Softball | 4/30/2019 12:15:00 PM

 
THE STORY
• The Bloomsburg University softball team rides a six-game win streak into the first round of the 2019 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship Wednesday evening in Quakertown, Pa. The Huskies are the top seed in the PSAC Central Division, and will batter the winner of Wednesday afternoon's Kutztown vs. Edinboro matchup. Bloomsburg won the Central Division for the third time in the last four years after posting a 30-15 overall record, and a 15-5 mark in the division. 

BLOOMSBURG IN THE PSAC CHAMPIONSHIP
• The Huskies have won a conference-best 16 PSAC championships in program history, with Bloomsburg's last conference title coming back in 2016. The Huskies lost to West Chester in the 2017 championship game, and were ousted by eventual champion Gannon in the first round last season. The Golden Knights will claim the top seed in the PSAC West again in 2019, while West Chester earns the top seed in the PSAC East.

LOOKING AHEAD
• With a win in the first round Thursday, Bloomsburg would advance to play the winner of West Chester/Seton Hill on Friday at 3:00 p.m. The Huskies would face whoever loses the West Chester/Seton Hill contest at 12:00 p.m. on Friday in the event of a loss Thursday night. The Championship game will be played on Saturday, May 4, at 12:00 p.m.

SCOUTING THE FIELD
• In addition to Gannon, #2 Seton Hill and #3 Edinboro represent PSAC Western Division, while #2 Shippensburg and #3 Kutztown join West Chester from the Eastern Division. Lock Haven finished second in the PSAC Central behind Bloomsburg, and Mansfield rounds out the nine-team playoff.

PSAC CENTRAL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
• Sophomore pitcher Abby Wild (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) was named the PSAC Central Pitcher of the Week Tuesday after going 3-0 with three complete games, a shutout, and 23 strikeouts in 16 innings of work last week. Wild's masterpiece during the week came on Saturday in game one against IUP, when she tossed a complete-game one-hit shutout in Bloomsburg's 8-0 six-inning victory. She walked four and struck out a career-high 11 batters in the win. The only hit she allowed was a single to IUP's very first batter of the game.

THE HUSKIES AT A GLANCE
• Bloomsburg clinched the top seed in the PSAC Central with back-to-back sweeps over IUP and Clarion over the weekend. With a pair of home wins over IUP on Saturday, the Huskies finished the regular season with a perfect 14-0 record at Jan M. Hutchinson Field. Bloomsburg would follow with a dominating showing against Clarion on the road Saturday, downing the Golden Eagles 12-1 and 9-2.

• Wild has been one of the most impressive hurlers in the PSAC this season, ranking second in the conference in opposing batting average (.201), third in total strikeouts (151), and fifth in ERA (1.79). Her 17 wins are the most in the PSAC this season. Tara Baney (Howard, Pa./Bellefonte) has been equally strong for the Huskies this season, compiling a 2.15 ERA, 107 strikeouts, and a team-high five shutouts on the year. Opponents are hitting a paltry .215 off Baney, which is good for fourth in the PSAC.

• Erin DelPierre (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) leads a dynamic trio of freshmen for Bloomsburg this season, posting a team-high .436 batting average with 12 doubles and three triples. She is third in the PSAC in total hits (66), and sixth in average. Sammi Starr (Berwick, Pa./21st Century Cyber Charter) is batting .273 with a team-high 33 runs batted in, and Danielle Barnes (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) is the third talented frosh in the lineup, as she is hitting .269 with 22 RBI and a team-high 35 runs scored. Senior Taylor Winkelman (Springfield, Pa/Springfield) is batting .354 with 35 runsc scored and nine stolen bases, and Marissa Shelhamer (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia) is hitting .299 with five homers and 30 RBI.