Softball on Twitter: @HartfordSB

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES:
Hartford was slated to play five games at Maryland in the Maryland Tournament, but due to poor field conditions, the Hawks saw their second tournament of the season get cancelled. In place of the tournament, Hartford will head to Princeton to play a pair of games against the Tigers on Saturday starting at 11 a.m.

SCOUTING PRINCETON:
Princeton began its 2014 season last weekend at the UCF Tournament, where it dropped all five of its games after getting outscored, 27-8. Losing the first three games to UCF, Stetson and Tennessee-Martin by four or more runs, the Tigers bounced back in their final two contests, falling 4-3 to the College of Charleston and 3-1 to SIU Edwardsville. Danielle Allen is the only Tiger batting over .300 with a .333 batting average (4-of-12) while Sara McGowan has accounted for two of her team's seven RBI thus far. Inside of the circle, Shanna Christian and Meredith Brown have each started two games. Christian sports a team-best 3.28 ERA in 10.2 innings, collecting six strikeouts, while Brown, who also has struck out six, enters the tournament with a 6.30 ERA in 10.0 frames of work.

THE SERIES HISTORY WITH PRINCETON:
The Maryland Tournament brings another series debut as Hartford and Princeton have never met in both programs' Division I histories. The two teams are scheduled to face-off on Saturday at 10 a.m. The Tigers will be the second team from the Ivy League that the Hawks have faced this season as they previously met Columbia at the Hampton Invitational last weekend, falling 7-3. Against the Ivy League, Hartford is 29-45 with winning records against Dartmouth (7-3) and Columbia (2-1).

HARTFORD'S LAST TIME OUT:
Hartford opened up its 2014 campaign at the Hampton Invitational where it went 1-3, falling to Saint Joseph's in eight innings (9-8), Columbia (7-3) and Fairleigh Dickinson (7-4) before defeating the host-team Pirates in the final game by a 4-1 final. Making her college debut against Hampton, Lexi Wilkerson allowed just one earned run on six hits in six innings, conceding one walk during that stretch. Senior Chelsey Mooney went 2-of-3 at the plate and drove-in two runs in the win to finish the weekend batting .583 (7-of-12). The first baseman collected produced six RBI on three doubles and a homer, collecting two walks while striking out just once in that stretch.

NEXT ON TAP:
Seeing its first games scheduled to be played in the Northeast get cancelled on Tuesday at Manhattan, the Hawks will make their home debut on Tues., Mar. 11 when they host neighboring Central Connecticut in a doubleheader. The first pitch of Hartford's 21-game home slate will be tossed at 2 p.m.
 
CONTINUING STREAKS:
A pair of Hawks entered the 2014 season with hitting streaks on the line, and after opening weekend, both players kept those rallies intact. Chelsey Mooney, a first baseman, combined for seven hits in her team's first four games and has notched at least one hit in each of her last three games, dating back to a May 5 contest at Maine, the Hawks' 2013 regular season finale. Junior outfielder Jenice Aloyo is also riding a seven-game hit streak, combining for 10 hits over her last seven games.


FIRST TIME'S A CHARM:
Hartford freshman Lexi Wilkerson made her college debut inside the circle for the Hawks on Sunday, and the result couldn't have been any better. A righty from Roseville, Calif., Wilkerson conceded just one run on six hits against Hampton, helping lead her team to its first win of the year in a 4-1 decision at the Hampton Invitational.
 
MOONEY'S MONSTER WEEK:
Senior Chelsey Mooney got her final season in a Hawk uniform off with a bang. The first baseman was red hot at the plate in her team's opening four games. Connecting on seven hits in 12 at-bats for a .583 average, Mooney slugged 1.083, bringing in six runs on three doubles and a home run. Furthermore, during that stretch, the Corona, Calif., native struck out just once, earning a pair of walks in the process. Mooney's hot average currently leads Hartford.
 
EXTRA! EXTRA!
Batting .306 as a team, Hartford has seen nine of its 33 hits go for extra-bases through its first four games of 2014. Leading the way in multiple-base hits is senior Chelsey Mooney, who has doubled three times and homered once in her team-high seven hits. Four other Hawks have seen at least one of their hits go for extra bases with juniors Ana Alberti and Jackie Kelly, sophomore Sawyer Fried and rookie Meghan Wynn each recording doubles. Junior Jenice Aloyo rounds out the multi-hits thus far, smacking her team's lone double of the season.
 
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 in 2013, 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, just 59 games into her career at Hartford, she already ranks sixth in the career record books in the category (10), needing 10 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.