Coming off of a very competitive weekend split with ECC playoff-bound St. Thomas Aquinas College, the College of Staten Island Softball unit gets set to host another playoff team in the University of Bridgeport.  Twice postponed due to rain, the Dolphins and Purple Knights will play ball under the lights tonight, with first pitch scheduled for 6PM at the CSI Softball Complex.

COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND VS. UNIVERSITY OF BRIDGEPORT
Matchup: College of Staten Island (5-15, 5-15 ECC) vs. University of Bridgeport (16-6, 16-6 ECC)
Where:  CSI Softball Complex - Staten Island, NY
Live Video: http://www.csidolphins.com/CSISportsNet ***Weather Permitting***
Live Stats: https://csidolphins.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Spectator Policy:  No Spectator Access
All-Time Series:  UB leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: April 13, 2021 - UB won both 10-1, 6-0
Players to Watch (CSI):  Samantha MacPherson is one of CSI's leaders at the plate this season with a .349 clip, easily leading the Dolphins with 9 doubles and 13 runs scored.  Isabel Gallo is currently third on the team with 16 hits, lifting her batting average of to .271 with a team-best nine RBI.  Victoria Whalen has a very loud hit against STAC on Sunday, a three-run homer, her second one of the season to lead CSI in that department.  Emily Koerick, who has been absent from the lineup for the last four games, was activated to the pitcher's circle on Sunday and picked up a complete game and her first save of the season.  She sports a CSI-best 3-6 record in the circle with a 2.64 ERA, fanning 72 batters in 63.2 innings of work.  
Players to Watch (UB):  Bridgeport is batting .270 as a team, and are led by the hot bat of Kaira Ramon who is at .397 with 25 hits and a team high six doubles and 18 RBI.  Next up is Taylor Yates, who sports a .329 average with 16 RBI.  Meg McFarland is the team leader in runs scored with 16 to go with her .317 average, while Grace Derita is batting an even .300 with three home runs.  Bridgeport gets it done also with great pitching, and few are better than Kaite Burawski, who comes in 9-2 with a 0.85 ERA in 82.1 innings.  She has fanned 124 batters while walking only 23.  Miranda Hillman has been just as strong, sporting a 4-4 record with a 2.77 ERA in 60.2 innings while Samantha Schiebe is at 3-0 with a 3.60 ERA.
News & Notes: CSI overturned a seven-game skid to score their first-ever program win against St. Thomas Aquinas College.  Tonight, they will look to do the same against a Bridgeport team that they lost to twice earlier in the year.  Although the playoff field in the ECC is set, the doubleheader is still a very big one for the Purple Knights.  They are tied with Molloy College for first place in the standings and the top two teams will host playoff semifinal series. If Bridgeport is able to win both games today, they would clinch first place in the standings.  If they split this series, they could finish no lower than second, but if they fall in both games to CSI, they can finish as low as fourth in the standings.  If CSI is able to win two games today and another two tomorrow against Molloy, they can finish in fifth place in the ECC standings, otherwise they would finish the season in sixth place.