yet, but the final results, links to recaps, and some box scores can be found at http://gowesleyathletics.com/sports/sball/2013-14/schedule

CLICK HERE to view (or download) individual photos from the slideshow.

NO BLOG POSTS

Packing for Fastpitch Dreams
NO NEW BLOG POSTS
until after Myrtle Beach

There will be NO NEW POSTS 
TO THIS BLOG UNTIL after the 
Wesley Wolverines return from 
their 10-game marathon at the Fastpitch Dreams Classic tournament, Myrtle Beach, SC, 
next week, March 9 – 14. Then, there may be
lots of photos and stats to share!

Follow the Wesley Wolverines' 
updates next week at...

► Wesley College softball homepage
► Wesley College softball Facebook
► CAC softball homepage 

Two doubleheaders

Home games scheduled for 

a week from next Tues. & Weds.

Softball fans, largely Wesley supporters, at the Wolverines versus Gallaudet Bison game, Sunday, February 23, in Washington, DC

The team is back the week of March 16 for TWO BACK-TO-BACK doubleheader HOME GAMES (four games total) at DuPont Field. The contests are...

TUESDAY, March 18
3:00 PM & 5:00 PM
VS. SUNNY COBLESKILL

The SUNY Cobleskill Fighting Tigers will be playing just their second game of their season against the Wolverines in Dover, DE. After an 18-18 overall record (12-8 conference)

last year, the Tigers are led by the conference's 2013 "Rookie-of-the-Year" and first team all-conference selection sophomore 2B/C Madeline DeMillio with a .469 OPS from last

year. In addition, the Orange & Black will field three second team all-conference players: senior SS/2b Kelsey DeZalia, junior 3B/ OF Julia Lull and sophomore P/ OF Erin Wadsworth.




WEDNESDAY, March 19
3:00 PM & 5:00 PM
VS. WIDENER

The Widener University Pride will be well into their season when they arrive to play the Wolverines, after their series of tournament games in Clermont, Florida. All-conference sophomore SS/ OF Alie Akins leads the Pride. In 2013, she batted .393 with 44 hits, four

home runs, 13 walks and nine stolen bases. She moves to shortstop after having played centerfield last season. Sure bets, among many others, to contribute based on last year's stats are senior P/ 3B Jackie Korang, senior pitcher Liz Carpino, and junior 1B/ utility Carissa Harris.