The Weekend

Lafayette softball ventures to College Park, Md. to compete in the University of Maryland Softball Tournament. The Leopards will play Bryant on Friday at 1:30 p.m. (moved up two hours becuase of impending rain) before back-to-back games against Purdue Fort Wayne (10:30 a.m.) on Saturday morning and Fairfield (1 p.m.) on Saturday afternoon. Lafayette closes out its fourth tournament of the season vs. host Maryland on Sunday at 3 p.m.

Last Time Out

Fourteen games into the season and the Leopards made their first appearance at home, hosting a doubleheader vs. Le Moyne on a sunswept Wednesday afternoon at Metzgar Fields. Megan Coyle led the Leopards with three hits, including a two-run home run in the first game. She is hitting for a .333 clip through 10 games. 

About the Leopards
Lafayette returns eight players who started 15 or more games in 2023, including six players who started more than half of the games last season. The Leopards are coached by head coach Karavin Dew and assistant coach Bridget Bailey, each in their second season with the program.

Rookie of the Week
Freshman Regan Dillon was named the Patriot League Softball Rookie of the Week following the Leopards' first weekend of competition. Dillon hit for a .600 average, batting cleanup for four of the five games at the Tarleton State Whataburger Invitational, with nine hits, four doubles and two runs batted in. In her collegiate debut, Dillon went 3-for-4 against Mississippi Valley State, 2-for-2 with a pair of runs scored against Buffalo and 2-for-3 with an RBI in the 3-0 win over Tarleton State. The Texas native played first base in four games while getting behind the plate in one. Through 10 games, Dillon still leads the Leopards in batting average with a .440 clip in 25 at bats. Dillon has a .548 on-base percentage with 11 hits, four doubles and two RBI.
 

Great Start for M.G.O.
On the opening weekend, junior Mary Grace O'Neill hit .400 out of the lead-off spot in five games. The Pleasantville, N.Y. native banged out eight hits with two doubles and a triple, scored six runs and stole five bases in her opening weekend with the Leopards. O'Neill is hitting for a .321 average through 16 games.

Theft on the Rise

O'Neill has swiped 11 bases, a mark that has already eclipsed the Leopard leader from 2023 (Kylee Sweet who was one of two players with four stolen bases). O'Neill currently ranks tied for seventh in Lafayette history for stolen bases in a season. 


The Opponents

Bryant enters the weekend with an 8-6 mark overall and a 2-0 record in America East Conference action. The Bulldogs are coming off a pair of wins over Yale on Tuesday. Grad student Aleix Hudson leads the offense with a .367 batting average that includes four home runs and 15 RBI. In the circle, freshman Grace McKillop sports a 3-2 record with a 2.83 ERA over 29.2 innings.

Out of the Horizon League, Purdue Fort Wayne begins its fifth tournament of the season on Friday against the Leopards. The Mastodon come into the event with a 4-14 mark, collecting wins over Mississippi Valley State, Montana and Presbyterian. Sophomore outfielder Bailey Manos is PFW's offensive standout, hitting for a .377 average while having started 18 games. Classmate Alanah Jones has started six games and holds a 2-4 record with a 5.27 ERA in 42.2 innings.

Coming into the weekend, Fairfield  is 2-12, registering wins over Bucknell and North Dakota while having played in three tournaments to open the season. Members of the MAAC, the Stags dropped an 8-6 final to Yale on Wednesday. Offensively, junior Morgan Sylvestre leads the team with a .306 batting average. Sophomore Alyssa Weinberg has handled the bulk of the pitching work, garnering a 2-4 record with a 4.28 ERA over 34.1 innings in six starts. 

Host Maryland is 9-13 overall and has yet to break into Big 10 play. The Terps are coming off a 2-1 win over Virginia on Tuesday and also have a victory over No. 25 Oregon on March 1. Maryland is hitting .253 as a team led by grad student Mazie MacFarlane (.321) and senior Megan Mikami (.311). In the circle, Courtney Wyche has appeared in 52.2 innings over 11 games with a 4-5 record and a 2.26 ERA.