Softball Slotted Sixth in NCAA's First Set of Regional Rankings
Purple Knights currently own the third most wins (32) in the East Region this season.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – With the postseason officially set to begin this weekend, the University of Bridgeport's softball team was slotted sixth in the NCAA's first set of regional rankings released on Wednesday. The Purple Knights currently hold a 32-12 record which signifies the third most wins in the East Region.
Bridgeport is enjoying one of its best seasons in recent memory this spring. The CACC regular-season champions finished their conference campaign with just three blemishes (19-3) while entering the postseason having won 15 of their last 18 games. UB's 19 CACC victories have come by an average of 6.1 runs per contest.
The Purple Knights have been led by a host of exceptional performers this season. Senior shortstop Madison D'Amato has been one of the top hitters in the entire country, currently sitting with a .473 batting average which ranks 11th across all of DII softball. She is also the CACC's leader in runs scored (53), total hits (69), walks (22) and doubles (19).
D'Amato put together a 32-game hitting streak from March 2 to April 16 which is the sixth longest streak in the history of NCAA Division II softball.
Mya Jones (.438) and Angela Oros (.407) are also batting over .400 this season as UB's top of the order has been dominant. Jones is ranked third in the CACC in on-base percentage (.497) and second in RBIs (48) while Oros is slotted second in both home runs (9) and slugging percentage (.724).
With the offense humming along, Kaite Burawski has shored things up in the circle. The left-hander is the CACC's leader in strikeouts (160), wins (17) and innings pitched (137.2) this season—all while ranking second in the league in ERA (1.73). She is completing a masterful career that features 974 strikeouts in a little more than 700 innings pitched.
The top-seeded Purple Knights will now host eighth-seeded Dominican in the first round of the CACC Tournament on Saturday afternoon (April 26). UB will need to win just one of two games to advance to next weekend's double-elimination portion of the CACC Championship.
For all information regarding Bridgeport Athletics, visit www.UBKnights.com and follow UB Athletics on Facebook (UBPurpleKnights), Twitter (@UBPurpleKnights) and Instagram (@UBPurpleKnights).