The Matchup
Lafayette softball hits the road for its second weekend of competition, traveling to the UMBC Retriever Round Robin Tournament. The Leopards will play Youngstown State to open the weekend on Saturday at 11 a.m. followed by a matchup with host UMBC at 1:30 p.m. On Sunday, Lafayette will play two more games, facing YSU at 10 a.m. an UMBC at 3 p.m.

A New Skipper
Karavin Dew was named head coach of the Lafayette softball program on Aug. 15, 2022, arriving on College Hill after five collegiate coaching stops. Dew spent the 2022 season as an assistant coach at Tennessee State where she helped the team set a mark for its most wins since the 2014 campaign. Dew was responsible for developing and implementing practice plans for the pitchers and catchers and was integrally involved in recruiting. Prior to her lone season at the school in Nashville, Tennessee, she spent the fall 2021 campaign at Austin Peay State University as an assistant coach and director of operations. That followed three seasons (2019-21) at Brown University in Providence, R.I. where she worked primarily with the team's hitters, infielders and catchers. Dew was integrally involved with student-athlete recruitment at the Ivy League school while also helping to organize the school's softball camps while facilitating team travel. 

Dew worked the 2017-18 school year as a volunteer assistant coach at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, mentoring the program's catchers while also involving herself in video analysis and scouting. The year prior, Dew was an assistant coach at Brevard College, assisting in all aspects of the Division III program in North Carolina. Dew graduated from Western Kentucky in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She was two-time (2011, 2012) All-Sun Belt Conference First-Team selection who helped guide the Hilltoppers to the 2013 NCAA Regional. The catcher set a school record for triples in a season (5) in 2011. A dean's list student, Dew was a Sunbelt Conference Honor Roll selection from 2010-13.

The Leopards
Lafayette is coming off a slow start to the season at the 37 Annual Louisiana Classics on Feb. 10-12. The Leopards dropped all five games in the opening weekend that included three contests against Stephen F. Austin and two vs. No. 20 Louisiana.

Senior Kaili Reitano leads the Leopards with a .375 batting average, managing at least one hit in each of the final three games of the opening weekend. Soph. shortstop Harlie Bickett checks in at .308 after starting all five games. Senior Grace Harvey has found herself in the middle of order, batting in the Nos. 3, 4, and 5 spots through five games. Her OPS rests at 1.154 after being hit four times and walking once to go along with a pair of hits in the Lafayette, La. opening weekend. In the circle, junior Jacqueline Cal leads the staff in innings pitched (10.2), strikeouts (8), and opponent batting average (.289). She has started two games and made three appearances in the early going. 

The Opponents
UMBC checks in at 1-3 in the early going with losses to Kent State (3-1, 5-2) and Niagara (12-10) and a win over Niagara (6-1) on the opening weekend of the season in Baltimore. The Retrievers captured the America East Conference title a season ago, running up a 31-12 mark that included an appearance in the NCAA Tournament vs. Top-25 foes Duke and Georgia. Junior Ashley Della Guardia, a 2021 all-conference selection, is hitting at a .462 clip in the early going. She plated the game-winning run for UMBC in the 2022 America East championship game. 

Youngstown State also rolls into the weekend with a 1-3 mark after a four-game series with Norfolk State on Feb. 13-14. The Penguins won the second game of the series 6-4, but dropped 9-4, 3-0 and 5-3 decisions over the balance of the two days. Youngstown State managed a 32-24 mark in 2022, putting together two separate six-game win streaks before losing to Robert Morris in the second round of the Horizon League Softball Championship in early May. Junior Sara Fessler has started the season on fire, hitting for a .538 average after playing the last three seasons at Ursuline College. In the circle, junior Devan Ryan is 1-0 with a 0.78 ERA through nine innings in 2023.