The Matchup
Lafayette continues its second eight-game homestand of the season, hosting Holy Cross for a three-game series. The Leopards are slated to play a doubleheader at noon on Saturday and a single game on Sunday at noon. The series finale is slated to be streamed on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
The Leopards are coming off a mid-week split with FDU on Wednesday.
Paige Sandidge belted a pair of homers in the doubleheader. The Leopards dropped game one 3-1 but rebounded with a 6-5 win in game two when
Marisa Powell collected her first collegiate victory. Sandidge,
Kylee Sweet,
Grace Harvey and
Grace Hausamann all drove in runs.
On Tap For the Weekend
It's a busy weekend at Metzgar Fields. On Saturday, the Leopards are hosting a PRIDE game, highlighting acceptance and equality and raising awareness for issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community.
All weekend, the Patriot League is exhibiting its commitment to student-athlete mental health in a program headed by the league's SAAC. Teams will be wearing warm-up shirts featuring a green ribbon.
On Sunday, Lafayette softball is honoring
Erica Brasher,
Grace Harvey,
Jasmine Nguyen,
Kaili Reitano and
Julia Roman on Senior Day.
Sweet Swing
Coming into the weekend, rookie
Kylee Sweet leads the team with a .329 batting average and 11 RBI, having started all 33 games. She is batting .474 against lefthanders and .565 as the lead-off batter in an inning.
The Opponent
Holy Cross comes in with an 11-27 overall record and a 0-9 mark in Patriot League play, having played Army, Boston U. and Colgate. The Crusaders are coming off mid-week doubleheader sweep of Merrimack, winning both games by identical 1-0 scores. Junior Megan Yurchick threw an eight-inning no-hitter in game one on Wednesday when she struck out 11 and walked six. She holds a 7-13 record on the season.
Freshman Anna Brait leads the Crusaders' offensive effort with a .328 average including a team-best 19 RBI. Freshman Ali Sniegocki and junior Jessica Mott have combined to drive in 27 runs, hitting at .303 and .248, respectively.
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.
Next Up
Lafayette finishes its homestand April 22-23 with a three-game series vs. the ACC's Syracuse.
