Softball Heads Toward End of Season

by npatano on May 5, 2022


Friar Sports


Big East Tournament Set for Next Week

Stephen Foster ’22

Sports Staff

The Providence College Softball Team is approaching the end of their 2022 season. They have an overall record of 24 wins and 19 losses and a conference record of 10 wins and 11 losses. Coach Jill Karwoski mentioned that one highlight from the season so far was winning in extra innings over the University of Connecticut, who is in first place in the Big East Conference, to snap their nine-game win streak.

Karwoski had many great things to say about the graduating seniors, especially their resilience and the impact that they have had on the PC softball program. This group of seniors had to go through a lot to get where they are today, including much of their college career being interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. She explained, “Every year we get to this point in the season and look at our soon to be graduating seniors and say, ‘I can’t believe it’s been four years.’ This year is no different, however, I would be remiss to not acknowledge that this year’s seniors’ careers were filled with unique ups and downs, Covid pauses and cancellations and nontraditional seasons. These past few years have been everything but ‘normal’ and I am extremely proud of their ability to overcome, persevere, and prevail. Each senior, whether they had been with our program for one year or four, will have left with us a foundation of resiliency and a path to success for years to come.”

Jacque Harrington
Photo Courtesy of PC Athletics

The Friars’ softball coach also highlighted the significance of the freshmen on the team this year, explaining, “So many first-year players have been making an immediate impact on the field. And those not on the field have been equally committed to our culture and continue to improve weekly as well as positively influencing our program every day. This is both rewarding this season as well as for the future of our program.” With seven freshmen on the team this season, it is important that they commit to the team culture and continue to improve as they grow to play greater on-field roles over the next three years.

The team has a three-game home series against DePaul University before the regular season comes to a close. They play Friday, May 6 at 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, May 7 at 1:00 p.m., and finish the series off with Senior Day on Sunday, May 8 at 12:00 p.m. Following this series, the Big East Tournament begins on Thursday, May 12 and goes until Saturday, May 14. Regarding the Friars’ potential in making the tournament, Coach Karwoski explained, “We are still looking to qualify for a tournament berth. The Big East Tournament takes the top four teams and it’s a dogfight for the last three spots. UConn has clinched but Villanova, Butler, DePaul, and us are still in the race. It may come down to our last home series next week vs. DePaul, but we have to take care of business today vs. Butler.”

The Providence College Softball Team managed to pick up one win out of three games against Butler this past weekend, bringing them in need of some wins down the final stretch against DePaul University. Karwoski highlighted, “This upcoming last home series vs. DePaul will be the biggest weekend for us yet with likely playoff implications. I encourage all Friar fans to come out in full force Friday night. Saturday we will welcome back our Alumni, and Sunday we will celebrate our Seniors. We know there is both power and magic to competing in Friartown, so I thank everyone who has come out thus far to cheer us on and hope to see everyone this weekend. Go Friars!” Make sure you find your way to Glay Field this upcoming weekend to cheer on the Providence College Softball Team as they take on DePaul with hopes of securing a spot in the Big East Tournament.

Sports Shorts

by npatano on May 5, 2022


Sports Shorts


Sports Shorts

Luke Sweeney ’24

Sports Shorts

Coach Gabrielli Resigns

Providence College lacrosse head coach Chris Gabrielli announced on Wednesday, May 4 that he would resign. Gabrielli served as the Friar lacrosse coach for the last 10 seasons. Gabrielli said, “I’m grateful for the opportunity I was provided to lead this program, especially when the College transitioned to such a high commitment level toward lacrosse.” Bob Driscoll says the Friars will “begin a national search immediatley.” The Friars were 27-37 over Gabrielli’s final five years.

Track and Field:

The Providence College track team traveled across the city to Brown University on Sunday, May 1 for a meet. There were 12 Friars who found first place finishes at the event, making it an extremely successful dayl. Alex O’Neill ’23 was the star of the day as she broke the 30-year-old PC record for the 800-meter with a finishing time of 2:06.07. Meg Hughes ’24 finished first in the 400-meters once again. In the men’s division, Sam Lagan ’24 of Natick, MA was one of many who finished in first with a time of 59.60 in the 400-meter hurdles.

