March 16, 2006

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Providence College softball team will travel to Georgetown, Del. to play at the Bash at the Beach Tournament on Friday, March 17 - Sunday, March 19. The Friars will play LaSalle and Fairleigh Dickinson on March 17 followed by St. Peter's and Lafayette on March 18. The championship game is scheduled for March 19.

It will mark the third consecutive season that the PC will compete at the Bash at the Beach Tournament. In 2004, the Friars posted a 3-2 record at this tournament, while last season, the Friars recorded a 4-1 mark. This season, the tournament will feature 20 teams, including host Delaware State and BIG EAST foe Rutgers.

The Friars (8-4) are coming off a 3-1 record at the Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. last weekend. PC defeated South Carolina State, College of Charleston and Eastern Kentucky to advance to the semifinals, where the Friars lost, 2-0, to Pittsburgh. Prior to that, the Friars competed at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla., where they finished with a 5-3 mark.

Junior Rachel Bartholomew (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) leads the team with a .371 batting average. In addition, she has one home run and eight RBIs. Senior Michelle Willette (Moorpark, Calif.) is the Friar leader in home runs (2) and RBIs (11), while classmate Michele Bowers (State Island, N.Y.) is tops on the team in extra base hits (5). Junior pitcher Sara Surosky (Elmira, N.Y.) has a 4-4 record with a 1.44 earned run average and 65 strikeouts.

Following the Bash at the Beach Tournament, the Friars will begin BIG EAST Conference play on Saturday, March 25 at Villanova.