Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Softball team plays the first of six games over the next four days when it travels to Western Connecticut on Thursday. Skyline Conference play resumes for the Mount with a pair of home doubleheaders over the weekend when Manhattanville and St. Joseph's-Brooklyn visit Newburgh. Live Stats and Video will be available for all games this week for those who are unable to attend.
 
At A Glance: The Knights look to improve a four-game winning streak on Thursday when they take on the Wolves in Danbury, Conn. Mount Saint Mary won a doubleheader at New Platz in their only action last week following a conference sweep of St. Joseph's-L.I. on April 2. The Knights begin play this week at 9-9 overall and with a 2-0 mark against conference rivals.
 
A pair of Knights enter Thursday hitting better than .300 on the season, led by a .311 mark from Samantha Bendig (Tampa, Fla.) who has ripped four doubles and is tied for the team lead in RBI with nine. Olivia Ferara (Middletown, N.Y.) is hitting .310 over 58 at-bats, leading the team with 18 hits and 13 runs scored while equaling the team lead in doubles with five.
 
Laura Dentato (Farmingdale, N.Y.) joins Ferara with five doubles and Bendig with nine RBI and adds 12 runs scored.
 
Grace MacDonald (Concord, N.H.) has contributed both at the plate and in the circle for the Mount, hitting .296 with a double and two RBI while earning four wins in the circle. MacDonald has pitched a pair of shutouts and fanned 35 opponent hitters in 54.0 innings pitched.
 
Bridget Morris (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) has her junior season off to a strong start, holding a 5-4 record and a 3.74 earned run average. Morris has worked a team-high 54.1 innings and fanned 66 batters while allowing opponents to hit just .204 against her.
 
Mount Saint Mary is hitting .232 as a team with the pitching staff working to a 3.79 earned run average.
 
Scouting The Wolves: Western Connecticut enters Thursday's set with a 14-14 overall record and is coming off a split with the University of Saint Joseph on Wednesday, dropping the opener 6-3 before earning the split with a 5-1 triumph in game two.
 
The Wolves feature four players hitting better than .300 on the season, led by a .426 mark from Benni Tucci over 94 at-bats. Tucci has hit four doubles and leads the team with 23 runs scored. Alexis Resto checks in with a .357 average with a team-high 22 RBI.
 
Sydney Chenoweth is hitting .345 for Western Connecticut, while Carly Cordova supports the offense with a .307 average, 14 runs scored and 13 RBI. Isabella Pincince has scored 17 times for the Wolves and is hitting .292 with Rachael Ushka batting .299 with 14 runs scored.
 
Seven different players have logged innings in the circle for the Wolves, led by 49.2 frames from Olivia Bordenaro who is working to a 3.38 earned run average. Bordenaro has a 4-3 record and has fanned 47 opponent batters. Chenoweth has worked 40.2 innings and won four games and Hailey Golembiewski holds a 2.29 ERA in 39.2 innings, earning three wins and fanning 50 hitters.
 
Western Connecticut hits .305 as a team through 28 games and is posting a 3.26 team earned run average.
 
Recent History: The Knights and Wolves have played 11 games since the start of the 2009 season with Western Connecticut holding a slim 6-5 advantage in the head-to-head series.
 
A Look At The Valiants: Manhattanville won a non-conference doubleheader with Stevens on Wednesday and in the process pushed its winning streak to 10 games and moved its overall record to 14-4 while holding a 2-0 mark against Skyline Conference rivals.
 
Manhattanville enters the week with five players hitting at least .355 led by a .462 mark from Sarah Harker who paces the team with 20 runs to go along with 11 RBI. Sydni Brooks is hitting an even .400 with five doubles, nine runs and eight RBI for the Valiants.
 
Juliana Parks is batting .373 with 12 RBI with Amaya Esperaza driving in a team-high 14 runs while hitting .356. Isabella Tansey supports a potent offensive attack with a .355 batting average with seven runs scored.
 
Charli Shinstine leads the pitching staff with a perfect 9-0 record in 64.2 innings of work. Shinstine holds a 0.65 earned run average and has fanned 89 hitting while allowing a .145 batting average against. Shinestine leads the conference in earned run average, opponents' batting average, innings pitched and strikeouts.
 
Manhattanville enters the weekend hitting .316 as a team while the pitching staff is working to a 2.54 earned run average while allowing opponents just a .206 batting average.
 
Recent History: The Knights and Valiants have met 14 times since the start of the 2014 season prior to Saturday with Manhattanville posting 11 victories over that span. The Valiants have won three of the last four meetings, with the Mount's win coming in a 5-4 game two victory on the road last season.
 
Previewing The Bears: St. Joseph's-Brooklyn heads to Ramapo on Thursday with a 12-8 overall record and a 3-1 mark in Skyline Conference play. The Bears swept Lehman in a non-conference doubleheader on Monday and split a league set with Farmingdale State on April 8.
 
Three Bears enters Thursday's action hitting at least .400 led by a .415 average from Lauren Van Der Kamp who adds 17 runs scored and 11 RBI. Autumn Poppett is hitting .414 with nine runs scored for the Bears with Arianna Heinsch batting an even .400 with 11 RBI and a team-high 20 runs scored.
 
Sofia Logreco leads the way with 14 RBI while scoring 12 times and hitting .364. Nicole Trani has laced seven doubles for the Bears and has produced a .397 batting average, 13 RBI and 16 runs scored.
 
Brooke Horn has pitched a team-high 55.2 innings and has a 6-2 record in the circle while posting a 2.89 earned run average. Horn has fanned 68 hitters and has worked five complete games to date.
 
St. Joseph's begins Thursday's set with Ramapo hitting .368 as a team wile the pitching staff is working to a 4.03 earned run average.
 
Recent History: Since 2016, Mount Saint Mary and St. Joseph's-Brooklyn have met 15 times with the Knights holding an 11-4 record. The Knights swept the regular season series from the Bears in 2022, but were tripped up in the Skyline Conference Championship, falling to St. Joseph's 17-5.
 
What's Next: Mount Saint Mary takes to the road next week for two Skyline Conference twin bills, heading to Old Westbury on April 22 and the College of Mount Saint Vincent on April 23.