Softball:

Over the weekend, The Providence College softball team suffered a loss to Butler University in a Big East matchup. The Friars were in the lead entering the seventh inning when Butler’s Ella White hit a walk off three run homerun to win the game 5-4. For the Friars, Tori Grifone ’24 of Sussex, NJ earned her 18th start and pitched a little over three innings. This Saturday, the Friars will host DePaul University for their final regular season Big East series of the year.

Other:

Providence College hosted the Annual All-Sports Gala on Monday, May 2. For two years the event has been held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this event, all PC student athletes, staff, coaches, and administrators gathered in person for the prestigious event. For the second year in a row, Nate Watson ’22GS took home the Athlete of the Year for Team Sports Award due to his outstanding performance during the Men’s Basketball team’s historic March Madness run.

Sports Shorts

by npatano on April 21, 2022


Sports


Margaret Maloney ’23

Sports Staff

Men’s Track and Field

The Providence men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the Friar Invitational at the Ray Treacy Track at Hendricken Field in Providence, R.I. on April 8. The meet featured 14 men’s and women’s teams.  There were some great moments from the team that were huge achievements. Liam Back ’24 finished first in the mile with a time of 3:59.06.  Ryan Gallagher ’22GS also copped a first place finish in the 5,000 meter race with a time of 13:56.44.  And for the third first place finish, Josh Lewin ’24 finished first in his heat in the 800 meters. 

Women’s Track and Field

On the women’s side of the Friar Invitational at the Ray Treacy Track, Laura Mooney ’24 took first in the 5,000-meters with a personal best of 16:09.43. Mooney’s time was 17.51 seconds ahead of the next runner — Orla O’Connor ’23 finished in 16:45.26.  Nicole Borowiec ’23 ran a personal best in the 100 meter hurdles of 14.51 seconds. Borowiec’s time set a new program and facility record.

Women’s Softball

The Providence College Women’s Softball team is in a three-game series with the University of Connecticut, tied 1-1.  On Friday, April 15, the Friars fell short with a 3-1 loss, but there were still some important highlights from this loss.  Jacque Harring ’24 got the Friars on the board with an RBI single to center field. Micaela Abbatine contributed the run for the Friars. Tori Grifone ’24 pitched 3.2 innings for the Friars, allowing two hits while striking out five batters.  On April 16, the Friars won in extra innings with a score of 2-1.  Lauren Nunez ’22 scored the game winner for the Friars.  The Friars faced them one more time on April 18, ending with a score of 8-0 in favor of the Huskies. 

Men’s Lacrosse

The Providence College Men’s Lacrosse team fell to the Villanova Wildcats, 18-13, on Saturday, April 16 at Villanova Stadium in Villanova, PA. The Friars drop to 5-7 overall, 0-3 in Big East play.  This high-scoring game allows for a hopeful remainder of the season with lots of Big East play remaining.  Providence had nine different goal scorers on the day. Jack Horrigan ’25 recorded a hat trick, while Matt Grillo ’22 and Michael Chabra ’24 also registered multi-point games with two goals each.  Up next, the Friars will face University of Denver at home on Saturday, April 23.

Picked 8th In Pre-Season Poll, Softball Now 2nd in Big East

by npatano on April 7, 2022


Friar Sports


Liam Tormey ’22

Sports Co-Editor

Before the beginning of the season, the Friar softball team was projected in the 2022 Big East Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll to finish eighth. Currently, they sit in second in the conference at 8-4, only behind the University of Connecticut. 

The quick start to the season for the Friars has them at a 21-9 record: 7-1 at Glay Field, 5-3 away from home, and 9-5 on neutral settings. 

The season began in the middle of February with the Elon Softball Phoenix Invitational. This consisted of five games for the Friars with contests against Elon University, Morgan State University, and University of Massachusetts Lowell University. 

After five games in three days, the Friars came out with a 4-1 record and a nail-biter ending in a 9-7 victory over Morgan State University in eight innings, thanks to four runs in the top of the eighth from Lauren Nunez ’22, Micaela Abbatine ’22GS, and Jacque Harrington ’24. 

Next, the Friars traveled to Santa Barbara, CA to compete in the University of California-Santa Barbara Invitational. It became a bit of an eye-opener this weekend for the Friars to know they still needed improvement after a successful first weekend. 

