Softball Set to Kick Off 2022 Campaign in Eastern Shore Classic

Opening Weekend
Tournament: Eastern Shore Classic
Teams: Saint Peter's (0-0, 0-0 MAAC), Maryland Eastern Shore (0-5, 0-0 MEAC), Lafayette (0-0, 0-0 Patriot)
Dates: Friday, Feb. 25-Sunday, Feb. 27
Location: Hawk Field, Princess Anne, Maryland

First Pitch

• The Saint Peter's University softball team returns to action for the 2022 season this weekend as they travel to Princess Anne, Maryland to face off with UMES and Lafayette in the Eastern Shore Classic.
• It will be the first non-conference contest for the Peacocks since they earned a doubleheader split with Howard University on March 12, 2020.

Returning Talent Around the Diamond

• SPU returns a wealth of talent to the 2022 squad from last season including nine position players who saw action in at least 20 games a season ago.
• Brandi Feeney highlights the returning talent as she enters her junior year with the Peacocks. Last season, Feeney hit a team-high .321 and also led the team with 14 RBI, two homers, four doubles and 13 runs scored.
• Junior Olyvia Smith is also back for her third season in an SPU uniform after joining Feeney hitting above .300 with a .301 average in 2021. Also a strong option with her speed, Smith was tied for the team lead with five stolen bases in just six attempts last season.
• Seniors Katie Sciglimpaglia and Anja Solveig Kane also return to the roster in 2022 after being the lone two Peacocks to start all 30 games on the year. In total, the duo has started 187 games in their careers.
• Juniors Sophie Wilson and Cara McNulty and sophomore Maiah Skakal are all back for another season as well for SPU. Wilson returns after hitting .290 a season ago while also sitting second on the team with a .419 slugging percentage and a .781 OPS. 
• McNulty and Skakal, meanwhile, were staples in the lineup combining for six doubles, a triple, a home run and 13 RBI in 2021.

In the Circle

• The Peacocks return every pitcher from last year's team including Sydney Senerchia who finished last season with a team-best 4.27 ERA.
• Senerchia finished last season with a 1.48 WHIP across 57.1 innings in the circle. She led the team in strikeouts, IP and opponents' batting average last season.
• Junior Taylor Rondon is back after her 2021 season where she was second on the team with a 4.98 ERA in 11 appearances.
• Also returning is junior Kristen Brennan who was tied with Senerchia for the most appearances in the circle last season. Brennan was second on the team with a 1.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio last season.
• Junior Christina Colon was the Peacock who saw the most action in 2021 and is back for another campaign after pitching in 18 games last season. Colon was in the circle and earned the victory for the Peacocks in the 6-5 win over Quinnipiac for the sole wins of the year a season ago.

New Faces

• Junior college transfers Aubrey Ketcham and Kourtney Ketcham figure to have large roles in the offense for the Peacocks in 2022. The Ketcham sisters combined to steal 30 bases last season and were both selected to the NJCAA All-Region team.
• Last season at Herkimer County Community College, Aubrey Ketcham hit .416 with six doubles, two triples and a home run. She was named the Outstanding Defensive Player at the 2019 NJCAA Division III Championship.
• Kourtney Ketcham, meanwhile, hit .425 for HCCC last season with 13 RBI and 27 runs scored. She had 12 multi-hit games on the year in 25 games and hit safely in 18 of them.
• Freshman Dakota Pitts is expected to figure into the starting rotation both in the circle and on the field. Pitts enters her SPU career as a two-time First Team All-County selection out of Patterson Mill High School in Bel Air, Md. 
• Fellow freshmen Kasidy Slusser, Lexi Ross and Nicole Antuna are all also expected to make an impact in their first seasons on the field with SPU.

A look at the Schedule

• For the first time in 714 days, the Peacocks will face off against schools outside of the MAAC starting with the Eastern Shore Classic this weekend.
• SPU will follow that up with a trip to South Carolina during Spring Break to face off with Presbyterian and Youngstown State as a part of the Scotsman Invitational before heading to Orangeburg, S.C., to take on South Carolina State in a four-game set on March 7-8.
• Following a quick single-day road doubleheader against Howard March 10, the Peacock will play at home for the first time at Jaroschak Field on Wednesday, March 16 with a doubleheader versus Wagner.
• After that, SPU will head down the road to Piscataway, N.J., to play in the Rutgers Softball Tournament March 18-20 followed by three straight midweek doubleheaders against Delaware State (March 23), Wagner (March 29) and Fairleigh Dickinson (March 31).
• As the calendar turns to April the Peacocks turn their attention to MAAC play, starting with a home doubleheader against Siena on April 2.
• The following Saturday, SPU heads to Hamden, Ct., to take on Quinnipiac before stepping outside conference play to welcome Coppin State to Jaroschak April 13.
• On April 16, the Peacocks travel to Fairfield, Ct., to take on Fairfield then to Easton, Pa., April 19 for a non-conference contest against Lafayette.
• The longest home stretch of the year follows as SPU hosts Rider (April 23), Monmouth (April 24), Howard (April 26) and FDU (April 28) for eight straight home games.
• From that point on, the Peacocks will close the season with 10 straight conference games at Niagara (April 30), at Canisius (May 1), at Manhattan (May 5), at home vs. Marist (May 7) and at home vs. Iona (May 8).

Up Next

• After the Eastern Shore Classic, SPU travels down the coast to the state of South Carolina for the Scotsman Invitational. The Peacocks are scheduled to play three games against Presbyterian and two more against Youngstown State from Friday, March 4 to Sunday, March 6.

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