Softball Opens Campaign at UNC-Charlotte First Pitch Classic This Weekend

by YSU

Saturday, Feb 13, 2016 9:35 am

The Youngstown State softball team opens the 2016 campaign with four games at the Charlotte First Pitch Classic, Feb. 13-14. The Penguins face UMass and Toledo on Saturday at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. On Sunday, YSU faces UMass at Noon and Charlotte at 4 p.m.

 

Up Next
The Penguins have a weekend off then travel to UNC-Greensboro for a four-game tournament, Feb. 27-28.

 

What Returns
The Penguins return 10 position starters, one starting pitcher and 15 letterwinners from last season.

 

Record Setters
Last season, the Penguins set school single-season records for most home runs with 40 and stolen bases with 76. The Penguins return 92.5 percent of the home runs and 89.5 percent of the stolen bases.

 

Castiglione Named All-Horizon First-Team, Again
Senior Miranda Castiglione is coming off her second straight First-Team All-Horizon League campaign. Last year, Castiglione batted .349 with eight doubles, four home runs, 29 RBIs and a school-record 29 stolen bases. Castiglione became just the fourth player in school history to earn consecutive first-team all-league honors.

 

Dowd Tied Single-Season HR Mark
Junior Sarah Dowd tied the Youngstown State single-season home run record with 11 in 2015. She also became the first player in school history to record two grand slams in a career. Dowd, an All-Horizon League Second-Team selection, batted .320 with 33 runs batted in, a team-high 42 runs scored and 12 stolen bases.

 

Mikovich Earned All-Freshman Honors
Last season, Cali Mikovich was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman. Mikovich batted .308 with seven home runs, four triples and 30 runs batted in. In league play, she hit .339 with a pair of homers and 10 RBIs.

 

Jersey Shore
Junior Maria Lacatena did not suffer from a sophomore slump in 2015. In fact, she posted an increase of 115 points in her batting average from her freshman to sophomore seasons. Last year, Lacatena batted .310 with six home runs, six doubles 21 runs scored and 22 RBIs. She doubled her home run output and scored 12 more times than her freshman season.

 

Gibson Impressed
Last season, Alex Gibson made the most of her opportunities in the lineup. Gibson posted a team-high .364 batting average (28-for-77) with 18 RBIs, two home runs and three doubles. Gibson had just eight at-bats as a freshman in 2014.