With games against Idaho State University, UCSB, and Boise State University, the Friars came away 1-4 on the trip, with the sole victory coming against Idaho State in a 3-1 game. 

Photo Courtesy of PC Athletics

Things then started to click for the Friars as they won nine of their next 10 games. It began at the DeMarini Tiger Clash in Maryland where the Friars left undefeated. An 18-0 victory in five innings over Coppin State University, followed by wins against Towson University and Columbia University, and topped off with another victory against Coppin State. 

Coming back to Rhode Island with a 8-5 record in the beginning of March, the Friars had a lot to be happy about. Right before Big East play was about to begin against Seton Hall University, the Friars headed across town to matchup against Brown University. A 6-1 victory due to six runs in the first inning helped secure the win.

Then came the first game of the Big East against the Pirates, a rude awakening for the Friars, but they did not let it deter them on the road. It opened with a 8-0 loss in six innings on Thursday, March 10, but the rest of the weekend saw the Friars grab the series. 3-1 and 2-1 victories on Friday had the Friars coming back home with a successful weekend. 

In games one and two on Friday, Daniela Alvarez ’22 picked up her fifth and sixth win of the season. In game two, Alvarez allowed only two hits and struck out four batters. Alvarez is currently 7-2 in the win-loss column on the year, appearing in 18 games and pitching 69.1 innings with an earned runs average (ERA) of 3.74.

Big East play would be on hold for a few days as the Friars hosted Merrimack College to a double-header for their first home games of the season at Glay Field. Once again, the Friars picked up two more wins on the day, making it their best 20-game start to the season since 2006. That year, the Friars were 16-4 through the first 20 games. This year’s team was 14-6. 

Big East play resumed the weekend of March 18 and the Friars hosted St. John’s University. The outcome of the weekend would be similar to the weekend against the Pirates. The Friars dropped the first game 2-1, but then picked up two victories to complete the series victory over the Red Storm. 

The following week, the Friars headed down to Kingstown to face the University of Rhode Island where they clawed out a 3-2 victory in eight innings over the Rams. Abbatine brought home the game-winning run with an RBI single in the eighth.

The Friars would travel to Nebraska to face Creighton University that weekend, where they dropped their first series of Big East play, going 1-2 on the weekend. 

Photo Courtesy of PC Athletics

A bright spot for the Friars this week was newcomer Rachael Petrarca ’25 making the Big East Weekly Honor Roll. Petrarca went 7-12, recording a .583 batting average on the week. She hit her seventh homerun of the season in the victory over the Rams. Petrarca hit three RBIs in the weekend series against Creighton, two of them coming in the 10-7 victory. 

Petrarca has started in all 30 games, batting .337 on the year, and she is tied for the team’s lead in hits and home runs at 31 and seven respectively with Harrington.

The final day victory in the series over the Bluejays continued into the home series against Georgetown University. A sweep of the Hoyas this past weekend has put the Friars in second in the conference. 

Pitching has been a key element for the Friars this season. Besides Alvarez, Tori Grifone ’24 and Jessica Walter ’25 have been outstanding. Grifone has posted a 2.46 ERA and a 9-5 record on the season in 19 appearances. Walter has a 4-2 record with a 4.52 ERA. There has been a major difference in the Friars’ record to start the season.

Before continuing Big East play against first place UConn on Friday, April 15, the Friars will have a chance to continue their roll with four non-conference games. 

Not many people would have expected the Friars to be in the position they are to start conference play, but they have taken on the opportunity and are ready for anything. 

End of April Sports Shorts

by Joshua Lopes on April 22, 2021


Sports


Week of April 16-21

By Scott Jarosz ’21

Sports Staff

Men’s Lacrosse:

On April 17, The Providence College Men’s Lacrosse Team played a thrilling game against the Marquette University Golden Eagles. Unfortunately, it ended with a heartbreaking loss for PC. The game was back and forth throughout and featured an impressive fourth-quarter comeback from PC to send the match into overtime. After three scoreless overtime periods, MU finally recorded a goal in the fourth overtime period to win the game 7-6. The loss dropped PC’s record to 4-7 on the season. The team now looks ahead to its next contest at Georgetown University on April 24.

