PSAC CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE

BLOOMSBURG—The Bloomsburg University softball team will begin its quest for a PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) Championship on Wednesday at 6 pm at Veterans Park in Quakertown. The Huskies, 39-6, will face the winner of the play-in game between Millersville and Slippery Rock. Bloomsburg will be aiming for its first PSAC title since 2010 and its 16^th overall.
 
The Huskies are led in hitting this season by Taylor Parker (Dewart, Pa./Warrior Run) who's batting .390 with a PSAC-best 11 homers and is tied for number one in the conference in runs batted in with 47.  The pitcher/shortstop also has scored 35 runs, banged out 16 doubles and two triples and has the third highest slugging percentage at .753.
 
Right behind Parker is freshman Taylor Winkelman (Springfield, Pa/Springfield) who is hitting .387 with a homer and 18 RBI. The outfielder/shortstop has a team-high 40 runs scored and also leads in hits with 60. She's also seven for eight in stolen base attempts.
 
Sophomore Emily Mayhew (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) is also having a banner year hitting .373 with eight homers and 36 RBI. She's also doubled 11 times and scored 34 runs. Mayhew had a 21-game hitting streak during the year and a 22-game streak of reaching base. Both Mayhew and Winkelman have 20 games with two or more hits.
 
In the circle the Huskies have three arms ready to go. Bloomsburg is led by Sarah Bortner (Glenville, Pa./South Western) who is 13-5 with a 1.14 ERA. She has thrown three shutouts and saved four other games. For the year she has 132 strikeouts in 122 innings of work.
 
Mallory Tomaschik (Catawissa, Pa./Southern Columbia) is 13-0 with a 1.54 ERA and two shutouts. She has 68 strikeouts and issued just 14 walks in 86 innings of work. Parker is the third member of the group and is 12-1 with a 1.77 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .178 off the right-hander.
 
As a team the Huskies are hitting .324 and holding opponents to just .197.  A win over either Millersville or Slippery Rock will be the Huskies 40^th win of the season, the 15^th time in school history, and the first since 2010, that the team has hit 40 wins.
 
Here's a scouting report on each team in the tournament.
 
California (PA) (32-2, 19-1 PSAC West)
California comes into the PSAC tournament as the defending champions, and is 9-1 in its last 10 contests. The Vulcans have fared well in neutral site games this season, going 13-1. Emily Price is tops on the team with a .416 batting average, 42 hits, 12 doubles and a .516 on-base percentage. Natayla Smarra and Lindsay Reicoff are tied for the team lead with seven home runs and have combined to score 48 runs this season. California leads the conference with a .412 on-base percentage and is second with a .330 batting average.
 
In the circle, Alex Sagl leads the team with a 14-2 record 13 complete games. Sagl has struck out 139 batters in 107.1 innings pitched and has held opponents to a .180 batting average. The other three pitchers on the team, Meghan Uher, Taylor Robblee and Kaity Davis, have combined to go 18-0 with six shutouts. California is third in the PSAC with a 1.52 team ERA, and is tied for third with 12 shutouts.
 
Millersville Marauders (26-18, 9-7 PSAC East)
Millersville enters the PSAC tournament with a 6-4 record in its last 10 games. The Marauders are led on offense by Mandy Hammond and Brittany Smith, who have batting averages of .398 and .353 respectively. Smith leads the team in hits (49), RBI (35), home runs (6) and slugging percentage (.561). The Marauders batted .292 and smacked 351 hits as a team, both good for fifth in the PSAC.
 
In the circle, Brianna Andraos won 15 games with an ERA of 2.06 and posted 20 complete games for Millersville. Following her is Cassidy Pinchorski who finished the regular season with 11 wins and a team-high 89 strikeouts in 119 innings pitched. The Marauder pitching staff combined for 11 shutouts and a team ERA of 3.05 during the regular season, placing them fifth and seventh in the conference respectively.
 
