Nicole Gazzolla named

MEAC Rookie-of-the-Week

Nicole batted 14-for-21 (.667) for .448 average, ranked #1 in MEAC and #2 among D1 freshmen in the nation!

CLICK HERE to read the announcement (graphic below) at the DSU softball website.

Sunday's runners 
Hornets tearing up the base paths

The DSU Hornets on Sunday, April 28, 2013, scored 26 runs on 21 hits with 5 doubles, 2 triples, and a grand slam home run. The team stranded only 3 Hornets on base for the game.

Here are photos of a few Hornets buzzing around the bases.

#1 Jessica Madrid (Santa Ana, Calif.)...

Madrid and #16 Miranda Pedersen (Segundo, Calif.)...

#6 Nicole Gazzolla (Coram, N.Y. )...

#8 Samantha Gross (Glasgow, Del.)...

#23 Kelsey Lewis (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) and #15 Chloe Oro (San Pedro, Calif.)...

#2 Sandy Hawthorne (Smithtown, N.Y.)...

#17 Nkili Matthews (Waldorf, Md.)...

#22 Rochelle Sablay (La Mirada, Calif.)...

#5 Jordan Stamps (Torrance, Calif.)...

Full story of Sunday's game (4/28) posted at the 
DSU Hornets softball website at www.dsuhornets.com

Pictured below. Top right, #15 Chloe Oro (San Pedro, Calif.). Bottom left, #22 Rochelle Sablay (La Mirada, Calif. ). Across bottom. #18 Ashley Bennett (Delmar, Del. ) congratulated by teammates at home plate after first collegiate career grand slam!

Full story of today's games (4/27) posted at the 
DSU Hornets softball website at www.dsuhornets.com
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Photos below are from today's (4/27's) action. 

CLICK HERE for 364 more photos of Hornets Nest games. To best view all in quick succession, choose the "slideshow" option (in upper left of screen above single photos).

Full story posted at the DSU Hornets 
softball website at www.dsuhornets.com

Hornet's Nest weekend games

2:00 PM Saturday, April 27   
DSU Hornets vs. Howard Bisons
4:00 PM Saturday, April 27  
DSU Hornets vs Howard Bisons

2:00 PM Sunday, April 28    
DSU Hornets vs Howard Bisons

According to stats posted on 4/25/2013 

at www.meacsports.com/fls/20800/stats

PICTURED, left-to-right, Nicole Gazzolla, Jessica Madrid,  

Rochelle Sablay, Sandy Hawthorne, Ashley Bennett

CLICK HERE for the full story

MEAC award

Hornet Gazzolla,

named top performer

#6 Nicole Gazzolla (Coram, NY) has been recognized as a “Top Performer” for outstanding production at the plate last week.  

CLICK HERE for the full story about all the MEAC weekly awards.

Certificates of Achievement

In recognition of the MEAC Commissioner's All Academic award

Supporting the Lil' Hornets...

Good times on the campus scene...

Tough weekend series, while
Hornet freshmen played hard!

Delaware State lost three games to the MEAC first-place Norfolk State University over the weekend, despite that many Hornet freshmen remained tough outs against strong Spartan pitching, especially #6 freshman Nicole Gazzolla (Coram, NY).

Nicole had 4 hits with a stolen base in the three-game series. As of Sunday morning (4/21), before the start of today's game, Nicole led the team in several categories, most notably with her .414 batting average, 31 runs scored, 58 hits, 60 total bases, 17 stolen bases, .400 average with two outs, .418 average with runners on, and .452 average in RBI opportunities.

Other freshmen frequently on the base paths this weekend were #22 Rochelle Sablay (La Mirada, Calif.) with 3 hits (1 a double!), 1 run scored and 1 RBI, #18 Ashley Bennett (Delmar, DE) with 3 hits and 2 RBI, and #24 Jennifer Fischbach (Camden, DE) with 3 hits, as well. 

