ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT Softball team begins its season on March 12 in Arizona. Here are six things you need to know about Head Coach Rebecca Stryker's squad.
All-League Alexis
Catcher/first base Alexis Smith enters her senior year after garnering All-Liberty League honors last season. The team captain batted .300 with a team-best 18 RBIs in 2022 and tied for second on the team with 30 hits, including three in an April game against St. Lawrence where she finished a home run short of the cycle.
The Veterans
The 2023 roster has only three upperclassmen: Smith, graduate OF Haley Czerwinski, and junior OF Elise Guth.
Czerwinski has hit .304 in 79 career at-bats in an RIT uniform, starting 28 of the 38 games she's played. Her best year came in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, where she was hitting .478 in 23 at-bats before the season was canceled in March.
Guth is a career .284 hitter for RIT after 74 at-bats during her first two seasons. Guth was also named a team captain for the Tigers.
Super Sophomores
Six sophomores are back to comprise the largest class of returners, including 1B/3B Erin Ozminkowski, and OF Maddy Cook. Ozminkowski finished third in batting (.300), while Cook led the team in stolen bases and tied for second in hits (30).
Pitcher Lexi Pieri returns after appearing in 21 games during her first season with the team, including 15 starts.
Meet the Newcomers
This year's team has seven first-year students, including a pair of high school teammates, Hannah Slater and Autumn Broyles, who played together at Dublin Coffman in Ohio. The other first-year student-athletes are Katy Meier, Emily Fitzgerald, Bella Pioggia, Marissa Giuntoli, and Jessica Majot.
Milestones and Leaders
Smith is fourth in program history in on-base-percentage (.427) and sits just outside the school's all-time top 10 in batting average (.361).
McManus' four triples last season tied for eighth for a single season in program history.
Ozminkowski led the team with 168 putouts as a first-year.
Schedule
RIT kicks off the season with 10 games at the Tuscon (Ariz.) Invitational Games (March 11-16), before returning north for the home-opener versus Oswego (March 22).
The Tigers play four-straight road series at Elmira (March 25), St. John Fisher (March 29), Houghton (Apr. 1) and Brockport (Apr. 5) before hosting Alfred (Apr. 11).
RIT opens Liberty League play at University of Rochester (April 15) and Union (April 16), before hosting Geneseo in non-league play (Apr. 19). .
The Tigers hit the road for conference games at Clarkson (April 22) and St. Lawrence (April 23) before returning home to host hosts Keuka (April 25), Skidmore (April 29), and RPI (April 30).
The Tigers then finish the regular season with road games at Nazareth (May 2) and at home against Ithaca (May 5).
