DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 26, 2021) – The Mercy College softball team opens their 2021 season on Saturday, March 27th when they play at Georgian Court University in a doubleheader at 2 p.m.

Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Saturday, March 27th 2 & 4 p.m.
Records: Mercy (0-0), Georgian Court (5-1)
Location: Lakewood, N.J.
No spectators permitted due to COVID-19

Scouting the Mavericks

• Saturday's games mark the first games for Mercy in 391 days due to COVID-19. The Mavericks last played on March 1, 2020 when they swept Bowie State.
• Mercy was picked to finish 3rd in the ECC Preseason Poll and senior Hannah Mueller was named ECC Preseason Player of the Year.
• Mercy went 5-5 during the 2020 shortened season and went 24-26 during their last full season in 2019 just missing the ECC Tournament.
• The Mavericks last made the ECC Tournament in 2018 and made the NCAA Tournament in 2017 after winning their first ECC Championship.
• Mercy looks to win their first season opener since 2019.
• Mercy last played Georgian Court in 2019. The Lions came away with 7-1 and 9-8 victories on April 14, 2019.
• The Mavericks are 3-5 all-time against Georgian Court.
• Leading the returners in the infield is senior Hannah Mueller who was a First Team All-ECC, NFCA First Team All-Region and an All-American Honorable Mention selection, batting .456 with 67 hits, 36 runs and 30 RBI in 2019 and who had started off strong last spring hitting .367 with 6 RBI and a .441 on base % in 10 games.
• Junior Ylannah Bowman also returns after batting .389 in 2020 with two RBI and four runs. Senior Danielle Burgos comes back after leading the team in RBI last season with 10 and had nine runs. Leading the returners in the circle is sophomore Alexi Benson who went 2-1 last season. Also returning are senior Jessica Becchetti and juniors Katelyn Shephard, Sabrina Gonzalez and Catherine Zucker.
• Benson led the team in innings, wins and strikeouts and Shephard won five games as a freshman in 2019 with a 4.76 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 50.0 innings. Gonzalez was named ECC Pitcher of the Week once in 2020 and won two games in 2019 with a 4.63 ERA in 42.1 innings.
• Junior Alexis Crawford was named ECC Player of the Week once in 2020 and hit .400 with three runs and four stolen bases, leading the team and ECC in stolen bases.
• Sophomore Sydney Johnston was named ECC Rookie of the Week twice in 2020 after appearing in six games. She hit .500 with four runs, one home run and six RBI.

Scouting the Lions

• Georgian Court is coming off a sweep of Pace on Thursday, earning 5-3 and 7-2 victories over the Setters.
• The Lions were picked first in the CACC Preseason Poll.
• Georgian Court went 6-12 during the 2020 shortened season. The Lions went 46-11 during their last full season in 2019. They advanced to the CACC Tournament Championship Game before losing to Wilmington. They then made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Lions are currently on a five-game winning streak.
• Saturday's games are the first home games of the season for Georgian Court. It is the first home game for the Lions since May 4, 2019.
• Georgian Court has been led at the plate by Taylor Barraza who is hitting a team-high .450 with a team-high 10 RBI with two runs scored. Caitlyn Hughes is batting .435 with a team-high 10 hits and has four runs and two RBI.
• Kiara Meikle is hitting .412 with a team-high six runs scored and five stolen bases. Alyssa Herrera and Carleigh Luzzo rank second on the team with four RBI.
• The pitching staff is led by one-time CACC Pitcher of the Week Samantha Fohrman who is 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA in 11.2 innings pitched with 14 strikeouts. Mikayla Gilgert is 3-1 with a 2.86 ERA in 22 innings with 18 strikeouts.

Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Tuesday, March 30th when they host Molloy at 2 p.m. for a doubleheader.