Softball | 5/10/2022 3:56:00 PM
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Any team will tell you that it's hard to beat the same opponent three separate times in one season, but that's exactly what the Bloomsburg University softball team will be trying to do when it takes on Shippensburg in the first game of the Atlantic Regional on Thursday.
The contest will be the fourth matchup of the season between the No. 3 seed Huskies (28-18, 10-6 PSAC East) and No. 6 seed Raiders (31-18, 11-5 PSAC East), and Shippensburg will be playing on its home field as the hosting team for this weekend's regional games.
The game is scheduled to start at 12:00 PM at Robb Field and it will be the first of two regional games played on Thursday. No. 2 seed Seton Hill (36-10, 12-4 PSAC West) is scheduled to play No. 7 seed Claflin (21-13, 15-1 CIAA) at 2:30 PM. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students, seniors and children.
Bloomsburg and Shippensburg met in an elimination game last week during the second day of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament. In a thrilling contest that saw two lead changes in the final inning, the Huskies won 8-7 after
Alexis Wetzler (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte Area High School) drew a walk-off walk with two outs during a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Huskies entered the bottom-half of the inning trailing by one after Shippensburg scored four runs in the top of the seventh to take a 7-6 lead.
Erin DelPierre (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) knocked in the game-tying run for the Huskies, then DelPierre scored the winning run on Wetzler's walk.
With the win over Shippensburg last week, Bloomsburg enters Thursday's contest with a 2-1 record against the Raiders this year. The two teams split a doubleheader back on April 10 at Jan M. Hutchinson Field in Bloomsburg. Shippensburg won the first game 4-1 thanks to a four-run fourth inning, and Bloomsburg rallied for a 10-2 victory in six innings in the second game. The Huskies scored eight of their 10 runs in the first three innings and rode the early 8-0 lead to a run-rule victory in Game 2.
The Huskies rank among the top of the PSAC in multiple offensive categories as the team is second in the league in team batting average (.332 avg.), third in total hits (440 H), fourth in runs scored (272 R), fourth in runs batted in (246 RBI), third in home runs (32 HR), first in doubles (89 2B) and first in slugging percentage (.477). The squad also has the least amount of strikeouts at the plate as a team, getting rung up on strikes just 130 times 1,326 at-bats.
Offensively, the team is led by
Nicolette Ray (Abington, Pa./Abington), who leads the squad with a .428 batting average, 65 total hits, 43 runs batted in and 11 home runs. Ray ranks in the top six of the conference in those four categories.
Sammi Starr (Berwick, Pa./Berwick Area) leads the PSAC in doubles this year with 18 and the shortstop leads the Huskies with 39 runs scored to go along with 28 RBI, four homers and a .362 batting average. DelPierre is second on the team with a .383 batting average and is a perfect 10-for-10 on stolen base attempts.
The team effort continues at the plate with five more players batting over .300, which includes
Kayleigh Lenner (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy),
Alex Iseminger (Everett, Pa./Everett Area),
Danielle Barnes (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh),
Bella Culp (Harrisburg, Pa/Central Dauphin) and
Emma Little (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn-Trafford).
On the mound,
Callie Sowers (Irwin, Pa/Hempfield Area) leads the pitching staff with an 18-8 record and the freshman has tossed 20 complete games this season. Sowers' 18 wins were the second-most by a PSAC pitcher this year, and her 177 strikeouts led the league. She has held opponents to a .235 batting average and has given up just 160 hits in 173.1 innings pitched.
Kelly Eberly (Purcellville, Va/Homeschooled) is second on the team with eight wins and has thrown 69.2 innings this season.
For Shippensburg, the squad is led offensively by Hannah Marsteller, who has a .513 batting average and has collected an impressive 80 hits, 17 home runs, 56 runs batted in and 54 runs scored this season. Marsteller is joined by five other hitters batting over .300 this season.
The Raiders have thrown a total of seven different pitchers this year and rely on two main hurlers in Alicia Ball and Emma Flattery. Ball leads the team in strikeouts (114) and innings pitched (117.2) while Flattery has a team-high 13 wins and sports a 13-3 record with 107 innings pitched and 89 strikeouts.
The winner of Thursday's game will play the winner of Seton Hill-Claflin on Friday at noon. The losers of each game will face off on Friday at 2:30 PM for a chance to continue in the double-elimination regional round.
Live stats, live video and updated bracket information for every regional game can be found on the Tournament Central page on Shippensburg's website, which is included at the top of this page.
SCOUTING CLAFLIN
Claflin enters the Atlantic Regional as the No. 7 seed after gaining an automatic NCAA Tournament berth for winning their school's first Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championship in any team sport since joining the league in 2018.
The Panthers went 4-0 during their conference tournament and have relied on the arm of 2022 CIAA Pitcher of the Year, Bre'Zhay Chambers. In the circle, Chambers has 117 strikeouts in 92.1 innings and brings a 10-5 record into the NCAA Tournament.
At the plate, Claflin has six players hitting over .300 and are led by Brenay Howard. The junior outfielder has a .430 average and leads the team in hits, runs, doubles and slugging percentage.
SCOUTING SETON HILL
Seton Hill enters the NCAA Tournament after getting an at-large bid following a 36-10 season thus far. The Griffins went just 1-2 in the conference tournament, however, and one of those losses came to Bloomsburg in the PSAC's opening round.
Seton Hill was scheduled to play Bloomsburg in the regular season, but the doubleheader on April 19 was postponed. In the regular season, Seton Hill did play Shippensburg a total of four times, and the Griffins won all four contests.
Seton Hill's top hitter is Jenna Osikowicz, who has a .456 average and 43 runs scored this season. The Griffins have five players batting over .300 and the pitching staff is led by Morgan Ryan, who has a 15-2 record and has thrown 110.1 innings.
