#BIGEASTsb Teams Look to Keep Building as Non-Conference Play Heats Up
NEW YORK – Four BIG EAST teams will be in action this weekend as the softball season starts to heat up.
The Bluejays finished the Plainsman Invitational 1-4 with a victory over Evansville in extra innings and losses to Mercer, No. 2 Auburn (twice) and Evansville.
Creighton is 2-8 through the first 10 games of 2017, including three losses to teams ranked in the top 10 of the USA Today/NFCA Top 10 (No. 2 Auburn (2x) and No. 9 Oregon). Junior
Bryana Clark leads the Jays in the circle with a 2.39 ERA and two complete games, each coming in Creighton's two victories this season. Clark has 18 strikeouts in 29.1 innings pitched while opponents have hit .226 against the junior at the plate.
Anna O'Gorman paces the Bluejays offensively with a .217 batting average and three RBIs. This week Creighton heads to California for the Santa Clara Invitational (Feb. 24-25). The Bluejays will matchup against South Dakota, Santa Clara, Weber State and Illinois-Chicago.
Georgetown is coming off a 0-4 weekend at the USC Upstate/Furman Classic. Sophomore Mallory Belknap led the team offensively with six hits and is currently leading the team with a .433 batting average. Alexa Dolby launched her first career home run last weekend and Sera Stevens leads the team with two home runs and six RBI on the season. This week the Hoyas travel to Florida for the East Madeira Invite hosted by Eastern Michigan. GU will play five games over the course of three days, matching up against Loyola-Chicago, Manhattan, Army, Brown and host Eastern Michigan.
Coming off a win over the reigning American Athletic Conference champs, Tulsa,
St. John's heads to California to compete in the renowned Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Feb. 24-26 in Cathedral City. Last week, the Johnnies registered a strong performance at FAU’S Strike-Out Cancer Tournament as they outscored their opponents with a +11 run differential and +12 in the hits to finish with a .303 average at the plate. Defeating Savannah State (13-0), Toledo (4-3) and Tulsa (4-1), SJU’s pitching was also dominant as the Red Storm staff posted a 1.75 ERA and held hitters to a .203 batting average.
Fresh off a season-opening sweep at the Runnin' Bulldog Tournament,
Seton Hall (3-0) is back in action this weekend when it travels to North Carolina for the ECU Pirate Invitational. The Hall will square off with ACC foes Virginia and Virginia Tech as well as Coppin State for five games over three days at the ECU Softball Stadium. The Pirates are 3-0 on the young season, defeating Hampton, Bucknell and Holy Cross at the Runnin' Bulldog Tournament last weekend. Each of Seton Hall's three wins this season have come by the run-rule. The Pirates currently lead the nation in a slew of offensive categories including runs scored (14.3/g), batting average (.463), on-base percentage (.536) and slugging percentage (.804).