Women’s Field Hockey: 

The field hockey team had a tough final week of the season, falling in each of its three games. On April 14, PC hosted Boston College. The visiting Eagles spoiled PC’s senior day, winning the game by a score of 2-0. Next, the Friars traveled to Old Dominion University for a two-game series. In the first game of the series on April 16, ODU shut out PC by a score of 3-0.

PC then went on to play ODU again on April 17 for its final game of the season. The visiting Friars put up a strong fight against No. 17  ODU, but ultimately fell by a score of 2-1. The loss ended the season for PC, who finished with a record of 2-9.

Women’s Softball: 

The softball team traveled to play Villanova University this past weekend for a three-game series. The series opened with a doubleheader on April 17. Villanova came ready to play. The Wildcats struck for three runs in the first inning of game one and did not look back. Villanova  beat PC by a score of 6-1 in the first game of the doubleheader.

In the second game of the doubleheader, PC held the home team to just two runs but were unable to put any runs on the board and lost 2-0. The final game of the series was a hard-fought, low-scoring battle. Jacque Harrington ’24 hit a home run for PC, but it was not enough to earn a victory, as the Wildcats would go on to win by a score of 2-1.

Despite the loss, Daniela Alvarez ’22 pitched a phenomenal game, allowing just three hits and striking out five batters. PC now looks ahead to its next series against Butler University, which is scheduled to start on April 24.

 

 

Adapt or Lose: PC Softball Returns

by Joshua Lopes on March 4, 2021


Friar Sports


Friars Return to Field After Shortened Season

By Leo Hainline ’22

Sports Staff

Few programs in Friartown have experienced a turnaround these past few years like the Providence College Softball Team. Coach Jill Karwoski took over in 2018 and led the Friars to their best record since 2005 in her first season as head coach. Like many other sports, PC’s softball season was cut short last spring. The team is now eager to make the most of the opportunity that the COVID-19 pandemic took away from them last season in order to further establish themselves as a competitive force in the Big East.

Photo Courtesy of PC Athletics

The pandemic has forced the program to adjust to many new challenges. “There have been a lot of adaptations and adjustments in the past several months as you could imagine—from the coaching staff perspective, I think it was important to be open and transparent with everything,” said Karwoski. “We did our best to keep the lines of communication open throughout the pandemic from the moment where our season got shut down last spring to even today.”

Given the ever-changing and unpredictable nature of this season, the players have taken initiative and have created a motto that will guide the team through the season: adapt or lose. “I think it really sets a tone that we’re getting mentally and physically prepared for anything and everything this season,” stated Karwoski. “I think it’ll come in handy.”

The Friars have four seniors on their roster and one graduate student, Crista San Antonio ’20GS, who took advantage of the NCAA’s decision to grant graduating student-athletes the option to take an extra year of eligibility. “We love having veterans come back that are seasoned and experienced, and she brings that to the table.”

PC also added Sarah Gunderson ’20GS to the roster, a pitcher who played her previous four years at the University of Rhode Island. She will add depth to a veteran rotation that includes Julia Murphy ’21 and Olivia Sprofera ’21, alongside ace Daniela Alvarez ’22. In total, the Friars have six pitchers in their rotation, which Coach Karwoski believes can give them an advantage over some of their competition. “Defensively we have six pitchers on staff, which is really unique this year, so we can be creative and strategic with our pitching rotations,” she said. “We want to be focused on keeping our opposition’s score under two runs a game.”

Jessica Tomoso ’22 and Skie Villani ’22 hold the highest batting averages out of all returning players from last season. The offense should also be helped by University of Virginia transfer Madi Traver ’22. A main point of emphasis this season for the Friars will be executing with runners in scoring position, and these three players will look to lead by example.

PC softball opens their season on March 5 with a double-header against Boston University and another double-header against the Terriers on March 7. The Friars have been able to complete a successful run of practices leading up to the game, a tough thing to do on a campus mid-pandemic. Nevertheless, Karwoski is pleased with how the build-up to the season has been: “Right now we’ve been successful—we’ve had consecutive days of practice outside or in the gym where we haven’t had any pauses or shutdowns because of any outbreaks…we are just going to have to evaluate each day and what success looks like in the moment.”

