MERCYHURST (1-12, 0-0 NEC) vs. WAGNER (4-13, 2-1 NEC)
Saturday, March. 21– 1/3 p.m. 
Sunday, March 22 – 12 p.m.
Erie, PA
TV: NEC Front Row
 
The Mercyhurst softball team opens NEC play this weekend in their second season in the conference. The first two games against Wagner will begin Saturday, March 21 at 1 and 3 p.m. Game three is set for 12 p.m. on Sunday. The games will be live streamed on the NEC Front Row. 

*All games are subject to change due to sometimes unpredictable weather forecasted in Erie.
 
Previous Results
The Lakers are 1-12 overall this season. They began the season on Friday, Feb. 13 in South Carolina at the Scotsman Invitational. They opened with a pair of games against Albany and the tournament hosts, Presbyterian. Albany beat them, 6-0. The Lakers and Blue Hose played a 17-run thriller that the Lakers led for the first half of the game. Presbyterian came back and beat them, 10-7. On that Saturday, ETSU defeated MU 10-2 in six innings and then Presbyterian ran away with game two, 12-3. 

Mercyhurst then flew to Hawaii for the OUTRIGGER Classic. They fell to Portland State in the first game. However, Jazlynn Sanders had a two-RBI game in the second matchup with the Vikings as the Lakers picked up their first win of the season, 4-2. They fell to Portland State and Hawaii before nearly defeating Hawaii on their final day, losing 7-5. 

Their last series was a set of four games against the defending Horizon League champions, Robert Morris. The Colonials won all four, but a few Lakers had great performances against a team who is fourth in the nation on batting average. Gabriella DeLuca pitched a complete game in the second contest, only allowing two hits. MU lost 2-0, but both runs were unearned. Karlie Kasten also had four hits in her four at bats. 
 
Matchup Insights
The Lakers are 0-3 against Wagner. The two sides met for the very first time in March of 2025. The Seahawks won all three games and outscored the Lakers 15-3. The third game was the closest. It was 0-0 for the first 6 1/2 innings until Wagner scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to win the game, 2-0. 
 
A Pair of Batting Leaders 
From the batter's box, Kasten leads the way. In 26 at bats, she has a .423 batting average, an OPS of .944, 11 hits, two RBIs, two runs, and two doubles. 

Brynna King technically is first in batting average in terms of players with at least two games played plate appearances per game and 75% of the games played. King has a .267 batting average, an OPS of .783, four hits and three runs in 15 at bats. 
 
Prime Performers 
So far, both Sanders, DeLuca, and Kasten have earned an NEC Prime Performer award. DeLuca had a stellar weekend in S.C that began her collegiate career in style. In this tournament, the Erie native had a .333 batting average, two runs, two RBIs, three and a two-run moon shot in just nine at bats. 

Sanders earned her Prime Performer award from the Hawaii tournament. Sanders had five hits, five RBIs, and she went yard in one of the games vs. Hawaii. 

Kasten, in four games and 13 at-bats vs. RMU had nine hits, two RBIs, two stolen bases, one double, one run, total batting average of .377. She also recorded a fielding percentage of 1.000 and made seven catches from center field. Her best game of this four-game series was in game two, where she went four-for-four. 
 
Scouting Wagner  

• The Seahawks are 4-13 overall and 2-1 in NEC play to start this season. 
• They began their season at the La Jolla Invitational in California. 
• They went 1-4 in the tournament. They fell to UC San Diego, Montana, and Saint Louis. 
• Their lone win on this trip was against Montana in game two, where they blanked the Grizzlies, 6-0. 
• The next trip they took was to Florida for the Charge on Classic. 
• They beat Florida A&M, 9-3 in the opening game. 
• Dartmouth, UCF, and George Washington proved to be too tough as they all beat them in the remaining games of this tourney.
• On March 11, Wagner lost a doubleheader to Seton Hall in New Jersey. 
• The Seahawks recently opened conference play at home this past weekend vs. Stonehill. 
• This series was wild, as the two sides run-ruled each other in the first two games by nine or more runs. 
• Then, in game three, Wagner won 15-1, but it was not a mercy rule. 
• The Seahawks were up 7-1 headed into the final inning where they scored eight unanswered runs. 
• Most recently, they played a twin bill vs. Siena on Wednesday. The games were close, with Siena winning 2-0 and 2-1. 
• Statistically, Sydney Trujillo leads the batting categories. Trujillo, in 45 at bats, has a batting average of .356, an OPS of .907, a slugging percentage of .511, 16 hits, 13 RBIs, seven runs, four doubles, and one home run. 
• In the circle, Samantha Lotus has the lowest ERA (5.30) among players who have at least one inning pitched per game. Lotus has pitched 35 innings in eight appearances.