West Chester (47-5, 14-2 PSAC East)
West Chester has won eight of its last 10 games as it enters the PSAC tournament with the third-best winning percentage of the teams. Sarah Walasavage tallied a team-high 66 hits, .428 on-base percentage and a .400 batting average during the regular season. Cat Hammer led the Golden Rams with 10 home runs, 13 doubles and 47 RBI. West Chester led the PSAC with a .334 batting average, 483 hits, 357 runs scored and 41 home runs.
 
The Golden Rams also had lots of success in the circle, as Brooke Harner collected 19 wins (T-1 in PSAC) and 129 strikeouts in 111.2 innings pitched. Amanda Houck recorded 16 wins and 11 complete games for West Chester, who finished with the lowest ERA (1.34), most shutouts (19) and most strikeouts (307) in the conference.
 
Slippery Rock (20-21, 9-11 PSAC West)
The Rock enter the PSAC tournament having lost six of their last 10 games of the regular season. Megan Maloney is first on the team with a .373 batting average while Katie Kaiser is tops with eight home runs, 50 hits and a .591 slugging percentage. The Rock's .282 batting average put them sixth in the conference.
 
In the circle, Brooke Dawson won nine games and recorded five shutouts for Slippery Rock while Carly DeRose tallied eight wins and 79 strikeouts in 98.1 innings. Slippery Rock's 3.10 ERA is good for eighth in the conference.
 
Kutztown (29-13, 10-6 PSAC East)
The Golden Bears come into the PSAC tournament winners of seven of their last 10 games including a doubleheader sweep over Millersville in their final two regular season contests. Sara Keeny leads Kutztown with a .428 batting average, 62 hits and 69 total bases. Danielle Amato is hitting .352 and leads the team with five home runs and 30 RBI. The Golden Bears rank third in the conference with a .327 batting average.
 
In the circle, Savannah Nierintz tallied 16 wins and 18 complete games for Kutztown this season. Nierintz stuck out 109 batters recorded three shutouts in 151 innings pitched. Bridget Newman won six games and posted a 1.92 ERA in 54.2 innings of work.
 
Gannon (19-19, 10-10 PSAC West)
Gannon finished the regular season just 5-5 in its final 10 games, but is making its sixth consecutive PSAC tournament appearance. Jackie Martinez hit .383 with 12 RBI and a .479 slugging percentage, all marks good enough to lead the Golden Knights. Alyssa Bates drove in a team-high 17 runs while Jen Moran launched four home runs to lead Gannon.
 
Olivia Gumbita won 12 games and recorded a complete game in all 20 starts this season. Gumbita struck out 106 batters in 127.2 innings pitched. Gannon's seven shutouts put them tied for seventh most in the PSAC.
 
IUP (27-17, 12-8 PSAC Central)
The Crimson Hawks recorded victories in eight of their final 10 games heading into the PSAC tournament. Hannah Mercer led the team with a .365 batting average, 15 doubles and 58 hits during the regular season. Lauren Goetz tallied 27 RBI, six doubles and three home runs for an IUP squad whose .280 batting average was seventh-best in the conference.
 
In the circle, Brooke Darling tallied 13 wins, 114 strikeouts and a 2.21 ERA in 134.1 innings pitched for IUP. Lauren Zola won 11 games and struck out 111 batters for the Crimson Hawks, whose 2.17 team ERA was good for fifth-best in the PSAC while their 260 strikeouts had them third overall in the conference.
 
Lock Haven (33-15, 14-6 PSAC Central)
Lock Haven won seven of its final 10 games as it enters the PSAC tournament. McKenna Garlock hit .372 and picked up 55 hits during the regular season, while Michelle Holweger batted .345 with a team-high 39 RBI and .520 slugging percentage. The Lady Eagles hit 28 home runs as a team, pitting them fourth-best in the PSAC.
 
Bekah Slattery tied for the PSAC lead with 19 wins this season while striking out a conference-high 155 batters in 171.2 innings pitched. Rachel Mouillesseaux won 14 games and posted a 2.55 ERA in 145.1 innings pitched. Lock Haven's 1.96 ERA was good for the fourth-lowest in the conference.