Usually, the first half of the Friars’ season is filled with out-of-conference matchups and warm-weather tournaments in places like Texas, California, and Florida. This season will be much different, as the upcoming games against BU are the team’s only non-conference series. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge, and we’re not looking at it necessarily as a disadvantage, but it is a change,” said Karwoski. “A lot of the time we play a third of our season before we see conference games and this year, we’re going to play four games, weather pending…we’re going to have to be able to adapt and take advantage of each inning as they unfold next weekend.”

The solid run of successful practices will hopefully make up for the lack of non-conference games. “We’re trying to simulate as much competition as we can in practice to make up for those lost games,” admitted Karwoski. “But it’s up to us to ultimately be physically and mentally prepared regardless of whether we have the quantity of games as we did in years past.”

Qualifying and succeeding in the Big East tournament are always the program’s biggest goals, and the Friars will look to get off to a hot start as they will dive quickly into conference play this season. Only the top four teams in the conference make the Big East tournament, and this year, each team, from the top to the bottom of the conference, will have a chance to make a run in an unusual season.

The Friars will open Big East play on the weekend of March 13 against Creighton University at home, and then will travel to Chicago, IL to face the 2019 Big East Champion, DePaul University. The Blue Demons knocked the Friars out in the semifinals of the Big East tournament in their last matchup, and PC would love to get revenge against the top-ranked team in the Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

No matter what happens, Karwoski and the Friars are just relieved to almost be back in season again. And with a talented group of veteran players, PC is ready to make some noise.

Softball Takes on 2020 Bearkat Classic

by The Cowl Editor on February 27, 2020


Friar Sports


Friars End on Good Note, Walk-off for Win

by Liam Tormey ’22

Sports Staff

Two weekends ago, the Providence College Softball Team traveled to Huntsville, TX to compete in their first competition of the season: the 2020 Bearkat Classic.

Traveling did not come easy for the Friars as they planned to head down on Thursday, February 13. Unfortunately, the ladies faced travel problems as their flight was canceled. On the bright side, they were able to reschedule their flight to the next morning. 

Molly McGarry steps up to hit
photo courtesy of pc athletics

The team woke up at 3 a.m. and had a double-header which started just 15 hours after wake-up. Problems in the air caused problems for the Friars, but they still had to play five games during the weekend.

On Friday, the first game for the ladies was against the Houston Baptist University Huskies. The Huskies jumped to a 6-0 lead thanks to a four-run fourth inning which sealed the victory at 7-1. Miranda Trinidad ’20 got the start on the mound for the Friars and Elysia Cunnigan ’23 came in to relieve Trinidad for her first appearance for the Friars.

Game two started very quickly after the conclusion of game one for the Friars. Their opponent was Sam Houston State University Bearkats. The first inning put the Bearkats at a 2-0 advantage and the Friars were not able to claw their way back into the game. The final score was 9-1. Coach Jill Karwoski said the ladies “emptied the tank” after travelling for most of the day and being short on sleep.

Saturday would involve two more games for the Friars. It would be a much better day after a full night of rest.

Houston Baptist was the first opponent of the day and the game was much closer than it had been just 20 hours before. After a run in the first inning for the Huskies and a response in the third by the Friars, the Huskies scored four runs in the bottom of the third to make the score 5-1. The Friars brought the game back to make it 5-3 after Mackensie Compton ’20 had four at bats and three RBIs with a two-run home run in the fifth.

The next two games of the weekend showed the promise the Friars wished for heading to Texas. Sam Houston would be the opponent again, but with a much different result. After being down 5-2, the Friars had an eight-run fourth to seal the first victory of the season with a score of 11-7. Cunnigan got the win on the mound for the ladies with four strikeouts in 3.1 innings pitched, which secured her first win as a Friar. Crista San Antonio ’20 had a great day at the plate with four RBIs and two hits, one being a home run, for three at bats.

Coach Karwoski said, “Besides sleep, the biggest change the team made was finding their ability to play loose, letting go of the outcome and being more present in each moment as it presented itself.”

The Friars finished the weekend strong with a exciting win against George Mason University. After going down early in the first inning, 1-0, the Friars played well defensively but could not get the bats going. In the bottom of the seventh inning with three outs before the game was over, Tiana Wren ’23 hit a walk-off three-run home run to win the game 3-1 and finish the weekend 2-3.