Freshmen #2 Sandy Hawthorne (Smithtown, NY) slammed 2 hits and 1 run scored, as #15 Chloe Oro (San Pedro, Calif.) also had 2 hits. #1 Jessica Madrid (Santa Ana, Calif) tallied 1 hit and 1 run scored and #16 Miranda Pedersen (Segundo, Calif.) contributed with a single. 

Pitch hitting senior  #23 Kelsey Lewis (Mt. Sinai, NY) delivered a key base hit, which brought home an RBI for her.

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PICTURED BELOW: #6 freshman Nicole Gazzolla (Coram, NY)

DSU Hornets clash with MEAC first-place

NSU Spartans as regular season winds down

The Delaware State (DSU) Hornets (8-2 MEAC, 15-23 overall) travel this weekend to Norfolk, Va, for three critical contests against the first place Norfolk State (NSU) Spartans (11-1 MEAC, 20-18 overall) in the MEAC Northern Division Conference. The Hornets are the preseason favorites to win that top spot.

Game times are 1:00 & 3:00 PM, Saturday, April 20 with a single 1:00 PM game on Sunday, April 21. Live stats and a live video stream for all three games will be available.

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CLICK HERE FOR A COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING REPORT on the Norfolk State Spartans, who recently secured just its third-ever winning season in the MEAC and second straight after going 12-6 last year.

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Of the remaining 11 games on the Hornets regular season schedule, nine are against MEAC teams with the last six all home games played at the Hornets Nest, Dover, DE. CLICK HERE for the Hornets' game times and opponents.

Hornets drop close one, 2-1
at Towson Softball Complex

Nicole Gazzolla

Just as the Towson Tigers anticipated in their pregame news release, Hornet batting average leader Nicole Gazzolla once again delivered at the plate today, Wednesday, April 17, going 3-for-4 in a 2-1 loss for Delaware State.

Hornet starting pitcher Rachel Meagley threw 4 innings, allowing 2 hits and 1 earned run, while Stephanie Sarris, in relief, gave up just 3 hits and 1 earned run.  

CLICK HERE for the box score. 

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CLICK HERE for the FULL STORY (which is illustrated partially below).

Hornets travel across bay

for Towson single game today

According to the Towson University softball homepage, the Towson Tigers are especially gearing up for their contest today against the Delaware State Hornets. The Tigers have hopes to even their record (22-23-1 overall) with a sixth straight game win at 3:00 PM this afternoon.

The Towson website article reports that the Hornets (15-23 overall) are 7-2 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play led by batting averages .421 from Nicole Gazzolla (pictured below) and .361 by Jessica Madrid. The article also notes that Rochelle Sablay has a team-high 29 runs batted in.

CLICK HERE for the full story.

Towson University is located in metropolitan Baltimore. Fielding 20 NCAA Division I varsity teams , the school boasts the most comprehensive sports program in the area.

The Tiger softball field measures 200 feet down the right and left field lines and 220 feet to dead center field. Spectator seating behind home plate and along the first and third base lines accommodates over 200 fans. CLICK HERE for a photo gallery of the Tiger Softball Complex.

Delaware State vs St. Joseph's

Bennet's torrid hitting

bright spot of afternoon

Ashley Bennett stayed hot today, Tuesday, April 16, in the DSU Hornet away 6-0 loss to the St. Joseph's Hawks. Ashley slammed two singles, one in the second and another in the seventh innings for the only Hornet hits in the game. She hit 2-for-3.

Yesterday Ashley was named the MEAC Player of the Week for batting .542 (13-for-24) last week with 3 home runs,3 doubles, 4 runs scored, and 9 RBI.

This afternoon she extended her hitting streak now to 4 games with her 4th multiple hit performance on the season. She leads the team with 4 home runs, 10 pinch hits, and a .563 slugging percentage.

CLICKHERE for today's box score.

Top honors for all

Trio of Hornets named MEAC

Player, Pitcher, Rookie of the Week

MEAC Media Relations announcement below. CLICK HERE for the full story.

NORFOLK, Va. – Delaware State freshman Ashley Bennett earned Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Week honors in softball, the conference announced on Monday. Teammates Stephanie Sarris and Sandy Hawthorne were named Pitcher of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively.

