July 7, 2009

PHILADELPHIA - After returning to the Atlantic 10 Tournament in 2008, expectations were high for the 2009 Saint Joseph's softball team. However, the Hawks weren't an overwhelming pick to make this year's postseason, as SJU was selected to finish sixth in the preseason standings. But beginning in February, Saint Joseph's set its eyes on the A-10 title game and set several individual and team records in reaching that goal.

Opening the season at the Campbell University Camel Stampede, Saint Joseph's would get solid performances from All-Tournament Team selections Laura Cardone and Dani Gonzales as the Hawks started the year with a 2-2 record.

The Hawks upped their record to 4-3 at the George Mason Patriot Classic, but facing some of the top teams in the nation, SJU struggled at the Hillenbrand Invitational. Saint Joseph's dropped its opening games to Creighton and Minnesota before facing the 13th-ranked Arizona Wildcats. After being held to just two runs on a homer by Brooke Darreff in the first four games, the Hawks' bats awakened versus host Arizona, scoring five runs in the opening game. Senior Erika Rosenwinkel and freshman Monica Aguilar each hit home runs for the Hawks, but the Wildcats' offense proved superior in the two-game slate, outscoring SJU 34-6 and dropping the Hawks' record to 4-9.

After facing arguably its toughest competition of the season, Saint Joseph's rallied and won nine of its next 11 games, including its Atlantic 10 opening series at La Salle.

While inclement weather cancelled several series in March and April, the Hawks continued to remain in the middle of the pack in the Atlantic 10, posting a 4-2 mark heading into its first home games of the season. Facing nationally-ranked UMass, the Hawks took the Minutewomen to 10 innings in the opener before falling, proving SJU could compete with the A-10's top team.

Following a sweep of Rhode Island and losing two at Saint Louis, the Hawks capped their home schedule with a split against Dayton, moving SJU's conference record to 7-7 with the Hawks needing at least one win in their regular-season finale at St. Bonaventure to reach the postseason.

Getting a complete-game shutout on the mound and a solo home run from Gonzales, the Hawks took game one, 4-0, and guaranteed themselves a spot in the A-10 Tournament. Saint Joseph's 3-0 win the next day over the Bonnies secured the fifth seed.

Despite falling to Fordham in the opening game of the A-10 Tournament, the Hawks embarked on an impressive run that found the underdog SJU paired against No. 1 Massachusetts.

After falling 5-3 to the Rams in the first game, the Hawks came back to win four straight elimination games to advance to the title contest and in the process ended the season for the other four A-10 teams.

Needing to beat the Minutewomen twice, Saint Joseph's gutsy run through the Atlantic 10 Championship came to an end as UMass defeated the Hawks, 11-0, in five innings.

As a team, SJU set several records during the season, becoming just the second Hawk team to advance to the A-10 title game, while posting the program's first winning record (27-20) since 2003. Saint Joseph's also set an Atlantic 10 Championship record with 26 runs scored this year, and tied a championship record with eight stolen bases, a record set by Massachusetts in 1999 and matched by Charlotte in 2008.

Individually, several Hawks were recognized for outstanding seasons, headlined by A-10 Rookie of the Year Monica Aguilar. Aguilar also joined Darreff on the All-Conference 1st Team, and became SJU's first A-10 All-Rookie Team honoree as well. Rosenwinkel, who capped her career 12th all-time with 162 hits and fifth in home runs (17), joined Gonzales on the All-Conference 2nd Team. Gonzales, who also was named to the A-10 All-Tournament Team after tying the championship mark of three wins, tied for fourth in SJU single-season wins with 16 and finished fourth all-time with 383 strikeouts. Also named to the All-Tournament Team were Aguilar, sophomore Dana Bieniek and freshman Bernadette Moran.

While Saint Joseph's fell just short of its goal, the 2009 season proved that SJU belongs amongst the conference and region's elite.