March 25, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Bulldogs have one more tuneup before the start of Ivy League play this weekend. Army visits Dewitt Family Field on Wednesday for a doubleheader beginning at 2:30 p.m. Live stats of the two games are available on GameTracker at yalebulldogs.com.

Yale (8-8) hopes its offense can get back on track. In the final four games at the Rebel Games in Florida, the Bulldogs batted .400 and scored 47 runs. In four games since returning, though, Yale has hit just .186 and scored five runs.

Fortunately, the pitching has been consistent. The Bulldogs got two very well-pitched games in a doubleheader loss to Marist on Saturday. Rebecca Wojciak allowed only seven hits in the first game, a 2-1 loss. In the second game, KR Ling yielded just two hits, but one was a solo home run that accounted for the only scoring in the game.

Pitcher Kayla Kuretich was named to the Ivy League Honor Roll on Tuesday. She pitched one of her best games in a Yale uniform against Stony Brook last Thursday but was the hard luck loser. She struck out a career-high 10, did not issue a walk and allowed only two earned runs.

Army (4-18) has played a challenging schedule. The Black Knights lost twice to No. 11 Houston and once to No. 17 DePaul. Three players are batting better than .300, led by Laura Baranek at .339. Veronica Barth has started 11 games in the circle for Army and leads the pitching staff in wins (2), ERA (2.94) and strikeouts (35).

Yale beat Army 9-2 last year at the Rebel Games in Florida. Ashley Sloan, Megan Enyeart and Tracy Timm all had two hits. The teams were scheduled to play a doubleheader in New Haven as well but the games were cancelled because of rain. Overall, the Bulldogs are 13-3 against the Black Knights.