HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 1, 2016) – The Stevens Institute of Technology softball team will play its first Empire 8 Conference opponents of the season starting Friday against Alfred University. 

WEEKEND INFO
Friday's Alfred doubleheader will start at 3 p.m., followed by a Saturday matchup with Houghton College starting at 1. 

LAST TIME OUT
After an 8-5 win in game one Wednesday afternoon against New York University, the Ducks nearly overcame an eight-run deficit in game two before eventually falling 8-7.

SCOUTING REPORT
A pre-season top-20 team, Alfred started its season 8-4 while playing all 12 games in Clermont, Florida. Sophia Chiavatti has been the Saxons best hitter with a .412 batting average, in addition to leading the team with 11 RBIs. 

Houghton enters the weekend 5-11 and riding an eight-game losing streak, and is led in hitting by Taylor Sile's .364 batting average and 11 RBIs. 

DUCKS HAVE ARRIVED
After back-to-back seasons making the E8 Championship as a top-three seed, the Ducks will look to continue their run as one of the conference's best programs during this opening weekend. 

SETTING THE TABLE
With two more hits on Wednesday, senior Gavriella Risman-Jones continued her red-hot hitting start to the season, raising her batting average to a conference-best .543. The captain also leads the E8 with 18 runs scored, and 25 hits. 

TWO-HOLE
Sophomore Farryl Groder has been a consistent presence in the two-spot in the lineup so far for the Ducks, hitting .375 with 10 RBIs. 

BUSTING SLUMPS
After accumulating just four hits over the Ducks first 11 games, junior Emily Sellitti's bat is starting to heat up with four hits, including a pair of RBIs, over the last three games. 

ROOKIE REPORT
Freshman Madison Telles played a flawless first base Wednesday in her first start of the season, and scored a pair of runs after four at bats. Freshman Julia DeCandia has likewise been perfect in the field for the Ducks.

IN THE CIRCLE
With a win on Wednesday, freshman pitcher Marissa Cappello pushed her team-leading win and strike out totals to four and 31. Freshman Christine LaRochelle is second on the team with a 3.15 ERA while senior Brianna Sandone's ERA is down to 3.32 in four starts. 

CAN'T MAKE IT?
Both schools will be providing live stats and stream via links on stevensducks.com. 

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