Cancelled Event: Softball versus Tarleton State
Softball
vs Tarleton State
Cancelled
Providence College Athletics
Friday, May 10
Rosemont, Ill.
4:00 p.m.
Providence College
vs
DePaul
Softball Game Notes vs. DePaul
5/8/2019 12:53:00 PM | Softball
LIVE STATS AND STREAM... Providence's BIG EAST Semifinal game vs. DePaul on Friday, May 10 will be televised on FS2 at 3:00 p.m. (CT) / 4:00 p.m. (ET). Live stats will also be available via the softball schedule on Friars.com.
ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP... The winner of Friday's semifinal between No. 3 Providence and No. 2 DePaul will advance to the BIG EAST Championship Game on Saturday, May 11 at 11:30 a.m. (CT) / 12:30 p.m. (ET) to face the winner of the first semifinal between No. 1 St. John's and No. 4 Villanova. St. John's won the BIG EAST regular season title after posting a 14-4 conference record while Villanova claimed the four seed, outlasting Seton Hall with a .529 conference winning percentage compared to the Pirates .526 conference mark.
ALL-TIME VS. DEPAUL...
Last Meeting (2019): L, 8-2
Overall Series: 3-25
Providence has dropped the last 20 games against the Blue Demons. Most recently, the Friars fell in the opening two games of a three-game series on April 13 at Cacciatore Stadium in Chicago, Ill. Providence lost 8-0 in the first game of the doubleheader before losing 8-2 in the second game of the day. The third game was cancelled due to inclement weather.
PROVIDENCE'S HISTORY IN THE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP...       Â
The Friars captured their lone BIG EAST Title in 1994 under the direction of Head Coach Jennifer Finley. Providence defeated Connecticut in Jamaica, N.Y., 1-0, with Kim Robbins being named the Most Outstanding Player.
Providence holds a 9-15 overall record in the BIG EAST Championship with one title and two runner-up finishes. The Friars fell to Connecticut in the 1992 BIG EAST Title game, 2-1, before reaching the title game for a second-consecutive season in 1995 but were defeated by Connecticut, 3-1.
Friday's game against DePaul will mark first-year Head Coach Jill Karwoski's BIG EAST Championship debut. Karwoski has led Providence to its highest win total since the 2005 season with a 30-21 mark heading into the BIG EAST Championship, Dana Fulmer led Providence to a 33-20 record in 2005.
A SEASONS DIFFERENCE...
Last season, Providence finished the regular season with a 13-32 overall record and 6-14 conference mark, finishing seventh in the BIG EAST standings. The Friars increased their overall win total by 17 games this season.
The 2019 BIG EAST Preseason Poll had Providence finishing in last place in the conference, with just 11 votes. The Friars have exceeded expectations with their best BIG EAST finish since the 1995 season when they also finished in third place in the BIG EAST standings.
SWEEP OF PRESEASON FAVORITE...
Providence opened its BIG EAST slate with a three-game sweep of the Preseason BIG EAST favorite, Creighton Bluejays, on March 30 and March 31. The Friars used two walk-off wins in the opening doubleheader, most notably a walk-off grand slam hit by freshman Jessica Tomaso in game two, to take the victory, 5-3. Providence won game one and game three of the series by a score of 4-3.
SEVEN-GAME WINNING STREAK...
The Friars' three-game sweep of Creighton came amidst their longest winning streak of the season, seven. Prior to their BIG EAST series opener, the team won a 3-1 decision against Bryant on March 26 followed by a 4-3 victory over Rhode Island on March 27. Jessica Tomaso was the hero again against Rhode Island, as she broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI hit to the left center gap to score Vanessa Portillo. The streak continued in a non-conference matchup against Brown on April 3 with a 6-0 shutout in the cross-town rivalry. Providence's final win during the streak came in its series opener against Villanova, on April 6, with a 2-1 win over the Wildcats.
STRONG FINISH...
Providence won five of its final six BIG EAST games of the season to clinch its first BIG EAST Championship berth since the tournament went to a four-team field in 2014. The Friars first defeated Butler in a three-game series at Glay Field in Providence, R.I., outscoring the Bulldogs 14-1 over the three games on April 27 and April 28. Daniela Alvarez earned all three wins in the series.
Heading into the final weekend of BIG EAST play, Providence sat in fourth place and needed a strong weekend to advance. The Friars split the doubleheader on Saturday, May 4 against the Hoyas to bump them down to fifth place. Entering the final day of conference play, Providence needed to win and have either Seton Hall or Villanova lose in order to advance to the BIG EAST Championship. Villanova's final game against DePaul was cancelled due to weather, resulting in a win and they're in scenario for the Friars. Providence defeated Georgetown, 13-1, in five innings behind a nine-run, nine-hit second inning. Seton Hall's loss on the final day of the regular season boosted Providence to the No. 3 seed.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE...
With an 11-2 record at Glay Field this season, Providence has protected its home turf. The team's only two losses of the season came on April 18 and April 20, dropping two games to Seton Hall. The staff has pitched to a 1.96 ERA at Glay Field with the offense producing 62 runs and 13 home runs in 13 matchups.
POWER FROM TOP TO BOTTOM...
The Friars have hit 29 home runs this season and have power from the one to nine hole. Vanessa Portillo and Jessica Tomaso have each hit a team-high five home runs while Mackensie Compton is one behind with four. 12 separate players have tallied a home run for Providence this season.
HITTING MACHINE...
Senior Emma Lee leads the Friars at the top of the lineup. Lee posts a team-high .419 batting average this season, tallying 65 total hits. She ranks second in the conference for batting average and 33rd nationally. Her 65 hits prove to be second-highest in the conference behind BIG EAST Player of the Year, Paige Rauch.
In Providence's 2-1 victory over Villanova on April 6, Lee broke the all-time hits record in Providence College history with her 215th career hit. She ended the regular season with 238 career hits. Lee holds a career .436 on-base percentage, leading her to scoring the second most runs in program history (130).
On February 15, 2019, Lee hit her first career home run against Bethune-Cookman in a 6-1 win in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
PITCHING DOMINANCE...
Providence has built its success from its pitching all season, led by BIG EAST Co-Freshman of the Year and All-BIG EAST First Team member, Daniela Alvarez. The Friars post the lowest ERA in the conference as a staff (2.62) and highest strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.19).
Alvarez has pitched to an 18-7 overall record and a 2.16 ERA in 26 starts this season. She controls the zone, allowing just 1.45 walks per seven innings, proving to be best in the BIG EAST. She has tallied 134 strike outs while allowing just 33 walks. In conference play, Alvarez has started 14 of the team's 20 games, earning an 8-4 record while accumulating a 3.00 ERA.
Megan McCune and Miranda Trinidad each notched at least 50 innings in the circle. McCune posts an 8-8 overall record and 3.21 ERA compared to Trinidad's 3-3 record and 2.81 ERA.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEMONS...
DePaul claimed the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Championship with an 11-5 conference record, tied for the fewest BIG EAST games played with 16. In DePaul's final BIG EAST series of the season, the Blue Demons split two games against Villanova before the series finale was cancelled due to weather.
The Blue Demons have a strong foundation behind the plate with All-BIG EAST First Team member, Jessica Cothern. Cothern has started all 46 of DePaul's games, posting a .344 batting average, eight home runs and 47 RBI. Cothern's counterpart, BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and All-BIG EAST First Team member, Maranda Gutierrez will be another bat to look out for in the lineup. Gutierrez has started all 16 conference games for the Blue Demons, with a .382 batting average and team-high 21 hits in BIG EAST play.
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