The Friars will be competing in several competitions before the start of Big East play and coach Karwoski stressed the importance of these tournaments because they “allow for us as coaches to see what lineup options we can potentially have and for our players to see, adjust, and compete against a range of competition and talent.”

Big East play for the Friars will begin March 20 at home against St. John’s University.

Karwoski, Softball Team Ready to Roll

by Meaghan P Cahill on February 13, 2020


Friar Sports


Team Looks to Build Upon Last Year’s Breakout Season

By Leo Hainline ’22

Sports Staff

providence college women's softball
Laura Chadbourne ’20/The Cowl

This week marks the beginning of the Providence College softball season as the Friars head down to Texas to square off against Houston Baptist University, Sam Houston State University, and George Mason University. PC softball is on the rise after Coach Jill Karwoski took over the program last year, finishing the season with a 30-22 record—a great improvement from the team’s 13-32 performance in 2018—and the most wins for the Friars since 2005. Despite some key members graduating, namely Emma Lee ’19 who made the Big East Second Team last season with a .411 batting average, excitement is brewing around the current squad.

Coach Karwoski has unified the program through a team-first philosophy that the players have embraced. When asking Skie Villani ’22 (who this weekend will be playing close to her hometown of Sugar Land, TX) about the strengths of the team, she emphasized that the true strengths do not lie in an individual player or position but within the values that they hold as a program. “Our strengths come from our core values—attitude and gratitude, open-heart open-mind, and respect and commitment,” she stated. “To be successful we know we’ll have to work as a team.”

Coach Karwoski also highlighted the importance of making the most of the Friars’ opportunities on offense and minimizing mistakes in order to reach their potential: “I think so much of it is taking advantage of opportunities you know when we have runners in scoring positions… what hurts a lot of teams sometimes is when you leave a lot of runners on base—Coach Bree has been doing a fantastic job with our offense and utilizing some of our strengths so and doing that—taking advantage of those base runners and on defense minimizing our errors—we want to make sure we’re having quick innings and not letting things snowball or get out of control.”

The Friars have six seniors on the roster, including Mackensie Compton ’20 who holds the highest batting average of all returning players from last season. Along with the seniors, there are also plenty of talented underclassmen on the roster. Daniela Alvarez ’22 is another name to watch out for. As a freshman, she held an 18-8 record with a 2.25 ERA. She had more wins than any other pitcher on the 2019 roster and it appears she could be a dominant force for PC softball this season and in the years to come. 

After their opening games in Texas, the Friars will head down to Maderia Beach, FL for an array of five out-of-conference games that include matchups against Colombia University, Stony Brook University, and Merrimack College. They then return to Clearwater for the Clearwater Spring Break Invitational in early March, where the Friars will play twelve games in a span of five days. On Wednesday, March 18, PC softball will have its first home game at Glay Field versus Bryant (the Friars went 11-2 at home last season) and will open Big East play that Friday in Friartown against St. John’s University, who won the Big East regular season in 2019. 

providence college women's softball
Photo Courtesy of PC Athletics

Anticipate a lot of excitement from the Big East this year. From top to bottom the teams are going to be competitive and will make for some great softball. In response to what games she was looking forward to, Coach Karwoski responded, “I think every single Big East game I’m looking forward to. Last year was our first year in the Big East in terms of our coaching staff and we just really enjoyed the competitiveness of it, and you know, every team equally matched up and each game was a lot of fun.”

PC softball also has the motivation to prove the doubters wrong—they were ranked 6th out of 8 teams in the Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll. For a team that finished third in the conference in 2019 and has retained more than a serviceable amount of talent, the Friars will be looking to prove that last year’s success was not a fluke. However, Coach Karwoski hesitated to make much of the preseason polls 

She said,  “Last year I think we were picked eighth and I think we ended up finishing third— that’s just what it is, it’s a preseason poll and I think every year we get underestimated and until we start having consecutively good years in the top four of the conference, you know, right now I’m sure they’ll look at last year maybe as a fluke or maybe as a one-time thing so now it’s up to us to prove that we can consistently compete for a Big East Championship.”

