Cardinal Points

Issue date: 4/27/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Shumpei Kishi Kirby Davids tags out a Potsdam player in Tuesday's doubleheader game.

A recent hot streak for the women's softball team has them thinking number one.

With a 9-1 record in the recent stretch of 10 games, the Cards have launched from the bottom of the SUNYAC standings to the No. 4 spot - five wins behind No. 1 Cortland.

"I think our chances of being the No. 1 seed in the tournament are very good," pitcher Jaclyn Leitze said. "In order to make it happen, we'll need to sweep Cortland."

The recent streak could be the key to helping the Cardinals repeat as SUNYAC champs.

"Momentum is the most important part," third baseman Stephanie Blood said. "Everyone on our team stays positive before every game and that is the main component that helps us stay confident that we can win each game."

The Cardinals have three games left including a doubleheader today against first-place Cortland. Cortland is currently 14-0 in the SUNYAC.

The Cards will need their arms to carry them like they have during the run. Leitze and Stephanie Zweig will continue to pitch the remaining doubleheaders throughout the weekend.

Leitze is now 12-4 with a 1.63 ERA and has 128 strikeouts in 86 innings pitched. Zweig is 7-3 with a 1.41 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 89 innings pitched.

The Cards continue to swing the bats as well, especially Jennifer Nescio who leads the team in batting average at .473. Shannon Connors and Amy Woo are tied for the team lead in RBIs with 17 apiece.

The Cards play Cortland today and these could be key games if the Cards want to take the No. 1 seed in the SUNYAC conference. Cortland is 25-7 and 14-0 in the SUNYAC.

Like the Cardinals, Cortland has thrived with great pitching. Katie Finch and Ang D'Amboise will pitch the games for Cortland during the doubleheader against Plattsburgh. Finch is 12-4 with an ERA of 1.84 and has 98 strikeouts in 87 innings pitched. D' Amboise is 10-3 with a 2.34 ERA and has 119 strikeouts in 95 innings pitched.

Cortland has some great bats in their lineup as well. Annemarie Nelson is tied for the team lead with seven home runs. She also leads the team with 24 RBIs. Shara Evanter also has seven home runs for Cortland.

The Cards will face Oswego on Saturday and SUNYIT on Sunday. Oswego is 6-15 (3-9) and is tied for seventh in the SUNYAC while SUNYIT is 4-20 (1-11) and sits last in the SUNYAC standings.

Continued...

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