FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University softball team begins the 2023 season at the Furman Invitational in Greenville, S.C. The Pioneers are slated to play five games over three days, starting with a 4:30 p.m. showdown against Bellarmine University on Friday, Feb. 17. 

Furman Invitational Game Information 
Game 1: Sacred Heart vs. Bellarmine – Friday, Feb. 17; 4:30 p.m. | Live Stats
Game 2: Sacred Heart (away) at Furman – Friday, Feb. 17; 7:00 p.m. | Video | Live Stats
Game 3: Sacred Heart vs. Bellarmine – Saturday, Feb. 18; 9:00 a.m. | Live Stats
Game 4: Sacred Heart vs. Binghamton – Sunday, Feb. 18; 11:30 a.m. | Live Stats
Game 5: Sacred Heart vs. Towson – Sunday, Feb. 19; 9:00 a.m. | Live Stats
Live stats will be available for all games at sacredheartpioneers.com

A LOOK BACK AT LAST SEASON
The Pios finished the 2022 campaign with a 13-42 overall record and a 5-19 mark in the Northeast Conference. SHU picked up a trio of wins over its trips to South Carolina and California to begin the season before topping Bryant University in its NEC opener in its return to Pioneer Park. Sacred Heart also secured victories over league foes Fairleigh Dickinson University, Central Connecticut State University, and Wagner College before the end of the season. 

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2023
SHU was picked fourth by the NEC head coaches in the 2023 preseason poll. A big reason for this standing is that the Pios return three All-NEC performers Alyssa Gonzalez, Jenna Mowad, and Amy Petrovich. Gonzalez, a two-time All-Conference honoree and the 2021 NEC Player of the Year, hit .255 last season with a team-leading 12 home runs and 28 RBI. Mowad sat second on the team with a .328 batting average and led the Pioneers with 49 hits alongside eight doubles, one triple, and seven home runs. Petrovich collected her third All-NEC accolade after batting .275 with 38 hits, 16 RBI, 13 runs, and a pair of homers. In addition to their three All-Conference honorees, the Pioneers also return the 2022 NEC Most Improved Player of the Year, Grace Saad. The junior broke out last season after hitting a team-best .345 to go along with 28 RBI, 18 runs, seven home runs, and eight doubles.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
In recognition of their contributions on and off the field, head coach Pam London named Petrovich, Mowad, Emily Carroll, and Meghan Knepper as the team captains for the 2023 season. Petrovich returns for her second consecutive season as a team captain, while Mowad, Carroll, and Knepper were tabbed a captain for the first time in their careers. 

SCOUTING THE FIELD
The Pioneers' first tournament will feature a pair of 20-win teams from last season, as Binghamton University went 22-23 last year and Furman University was 22-33. Both the Bearcats and the Paladins appeared in their respective conference tournaments, as Binghamton was the No. 4 seed in the America East and Furman was No. 4 in the Southern Conference. Towson University and Bellarmine University did not fare as well, as they finished with 14 and 10 overall wins, respectively. 

UP NEXT
The Pioneers will have off until Friday, Mar. 3, when they kick off the Runnin' Bulldog Classic, hosted by Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C. Sacred Heart begins the event on Friday at 11 a.m. against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga at the Runnin' Bulldogs' Brinkley Softball Stadium.