Reigning Big East tournament champion DePaul University looks to be Providence’s biggest competition this season. Not only did they make the NCAA tournament last year but they were the team that knocked the Friars out of the Big East tournament. Although PC softball likes to focus on the season by going one game at a time, their series at home versus Depaul at the end of their regular season on May 1-3 are games that both players and fans should be marking on their calendars. 

PC Softball Still on the Hunt

by The Cowl Editor on May 2, 2019


Friar Sports


Breakout Season Gives Friars Postseason Hopes

By Eileen Flynn ’20

Sports Staff

providence college softball big east
Photo Courtesy of PC Athletics

As we take a look back on this year, it is hard not to talk about the Providence College Softball Team. The season started off with a doubleheader in the Sunshine State, the Friars faced University of Massachusetts-Lowell and Georgia Institute of Technology in the River City Leadoff Tournament in Jacksonville, Florida. While the rest of the school was in the middle of winter, the Lady Friars were warming up for an impressive season.

PC played their next tournament the following weekend and faced teams such as St. Joseph’s University, University of Kansas, and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Although the team did not leave Florida with a winning record, the team was finding their rhythm and working through the kinks. The next team trip came at the beginning of March during the College’s spring break.

Allison Abbatiello ’19, one of the seven seniors on the team, says her favorite team memory was when the girls went to a Yankees Spring Training game. She said that even though “there were only about five or six of us who are diehard Yankee fans, the game was a really special experience.” The team spent their spring break bonding and with the new coaching staff, there were a lot of new relationships that needed to be built.

Jill Karwoski was named the head coach of the Friar’s softball team at the beginning of this year. With past experience as an assistant coach for the Friars in 2013, Karwoski was welcomed with open arms along with Assistant Coach Bree Nasti.

Abbatiello is just one of the many seniors on the team who have helped with the transition of leadership. “Although there was an unexpected adjustment to our program, I remained calm and became supportive of my teammates and new coaches.”

The team chemistry was evident in their performance during the week in Florida, when they won four out of the five games. The College won close match-ups against Furman University, Central Michigan University, United State Military Academy, and Saint Francis University.

The momentum was not stopped with the change in weather, back in New England the Friars were continuing to play well against top teams like Boston College. Daniela Alvarez ’22, pitched her seventh complete game of the season and her third shutout.

Competition is always amped up a level when it is time to play the Big East teams. St. John’s University won two out of the three game series, however, the 10-6 victory for Friars was promising for their future.

The team went on to sweep two strong Big East teams, Creighton University, and Butler University. Their most recent win was extra special for Abbatiello because in the midst of a close game, she reached a milestone she has been working towards her whole career at Providence College.

On senior day nonetheless, Abbatiello made perfect contact with the ball and sent it over the fence for a three-run home run. Vanessa Portillo ’19 followed fellow senior Abbatiello’s lead and expanded the lead for the Friars to 4-0 after she hit a home run as well.

“During my last home game of my collegiate career, I hit my first home run which was shortly followed by another home run from Vanessa Portillo. It was so exciting and a great way to conclude the seniors’ final game in Friartown.”

Although there will be no more home games for the Friars, their season is all but over. Make sure to follow along as the team plays University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Georgetown University, and hopefully gets a chance to compete in the Big East championship.

Softball Player Sets New School Record for All-Time Hits

by The Cowl Editor on April 11, 2019


Friar Sports


emma lee providence college softball
Photo Courtesy of PC Athletics

Emma Lee ’19 solidified her name in Providence College history this past weekend in an away series against Big East rivals Villanova University. The right fielder for the PC Softball Team broke the program’s all-time hit record with her 215th career hit.

During the first of two games that would take place on April 6, Lee notched a team-high three hits in the 2-1 win over the Wildcats. The team was unable to continue that momentum going into the second game of the day as they fell 4-0 and into the next day as they would lose the series against Villanova in a 6-0 loss.

Despite the unfavorable outcome, Lee had a very successful series. She concluded the weekend with a .556 batting average and 1.000 slugging percentage. Lee also hit two impressive doubles and a triple. Due to her success over the weekend, Lee was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll.

Heading into her final games as a Friar, Lee said that her personal goal for the season is to “just have fun playing the game I love with all of my teammates besides me. These four years have gone by so fast and I would like to take advantage of every second.”