Cancelled Event: Softball versus Tarleton State
Softball
vs Tarleton State
Cancelled
Providence College Athletics
Friday, February 7
Columbia, S.C.
12:00 PM
Providence College
vs
Toledo
Providence College Softball Opens 2025 Season At South Carolina
2/4/2025 9:50:00 AM | Softball
The Friars will play four games at the Gamecock Invitational from Feb. 7- 9.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Providence College softball team is set to begin its 2025 season at the Gamecock Invitational, hosted by South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. The Friars will compete in four games from February 7-9. Their tournament opener is scheduled for February 7 against Toledo at 12:00 p.m., followed by a matchup against East Carolina at 7:30 p.m. On February 8, Providence will take on host South Carolina at 3:30 p.m. before wrapping up the tournament on February 9 with a rematch against Toledo at 10:00 a.m.
"We are so excited to be embarking on the 2025 season," Head Coach Kelsey Christensen said. "Our pre-season tournaments are filled with high-level, top-25 opponents who we know will challenge and prepare us for a competitive BIG EAST Conference. We can't wait to see where this season takes us as a program as we work to build a championship program here in Friartown."
SCOUTING PROVIDENCE
The Friars completed the season with a 22-23-1 overall record, including an 11-13 mark in the BIG EAST. Providence finished tied for sixth in the final BIG EAST standings.
Providence returns 17 student-athletes, including graduate student-athlete Tori Grifone (Sussex, N.J.), seniors Rachael Petrarca (Tampa, Fla.), Emma Douma (Midland Park, N.J.), Hanna Aldrich (Taunton, Mass.), junior Gabriella Lee (Belmont, Calif.) and Alyssa Twomey (Warwick, R.I.).
Aldrich finished her 2024 season with a career-best .328 batting average. In 131 at-bats, she recorded 43 hits, including five doubles, two triples and two home runs, while driving in 25 runs. Over the past two seasons with the Friars, she has maintained a .324 batting average, with 48 hits, 33 runs scored, a .439 slugging percentage and 41 putouts.
Lee, a centerfielder, finished last season with a .303 batting average, .336 slugging percentage and a .357 on-base percentage over 46 appearances and 119 at-bats. Lee recorded 36, hits including four doubles while tallying 10 RBI and scoring 23 runs. Lee's performance last season earned her a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team (2024). Over her career, Lee has amassed 81 put outs and a .988 fielding percentage in the field for the Friars.
Last season's leading pitcher, Twomey, will also be returning to the circle for the Friars. Twomey appeared in 35 games, with 16 starts in the circle. She recorded a team-best 14-7 record with a 3.12 ERA over 130.0 innings pitched, recording 129 strikeouts. She was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week three times (2/26/24, 4/15/24, 4/30/24) and BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week two times (2/26/24, 3/25/24).
The Friars welcome one transfer, Alannah Hopkins (Sylva, N.C.) and two freshmen, Valentina Iula (Westbury, N.Y.) and Becca Weaver (Cary, Ill.).
Hopkins, a junior pitcher, attended Smoky Mountain High School where she earned All-Conference honors all four years. She was named the conference and 2A District Pitcher of the Year while also being named to the All-State team. Hopkins is a two-time National Champion at the club level, leading the EC Bullets to win the ASA title and the USA JO Cup National Championship with Fury Platinum. Hopkins was a part of the Appalachian State University softball team her freshman and sophomore year where she compiled five appearances and recorded three shutouts. This summer, Hopkins competed in the Florida Gulf Coast League and was named to the 2024 FGCL all-star team.
SCOUTING TOLEDO
Toledo finished its 2024 campaign with a 26-23 overall record, including a 15-10 record in Mid-American Conference play.
Toledo returns last season's leading hitter, senior Eli Enriquez. Enriquez started all 49 games last season, leading the squad in at-bats (169), runs (38), hits (64), triples (six) and slugging percentage (.479). She led the MAC conference last year in thefts and was tied for No. 6 in the country on May 10. Enriquez was named to the 2024 Mid-American Conference All-Tournament Team.
Senior pitcher Sophia Knight returns to the circle for the Rockets after leading the team's pitching staff last season. She posted a 3.18 ERA with a 15-12 record, starting 21 of 35 games. Knight allowed 91 hits and 74 earned runs while tallying 112 strikeouts.
SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina finished the 2024 season with a 38-19 overall record, including a 13-14 mark in American Athletic Conference play.
Emma Jackson was the Pirates leading hitter last season. Jackson, a 2024 transfer from Virginia Tech, started last season in 56 of her 56 games played primarily in the outfield. She was named to the AAC All-Conference Second Team and NFCA All-Mideast First Team. Jackson was the first Pirate since 2011 to earn a first team all-region spot on the NFCA. She tallied a team-high 75 hits with 24 doubles and 50 RBI. Her 24 doubles was second in the nation. Jackson was tabbed the AAC Player of the Week after the opening week of the season with a batting average of .652 and an on-base percentage of .680 in the Pirates' first six games. She also was named the 18th best outfielder in the country by Softball America for the month of May and was tabbed No. 93 in Softball America's Top 100 Players for the 2024 season.
The Pirates also will return UConn transfer, graduate Makenzie Mason, who played two years at UConn before joining East Carolina in 2024. In her first season with the Pirates, Mason started at third base in 49 of her 56 games played, going 4-for-6 on stolen bases and recorded 37 putouts and 33 assists.
Sophomore pitcher Taylor Apple enters her second year in the circle for East Carolina. Apple started 26 games and made 39 appearances in her rookie season. She finished with a 14-8 record with a team-best 2.62 ERA, throwing 106 strikeouts across 157.2 innings pitched. She was named to the AAC All-Rookie Team and became the first freshman pitcher since 2007 to throw at least 100 strikeouts in their first season.
SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina begins the 2025 season after earning a 36-24 overall including an 8-16 in SEC play which ranked 24th in RPI. The Gamecocks made a national tournament run where they beat Utah before being eliminated by Duke in the 2024 NCAA Regionals. The Gamecocks are currently receiving two votes in the NFCA 2025 Preseason Poll.
South Carolina lost 18 players from last season's roster and returns five. This year's squad welcomes 16 newcomers consisting of six freshman and 10 transfers, six of which come from Charlotte.
Head Coach and previous student-athlete at South Carolina, Ashley Chastain Woodard, begins her first season with the Gamecocks. She returns to South Carolina after serving as head coach for the Charlotte 49ers for the last five seasons, where she led her teams to a 154-96 overall record (61.6 percent), a 65-32 conference mark (67.0 percent) and two NCAA post-season berths. Her Charlotte squads had NCAA Quad 1 wins at Florida State, at Georgia, and defeated Virginia Tech three times in three separate seasons.
ON DECK
The Friars will travel to Gainesville, Fla. to participate in the Bubly Tournament hosted by the University of Florida. Providence will play in five games from Feb. 14-16 consisting of two games against Binghamton and matchups against No. 3 Florida, Boston College and No. 7 Duke.
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