Bennett (INF, 5-9, Fr., Delmar, Del.) batted .542 (13-for-24) with three home runs, three doubles, four runs scored, and nine RBI, along with one stolen base, to aid the Hornets to a 5-2 record last week. On the defensive end the rookie contributed with 23 putouts and one assist. Bennett batted .500 (2-for-4) with two home runs, three runs scored, three RBI, and one stolen base in a 10-1 win over Maryland Eastern Shore.

Sarris (P, 5-7, Jr., Rohnert Park, Calif.) posted a 0.43 ERA and struck out 24 batters for a 3-0 record on the week for the Lady Hornets. The junior pitched 5.0 scoreless innings and struck out eight batters in an 11-2 win over Coppin State.

Hawthorne (C, 5-5, Fr., Smithtown, N.Y.) went 14-for-26 (.538) from the plate with one triple, five doubles, six runs scored, and 12 RBI for the Lady Hornets last week. Defensively the freshman recorded 46 putouts and six assists. Hawthorne batted .750 (3-for-4) with one triple, one run scored, and one RBI in a 10-1 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore.

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Pictured on right: Ashley Bennett, Stephanie Sarris, Sandy Hawthorne

Pitching team
effective unit!

NORTHWEST, PACIFIC COAST, EASTERN hurlers come together to notch wins. DSU Hornet pitchers complement each other as a formidable unit.  

PHOTOS: bottom left, Rachel Meagley (Spokane, Wash.) brings 25 games started; bottom right, Jennifer Fischbach (Camden, Del.) steps up with 26 games in relief; top, Stephanie Sarris (Rohnert Park, Calif.) delivers 8 wins, 77 Ks, 3.05 ERA.

Hornet bats stay hot,
no-hitter from circle
 
CLICK HERE for the full story at the DSU softball website. CLICK HERE for box score.
 
PHOTOS: Nicole Gazzolla & Jordan Stamps on left, Stephanie Sarris below.

CLICK HERE to read the full story at the DSU softball website. 

 

PHOTOS: top, swinging bat, Ashley Bennett. Middle, Chloe Oro. Bottom row, l-to-r, Ashley Bennett, Jennifer Fischbach, Miranda Pedersen, Sandy Hawthorne,  Nicole Gazzolla.

Found on Instagram
DSU Hornets,
family & friends

PICTURED LEFT-TO-RIGHT: Rochelle Sablay, Nicole Gazzolla,  

Miranda Pedersen,  Ashley Bennett, Chloe Oro, Jordan Stamps

MEAC conference games
scheduled on the weekend

This weekend the Delaware State Hornets travel to Baltimore for a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) North series with the Coppin State Eagles. 

Game times are 1 PM and 3 PM Saturday, April 13, and 1 PM Sunday, April 14.

The Hornets are 6-2 (overall 12-19) in conference play, while the Eagles are 6-3 (overall 13-17) in the MEAC North standings. Of the 16 remaining regular season games to be played, all but 4 are MEAC contests.

#2 Hornet freshman Sandy Hawthorne enters the games with her 13 game hitting streak intact. Sandy is batting .282 (24-for-85) on the season with 3 doubles, a triple, and 10 RBI. In MEAC play, she is hitting .412 (7-for-17).

In conference match-ups, #6 freshman Nicole Gazzolla leads the Hornets with a .524 average (11-for 21) including 2 doubles, followed by #15 freshman Chloe Oro bringing a .500 average (8-for-16) with a triple to the plate. 

In the circle, #7 junior pitcher Stephanie Sarris holds a 3-1 MEAC record at a team best 3.39 ERA, while holding opponents to a .250 batting average against her.

PICTURED LEFT-TO-RIGHT ABOVE: Top row, Sandy Hawthorne, Jessica Madrid. Middle row, Nicole Gazzolla, Rochelle Sablay. Bottom row, Samantha Gross, Ashley Bennett, Miranda Pedersen, Chloe Oro, Jennifer Fischbach