Hampton Invitational Information (Live Stats links, schedule, etc.)
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THIS WEEKEND'S STORYLINES:
The Hartford softball team hits the diamond for the first time in 2014, kicking off its 52-game slate with the Hampton Invitational this weekend. Coming off one of their best seasons in recent history, the Hawks are scheduled to face Columbia, Fairleigh Dickinson, Hampton and Saint Joseph's over a two-day stretch. The Invitational kicks off on Saturday as Hartford takes on Saint Joseph's in the morning (9 a.m.) and Columbia in the afternoon (1 p.m.).

NEXT ON TAP:
The Hawks return to the Northeast and will next head to the New York City borough of Manhattan to take on the Jaspers on Tues., Mar. 4. The opening game of the doubleheader is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
 
SCOUTING COLUMBIA:
The Hawks are scheduled to take on Columbia on Saturday, concluding their opening day with a 1 p.m. matchup against the Lions. Coming off a 22-26 campaign last season, the Lions opened up 2014 last week, losing all five games of the Houston Classic. Four of those losses were decided by four runs or more, with the exception of a 5-4 setback to the host-team Cougars. Columbia has been outhit, 55-22, this season but nearly a quarter of the team's hits (5) are home runs. Junior utility player Kayla Shimoda leads the Lions at the plate with a .286 average (4-of-14) while in the circle, junior Brooke Darling has started two games, posting a 6.30 ERA with eight strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched.

THE SERIES HISTORY WITH COLUMBIA:
Hartford and Columbia have met two times prior to this weekend's tournament, but not since the 2008 season. Both of those contests came as part of the Rebel Spring Game in Kissimmee, Fla. The Hawks are perfect against the Lions, posting a 2-0 win in the first-ever meeting in 2007 and scoring a five-inning, 10-1 victory the following season.

SCOUTING FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON:
Hartford and Fairleigh Dickinson will meet on Sunday, the final day of the Hampton Invitational, at 11 a.m. The Knights, who finished 23-21 last season, also have one tournament under their belts as they began 2014 last weekend at the Spartan Classic hosted by Norfolk State. The squad went 1-2 on its opening weekend, defeating La Salle (4-0) to start the season before falling to both Delaware State (4-2) and Yale (4-1). Junior Megan Reiner was named the Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Week, allowing no runs in a pair of appearances while recording 12 strikeouts. She threw a complete-game shutout against the Explorers, conceding a pair of hits while striking out 11, and limited the Hornets to just one hit in 2.1 innings of relief against Delaware State. The Knights' offense is paced by junior infielder Bryana Dorado, who in seven at-bats, has three hits (.429 average) and a pair of runs. Junior Angelique Nieves has a team-high four RBI for Fairleigh Dickinson.

THE SERIES HISTORY WITH FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON:
Hartford and Fairleigh Dickinson have faced each other four times, all as part of the Rebel Spring Games, in a series that began in the 2007 season. The Hawks took back-to-back games in 2007 (3-2) and 2008 (5-1). Most recently, the two teams met twice in the 2011 Rebel Spring Games. That season, the Hawks scored their third-straight against Fairleigh Dickinson (8-4) before suffering their first-ever loss to the Knights three days later in a 3-0 decision.    
 
SCOUTING HAMPTON:
The Hawks will meet up with the host-team Pirates on Sunday, the final day of the Invitational, at 3 p.m. Hampton has played in two tournaments thus far, going 1-4 at the Hawaii Paradise Classic before improving to 3-6 overall after posting a 2-2 mark at the UNCG Tournament. Diamond Ponds and Margaret Wilkins pace an offense that has been outscored by a 55-25 margin through its first nine games. A redshirt-junior, Wilkins boasts a team-best .379 batting average (11-of-29) and also leads the squad in RBI (6) while Ponds, a sophomore outfielder, bats .368, adding four runs and two RBI. Inside the circle, Jailynn Jackson, a junior, has made six starts. She is 3-3 thus far with a 2.67 ERA and 23 strikeouts.
 
THE SERIES HISTORY WITH HAMPTON:
Hartford and has visited Hampton just one other time in its Division I history. That meeting came nearly 10 years ago where the Hawks dropped a narrow 2-1 decision on Mar. 18, 2004.
 
