Le Moyne (15-74, 7-11) vs. Siena (29-18-1, 13-7-1) - MAAC
Info: Wednesday, Apr. 30 | 2 PM/4 PM (DH) | Loudonville, N.Y. | Siena Softball Field
Video: Siena All-Access (https://sienasaints.com/watch/?Live=344&type=Live / https://sienasaints.com/watch/?Live=344&type=Live) 
Live Stats: https://sienasaints.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary

Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College softball team will travel to Siena College to take on the Saints in their final mid-week, non-conference doubleheader of the season on Wednesday, Apr. 30. The set will begin at 2:00 p.m with a 4:00 p.m. start time scheduled for game two.

Series History:
The Dolphins hold a 6-4 all-time record against the Saints, dating back to the 1985 season. The two squads met twice in each of the '85, '86, and '91 seasons with Le Moyne coming out on top in each matchup.

More recently, Siena won four games against the Dolphins last season as the squads met twice in the preseason at The Spring Games on Feb. 22 before going at it in a doubleheader in Loudonville, N.Y. on Apr. 25. The Saints came away with 4-2, 5-0, 6-1, and 11-0 victories in 2024.

Dolphins' Season:
Le Moyne is currently 15-27 overall after going 7-13 in four weekend tournaments to kick off the year from Feb. 7 to Mar. 9. The squad is also 5-10 in conference play since NEC action began on Saturday, Mar. 15.

The Dolphins went 1-2 in their first three-game conference set of the season on the road against Central Connecticut State on Saturday and Sunday, Mar. 15-16  before being swept in three games against Saint Francis the following weekend, Friday-Sunday, Mar. 21-23. The squad then dropped their home-opener to cross-town rival Syracuse before shutting out Niagara, 9-0, in five innings in a home non-conference game on Thursday, Apr. 3. 

Since Apr. 5, the squad earned one win apiece in their series against Wagner and LIU before claiming their first NEC series win of the season against FDU on Friday-Saturday, Apr. 18-19. Last week, Le Moyne went 2-3, falling in both legs of a road doubleheader against Colgate before claiming another NEC series victory at home against the Mercyhurst Lakers.

Junior first baseman Audrey Benderski (Spring Lake Park, Minn./Spring Lake Park) led the charge for Le Moyne over their two most recent series, as she went 8-13 at the plate with two homeruns, a pair of doubles, and one walk while driving in eight RBI and scoring five runs over five games. Benderski is currently slashing .263/.349/.526, is tied for the team lead with eight homeruns, and is second in slugging percentage, OPS, and RBI (25). She's added six doubles, 14 walks, and 15 runs scored over 41 starts this season.

Senior right fielder Alyssa Dybacz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) also had a big week, hitting .500 with two triples, one stolen base, five RBI and one run scored for the Dolphins. She also  became just the fifth player in program history to record 200 hits, 100 RBI, and 100 runs scored in their career with a single against Mercyhurst on Monday. She's fourth on the squad with an .831 OPS and leads in doubles (12) while hitting .319 with one home run, nine walks, 21 RBI and 20 runs scored as one of just two Le Moyne players to start in every game this season.

Senior middle infielder Dominique Rinaldi (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) hit a whopping .800 over the team's five games last week, going 8-10 at the plate with one double, two walks, 4 RBI, five runs scored, and one stolen base. She is now slashing .268/.375/.289 while fourth on the squad in on-base rate and leading the team with 25 runs scored through 41 games played.

Senior catcher Elaina Kassap (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) helped power the team to their series victory over the Lakers this past weekend, going 4-7 at the plate with one homerun, one double, three walks, three RBI, and a pair of runs scored. She has registered a slash line of .268/..384/.476, all career-highs, with three homers, eight doubles, 13 walks, 13 RBI, and 12 runs scored in her fourth year on the squad.

Junior Rose Nicastro (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) led the way in the circle for the 'Phins this past week, throwing 9.1 innings while allowing just two earned runs, and striking out one in one start and two relief appearances. Nicstro's one start came in the rubber match against Mercyhurst on Monday, Apr. 28, as she paved the way for a series-clinching victory by tossing her first career complete game, allowing just one run on seven hits and one walk over seven innings.

A Look at the Saints:
Siena has worked to a 29-18-1 overall record while going 13-7-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this season. They kicked off the year with a 13-10 record over three preseason tournaments and a set of non-conference doubleheaders between Friday, Feb. 7 and when MAAC play began on Tuesday, Mar. 25. During that period, the Saints fell to the Dolphins' NEC rival LIU, 9-6, on Saturday, Mar. 8 before splitting a two-game set with Central Connecticut on Thursday, Mar. 20.

Since then, the Saints have excelled in conference play, winning four conference series and sitting fourth in the MAAC standings. Since Tuesday, Apr. 1, the team has also gone 3-1 in non-conference play, earning wins against NEC member Stonehill (twice) and UAlbany, while dropping their matchup with Dartmouth.

Over the past week, Siena has gone 3-2, dropping both legs of their doubleheader with Fairfield on Tuesday, Apr. 22 before sweeping Canisius in a three-game series over the weekend on Friday and Sunday, Apr. 25 and 27.

Sophomore outfielder Gracie Goewey leads Siena with a .950 OPS while sitting first in slugging percentage (.535), on-base rate (.415), homeruns (six), runs (35), and total bases (77) this season. She is also second on the squad with 45 hits, 27 RBI, and 18 walks while tallying a .313 batting average as one of four players to start in all 48 team games in 2025.

Senior outfielder McKenzie Swanson has slashed .316/.378/.511 through 46 games this season, registering 42 hits with nine doubles, four triples, three homeruns, 14 walks, 18 RBI, and 25 runs scored. She's also a threat on the base paths, stealing 18 of her attempted 21 bags so far this year.

On the pitching side, redshirt junior Alissa Eimont (14-10) and senior Kaycie Kennedy (9-7) have tallied 254.2 of the squad's 325.1 innings pitched so far this season. Eimont has tallied a 3.42 ERA and 1.46 WHIP with 15 complete games and 110 strikeouts over 25 starts and another six relief appearances. Kennedy has worked to a 2.99 ERA and 1.26 WHIP with seven complete games and 55 strikeouts through 18 starts and four relief spots. 

What's Next:
Le Moyne will host Stonehill College in their final series of the season this coming weekend, Saturday-Sunday, May 3 and 4, with a doubleheader on Saturday (1:00 p.m./3:00 p.m.) and a noon start time on Sunday.