March 1, 2008

Virginia Beach, Va. -

Head Coach Bill Saar knows he has an experienced team. The Knights have played for the conference championship the past two seasons. What he doesn't know is, are they ready for this season? In an effort to answer that question and provide the Knights an opportunity to gauge their progress he has taken the team to the Virginia Wesleyan Tournament. With the likes of Messiah, Rowan, Wilkes and Neumann all invited to the tournament the Knights are sure to learn what they need to know as they prepare for conference play and to reclaim the conference championship.

With wet fields delaying the start of the games and forcing a change in schedule the Knights found themselves playing Rowan University in the opening game of the tournament. When asked about this contest during pre-game Coach Saar stated, "This is great opportunity for us to see how we stack up. We enjoy playing in big games and are hungry to get the season started. To play Rowan in the first game of the year gives our team a chance to see where we are at this point in the season." And that is exactly what this game did for the Knights.

The Knights were led by sophomore Gabrielle Lulias (Havertown, Pa. Haverford) who went 2-4 with a run scored and 2 RBI's. Freshmen Stephanie Marrone (Blackwood, NJ, Triton Regional) was able to get her first hit of her career when she made great contact with the ball in the 7th inning. Finishing the attack was senior Samantha Duncan (Bear, DE Glasgow). Duncan went 2-3.

The Knights started junior pitcher Angela Sebasto (Trenton, NJ, McCorristin). Sebasto pitched a strong game and the entire game. Sebasto struck out eight in route to the loss. But more importantly the pitching battery of Sebasto and catcher junior Caitlin Hanrahan (Springfield, PA, Springfield)was able to start the season together and begin to get used to one another.

With the 9-3 loss the Knights fall to 0-1 for the season. Coach Saar summed up the game in his post-game conference, "This was everything we wanted to start the season. We had our chances to score and will learn how to capitalize on another team's mistakes. At the same time Rowan was able to take advantage of our mistakes and that is what good programs do. We are fortunate to have had this opportunity and will use this as a great learning experience."