Waltham, Mass. – The Le Moyne College softball team will begin Northeast-10 Conference play on Monday afternoon with a doubleheader against the Bentley University Falcons scheduled for 12:00 & 2:00 p.m. at the Bentley softball field.

The Dolphins went 8-4 at The Spring Games in Florida then split their final non-conference doubleheader at D'Youville University to improve their 2023 record to 11-10, while the Falcons currently hold a 9-7 resume going into Monday's conference opener.

The Dolphins played a tough non-conference schedule in 2023, including three matchups against nationally ranked opponents, and five contests against programs that earned a spot in the 2022 NCAA Championships.

Le Moyne redshirt-sophomore third baseman Frankie Larobardiere (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse/Onondaga C.C.) is eighth among NE10 players with a .426 batting average, and she leads the league in home runs with five. Larobardiere is also tied for third in the conference with nine walks drawn. She is slugging .815 with a .536 on-base percentage.

Rookie DP/first baseman Audrey Benderski (Spring Lake Park, Minn./Spring Lake Park) and sophomore outfielder/catcher Alyssa Dybacz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Charles W. Baker) are both slugging .576 so far this season for the 'Phins.

Dybacz has tallied 10 extra-base hits, including six doubles, two triples and two home runs with 12 RBIs and a team-best 18 runs scored.

Benderski has recorded a team-high 24 hits with 14 RBIs, six doubles, a triple and two home runs.

Senior first baseman Mckenzie Bergdoll (Attleboro, Mass./Attleboro) is slashing .339/.403/.536 through 18 starts for the Dolphins with seven extra-base hits, 10 RBI, 10 runs scored and three stolen bases.

Senior center fielder Isabelle Boudreau (Memramcook, New Brunswick/Mathieu-Martin/Pace) and sophomore second baseman Dominique Rinaldi (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) are both also batting above .300 with 21 starts each so far in 2023. Boudreau is tied for second on the team in hits with 23, while Rinaldi's .419 on-base percentage is the second-highest mark in Le Moyne's lineup.

Le Moyne graduate catcher Cassidy Barrett (Apalachin, N.Y./Vestal), along with Bergdoll, Dybacz, Benderski and Larobardiere, has already reached double-digit RBIs this spring.

As a team, the Dolphins are first in the NE10 in home runs with 12, while the Falcons lead the league with a .338 team batting average.

Redshirt-junior right-handed pitcher Laura Bennett (Corning, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post), a two-time NE10 All-Conference selection, is off to a strong start in the circle for Le Moyne in 2023 with nine complete games through 12 starts. Bennett has earned seven wins and two saves with 94 strikeouts in 15 appearances so far this season. She holds a 1.23 ERA (3^rd in NE10) with a 1.04 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched).

Sophomore righty Julia Panarella (Southington, Conn./Southington) has earned three victories for the 'Phins and recorded a complete-game win with zero runs allowed against Salem University at The Spring Games on March 18.

Redshirt-sophomore right-hander Michaela Stockwell (Fort Plain, N.Y./Fort Plain) has made seven appearances in the circle, while freshman righty Rose Nicastro (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) has made three appearances and recorded her first career win against Post University on March 12.

Bentley sophomore outfielder Jordan Krause is second in the NE10 with a .491 batting average and tied for second with four home runs through 16 games in 2023. Krause has tallied 13 extra-base hits with 18 RBIs and 20 runs scored.

Senior third baseman Jess Trahan and senior middle infielder Katherine Noftall are both also hitting above .400 this season for the Falcons.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Dahlia Fink is currently 5-1 in the circle in seven starts this season for Bentley, while junior righty Payton Doiron has recorded a team-best 39 strikeouts in 30.2 innings pitched.

Le Moyne and Bentley split their doubleheader during the 2022 campaign, with the Dolphins earning an extra-inning win in game one before falling to the Falcons 2-0 during the second half of the doubleheader. Bentley went on to earn the no. 7 seed in the 2022 NE10 Championships before falling to Assumption in the first round.