SCOUTING SAINT JOSEPH'S:
The battle between the two Hawks will be Hartford's first game of the 2014 season on Saturday at 9 a.m. Seeing its opening weekend at Longwood get cancelled earlier this month due to a snow storm, Saint Joseph's split four games last weekend, going 1-1 against Niagara, defeating Iona and falling to host-team Elon. Last year's Atlantic 10 regular season champion, the Hawks were picked to finish second in the conference this season. Junior Nicole Palase's .545 average at the plate leads all batters. In 11 at-bats, she has belted out six hits, including a double and a home run, while leading the team with four RBI. In the circle, Liz Mendez has made two starts. A sophomore righty, she is 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA and a pair of striekouts.
 
THE SERIES HISTORY WITH SAINT JOSEPH'S:
Friday's contest against the Saint Joseph's Hawks will end a 20-year hiatus between the two teams. The first and only meeting between the two Hawk squads came back in 1994. Hartford took down Saint Joseph's, scoring a 7-6 victory on neutral ground.
 
CONTINUING STREAKS:
A pair of Hawks enters the 2014 season with hitting streaks on the line. Junior outfielder Jenice Aloyo notched at least one hit in each of her last three games last season while senior Chelsey Mooney, a first baseman, also ended her 2013 campaign riding a three-game hit streak.
 
PRESEASON POLL:
The Hawks were picked to finish fourth in the America East, according to the coaches' preseason poll released in January. Topping the polls as the coaches' preseason favorite was UAlbany, which received 34 points including five first-place tallies. Stony Brook, the reigning league champ, checked in at second with two top votes and 31 points while Binghamton landed one first-place vote and 28 points for third. Rounding out the seven-team poll were Maine, UMBC and UMass Lowell.
 
20-PLUS WINS:
The Hawks enjoyed one of their most successful seasons in recent years in 2013, posting the program's most wins since 2008 (21). The 21 wins went down as the fifth-most in 29 years of Division I softball at Hartford. The Hawks showed major improvement in 2013, doubling the previous season's win total (10) while tallying more victories than the 2011 and 2012 seasons combined (20).
 
BRINGING BACK THE ACE:
Returning to the rotation this season is Zuzana Kudernatschova, a pitcher who garnered America East All-Conference Second Team laurels in her debut season with the Hawks. As a junior last season, Kudernatschova enjoyed one of the most dominant years in the circle of any Hawk pitcher. She vaulted into Hartford's record book, posting the fourth-most wins (14), strikeouts (147) and shutouts (4) in a single season while making the program's most starts (28). When thrown into America East action, Kudernatschova was dominant, going 8-4 with a 1.51 ERA and 72 strikeouts.
 
WHAT'S NEW:
The Hawks welcome five new faces to the dugout in 2014. Marisa Ferguson, a utility player, joins the Hawks from Danbury, Conn., while Lexi Wilkerson, a pitcher and infielder, made the cross-country trip from Roseville, Calif. Dani Regina (Pompton Lakes, N.J.) and Meghan Wynn (North Attleborough, Mass.) add depth and versatility to the Hawks' roster as utility players while Mackenzie Obert (Fairless Hills, Pa.) becomes Hartford's newest member of the infield.
 
ALL-LEAGUERS:
Hartford brings back a pair of America East All-Conference players from the 2013 season in Zuzana Kudernatschova and Chelsey Mooney. A pair of second-team selections, Kudernatschova enjoyed one of the most dominant years in the circle of any Hawk pitcher with 14 wins and 147 strikeouts while Mooney, a first baseman, paced the team during conference play with a .313 batting average.
 
MY SACRIFICE:
One key to Hartford's success last season was its ability to capitalize on the small ball strategy. As a team, the Hawks combined for 49 sacrifice hits, with Jenice Aloyo accounting for 18 of those. Aloyo quickly ascended the Hartford record book, earning top billings in the single season record for sacrifices hits with 17. Furthermore, after just one season at Hartford, she already ranks seventh in the career record books in the category, needing 11 more to match the program record of 29 sacrifice hits held by Mallory Rapoza (2002-05).
 
THE FUTURE LOOKS JUST AS BRIGHT:
In December, head coach Diana Consolmagno announced the signing of seven student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. Comprising the class of 2018 are three infielders, an outfielder and a trio of pitchers. Alex Saharek (Wethersfield, Conn.), Jamie Soles (New Egypt, N.J.) and Brittany Wallace (Salem, N.H) will be the newest faces in the infield while Lauren Sustad (Merrick, N.Y.) will patrol the outfield for the Hawks. Rounding out the incoming class are three pitchers: Kristen Andrews (Commack, N.Y.), Kelsey Bird (Franklin, N.H.) and Kiersten Coho (East Freedom, Pa.). Consomagno's largest recruiting class will arrive on campus in the fall of 2014.