Former Masuk High standout center fielder Natalie Lieto is off to a great start at Penn State University.
The Nittany Lions are off to a slower-than-expected start, at 3-7 on the young season, but Lieto—a freshman who has started eight of the 10 games this season—is hitting .429 so far in her college career. Add two walks and a pair of hit-by-pitches and Lieto has an on base percentage of .520, which leads the team.
She has seven singles, a double and a triple in her nine hits this season.
Defensively, Lieto, who is playing left field, is definitely leaving her mark, as well.
She has 12 putouts and has also thrown one runner out in those eight games.
She also made this spectacular catch as well.
It’s a good start for the Masuk-product who helped lead the Panthers to four straight state titles in her high school career.
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Five of the state’s six Division 1 college softball teams have gotten their seasons under way with mixed results.
Needless to say, most of the state’s teams have been either indoors or on frozen turf, so there is always an adjustment period every time a team from the northeast heads south.
Here’s a look at some news notes from the college softball field after two weekends of play, or in the case of some teams, just one weekend of action.
UConn Huskies Win Three Straight 1-Run Games
After going 1-3 in its opening weekend, the UConn Huskies won three straight one-run games this weekend to find itself a game above .500.
For a while, at least.
A loss to Jacksonville in the last game of the weekend saw the Huskies go 4-4 over its first two weekends of play. (A game against Cleveland State was washed out on Sunday).
Three UConn batters–Lexi Hastings, (.448), Grace Jenkins (.440), and Kaeia Haga (.423) are hitting over .400 over the course of their first eight games.
Jenkins also has four home runs and 11 RBIs through those eight contests, as well.
In fact, UConn has hit seven home runs in eight games with Cat Petteys, Hope Jenkins, and Caylee DeMeo joining in the barrage with a bomb each.
Unfortunately, UConn’s pitching has given up 11 home runs this season.
The Huskies are also 11-for-12 in stolen bases this season.
Next weekend, UConn heads to Charlottesville, Va., to play in the University of Virginia’s Rawlings Classic.
CCSU Showing Some Power Early On, Too
Central Connecticut State University has come out of the gate showcasing some power with the bats in its first four games.
The Blue Devils have hit five home runs in its first four games, compared to just two for the opposition.
Kassandra “KC” Machado has gone yard twice, good for three RBIs so far, while Skylar Warn, Jasmine Lasane (Southington) and Reagan Vunak all have a single home run through four games, as well.
CCSU is 0-4, however, having fallen to UNC-Wilmington twice (7-0, 4-2) and Charleston Southern twice (7-6, 7-4).
The Blue Devils are scheduled to play a home doubleheader on Saturday, weather-pending of course.
After Dropping Two Games On Opening Day, Sacred Heart Rebounds To Win Two
Sacred Heart University dropped its first two games of the season on Saturday before bouncing back and winning its next two games to split the weekend.
The Pioneers fell to Robert Morris (1-0) and Gardiner-Webb (10-2) on Friday. On Saturday, Sacred Heart notched its first win of the year with a 6-3 win over Gardiner-Webb.
On Sunday, the second win came via a 10-7 victory over nearby border rival Iona.
In the victory over the Gaels, the Pioneers pounded out 11 hits with Cierra Bender (4 RBIs), Charlene Davis (3 RBIs), and Savannah Moore (2 RBIs) notching three hits apiece.
Moore is off to a torrid start this season, hitting .625 for the weekend (5-for-8, 2 doubles).
Carly Koltko, Jess Brown and Ella Leckrone each had two hits apiece in the win over G-W.
Sam Kowasski has been lights out in two appearances, giving up just two earned runs in 10.1 innings of action. She has a 1.35 ERA.
Stags Win Season Opener, Drop Four Straight
Fairfield University won its season opening game, posting a 3-1 win over Bethune-Cookman on Friday in the first game of the Hatter Classic at Stetson University.
The Stags lost the next four games they played, two of them by two runs, however. They also went silently offensively, scoring just one run in its last three games of the weekend.
Anna Paravati has gotten off to a strong start at the plate for the Stags, hitting .429 on the weekend. She also walked twice, giving her a .500 OBP.
Fairfield heads to Statesboro, Ga., next weekend for five games at the GATA Challenge.
Quinnipiac’s Opening Weekend Mostly Washed Out
Last weekend, Quinnipiac was slated to play five games in Nashville.
Mother Nature was not a fan of the Bobcats in The Music City.
After QU went 0-2 on opening day, falling to Tennessee State (3-1) and Illinois State (7-3), the rest of the schedule was washed out by inclement weather.
Mary Fogg (3-for-6) had a big opening weekend for the Bobcats, though.
Coming Up: Yale Opens The Season on Feb. 21
The last Division 1 waiting to see action is the Yale Bulldogs.
Yale opens the season in Arlington, Texas, on Friday. The Bulldogs will face Northwestern State in the first of six games played over three doubleheader days.
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