WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University softball team will continue the 2019 campaign this weekend in Madeira Beach, Florida for the Madeira Beach Tournament and will see five teams over the course of three days. The action will begin on Friday, Feb. 22 at 11 a.m. against Colgate and then at 1:30 p.m. against Manhattan. The Hoyas will play another pair of games on Saturday against North Florida at 11 a.m. and then Albany at 1:30 p.m. Georgetown will conclude the tournament on Sunday at 11:30 against Purdue.
Live stats for all of the weekend's games will be available at GUHoyas.com.
The Blue & Gray holds an overall record of 2-7 on the young season and went 1-4 last weekend in the 2019 Boyd Gaming Rebel Classic in Las Vegas. The Hoyas defeated Utah Valley 7-6 and junior
Noelle Holiday (Red Lion Christian Academy) and senior
Sarah Bennett (Owings, Md. / Northern) both recorded homers in the victory.
Freshman
Mae Forshey (Phoenix, Ariz. / Arcadia) leads the Hoyas offensively, registering a .400 batting average with 12 hits, three doubles and four RBIs. Sophomore
Savannah Jones (San Rafael, Calif. / Terra Linda) ranks second on the team batting .346 with nine hits, a double and three triples. Holiday isn't too far behind Jones, registering a .345 average with 10 hits, four doubles, a pair of homers and nine RBIs.
The Colgate Raiders went 1-3 last weekend in their opening weekend in the Osprey/Dolphin Invite. The Raiders defeated Jacksonville 2-1 in their last game of the tournament off of a two-run homer. Junior Jordan Miller leads the squad with a .455 batting average, five hits, including a double, and three RBIs.
Manhattan University is kicking off the 2019 season this weekend with Georgetown as its first opponent. The Jaspers went 28-25 last season and return 14 letterwinners from last year, including 2018 All-MAAC Second Team selection Lauren Pitney and all-rookie team member Daniela Chiorazzi. Pitney started all 53 games for Manhattan last season at second base and led the team with a .570 slugging percentage a .505 on-base percentage, along with nine home runs and 25 RBIs.
The North Florida Ospreys are 4-4 on the young season, earning all four of their victories last weekend in the UNF Invitational. The Ospreys saw wins against Colgate (7-1), South Dakota State (10-8), Northern Iowa (8-7) and College of Charleston (5-1). Dominica Cocuzza leads the squad with a .565 average and is 13 for 23 at the plate. She has recorded a double and a home run to go along with three triples and nine RBIs this season.
The University of Albany is also kicking off its season this weekend after ending the 2018 season on a high note. The Great Danes went 32-16 last year and won their second-straight America East Championship. The team was selected as the preseason favorite in the 2019 America East Coaches Poll. Senior pitcher Celeste Verdolivo returns as the league's reigning Pitcher of the Year, along with McKenzie Bump and Sarah Petzold, who were named first-team all-conference in 2018.
Purdue holds a 3-4 record so far this season after splitting a pair last weekend in the Pirate Clash, aside from two games being cancelled. The Boilmakers defeated Saint Francis 6-2 last Friday and freshman Kasey Wilhoit paved the way for the team with four hits, part of her 10 hits on the season.
Following this weekend, the Blue & Gray will host the third annual District Classic at Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy from Friday, March 1 through Sunday, March 3. The Hoyas will host five teams, including Bucknell, Brown, Saint Joseph's, Harvard and Howard.
