April 19, 2006
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist Softball team will prepare for an important MAAC weekend as it hosts Canisius and Niagara on Saturday and Sunday. Marist stands at 7-1 and in first place in the MAAC entering the weekend, just ahead of Canisius who is at 5-1. Niagara stands in fifth in the league standings with a 2-2 mark.
Marist will head into the weekend after going 3-3 in its previous six contests. In its last outing Marist split a non-conference doubleheader at Fordham. Jasmery Polanco (Bay Shore, N.Y.) gave Marist the come-from-behind win in game one with a seventh inning grand slam.
At 25-8 overall on the season, Marist is making noise not only in the MAAC but on the national stage as well. As a team the Red Foxes lead the league in batting, as they are hitting .294 as a group. Marist also leads the league in slugging percentage (.477), on base percentage (.376), home runs (37) and double plays turned (12). The Red Foxes rank second in the MAAC in runs scored (166), RBI (147), total bases (416) and walks (105).
Aside from its offensive prowess, Marist is also ranked first in the league in ERA (1.91), opponent's batting average (.216), wins (25), hits allowed (179) and runs allowed (93).
Individually Marist has four players represented in the top 30 in several NCAA statistical categories. Chrystine McHugh (Port Ewen, N.Y.) is ranked seventh nationally in home runs per game, as she has hit 13 in 33 contests, good enough for a per game average of .39. McHugh is also 17th in slugging percentage at a .811 clip and tied for 13th in runs per game as she averages 1.00 per contest.
Freshman Jessica Green (Manassas, Va.) is currently tied for 15th in the country in runs batted in, as she has driven in 38 runs so far in 35 games.
Senior Bridget Hurlman (Yonkers, N.Y.) in 25th in the country in walks as she has worked out 20 free passes so far in 2006.
Sophomore lefthander Megan Rigos (Pittsburgh, Pa.) is currently sixth in the nation in earned run average at 0.72 and is also tied for 20th in saves with three.
Marist will look to increase its lead in the standings this weekend over both Canisius and Niagara. The doubleheaders on both days are scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Gartland Athletic Field. On Sunday in between games one and two against Niagara, Marist will honor its five seniors on Senior Day.
