CALIFORNIA (May 2) – The No. 12 Cal U softball team returns to action in the PSAC Tournament on Friday, May 2, by facing Shippensburg, the No. 3 seed in the East, at Veterans Park in Quakerstown, Pa., at 6 p.m.
CALIFORNIA (April 30) – The No. 12 California University of Pennsylvania softball team will begin play in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament on Thursday, May 1, at 11 a.m. The Vulcans will face Mansfield, the No. 4 seed in the East, to open play at Veterans Park in Quakerstown, Pa.
Tickets: All students from PSAC institutions will be admitted free with a valid student ID. The PSAC mandates the prices for adults at $10 and children under 12 years of age are admitted free. All tickets can be purchased at the gate.
Live Coverage: The PSAC will provide live statistics for the games. For additional information about the tournament, please click
here.
PSAC Tournament: Cal U is the No. 1 seed in the tournament from the PSAC West behind a 23-0 league record this season. Mansfield is the No. 4 seed from the PSAC East and finished the season with a 15-13 record against divisional opponents. The winner will face the winner of the No. 2 seed from the East, Bloomsburg, vs. the No. 3 seed in the West, Gannon, contest at 4 p.m. The loser of each game will meet in an elimination game at the same time. The bottom half of the bracket features West Chester (East No. 1) vs. Edinboro (West No. 4) and IUP (West No. 2) vs. Shippensburg (East No. 3).
National Rankings: Cal U is the only team from the PSAC to be ranked in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 poll, moving up two spots to No. 12 in the latest poll released on Wednesday. West Chester is among 'Others Receiving Votes' in the latest rankings after totaling a league-best 34 victories.
Regional Rankings: The Vulcans remained the top-ranked team in the latest NCAA Diviision II Atlantic regional rankings. Mountain East Conference (MEC)-leading West Virginia Wesleyan remains slotted second in the rankings, while Shippensburg, West Chester and Bloomsburg rounded out the top five. Mansfield was ranked sixth and IUP came in at seventh to give the PSAC six of the top 10 teams in the region. The last NCAA regional rankings before the selection show are scheduled to be released by Thursday evening.
Scouting the Vulcans: Cal U enters the tournament on a 26-game winning streak, the longest active streak in NCAA Division II. Despite playing the second-fewest games in the PSAC this season, the Vulcans lead the league in home runs (42), batting average (.347) and slugging percentage (.558), while ranking second in runs (248) and RBI (225). Three Vulcans rank in the top eight of the PSAC in batting average with junior shortstop
Breanna Morris (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg Central) (.442) and senior
Natalie Wideman (Mississuga, Ontario/Streetsville Secondary) (.424) ranking second and third, respectively. Wideman also leads the league with 40 runs scored and ranks fifth with 19 stolen bases. Sophomore first baseman
Lindsay Reicoff (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) ranks eighth in batting average (.398), is tied for third with nine home runs and ranks seventh in the conference with 35 RBI. Senior second baseman
Shelby Lia (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) has tallied eight home runs this season to tie for sixth in the PSAC and added 33 RBI to rank eighth, while classmate
Stephani Ellis (Vancouver, British Columbia/Prince of Wales Secodary) leads the conference with a .754 slugging percentage. Opponents have scored a conference-low 71 runs (58 earned) against the Vulcans this season and the Cal U pitching staff ranks second with a 1.91 ERA. Sophomore
Alex Sagl (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Trafalgar) ranks second in the PSAC with 19 wins, 144 strikeouts and a 1.49 ERA. Freshman
Kaity Davis (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) ranks ninth with 11 wins and is slotted 11th with a 2.24 ERA.
Vulcans in the Playoffs: The Vulcans have not won the PSAC Championship since 2000 despite winning the PSAC West title in each of the last six seasons. Cal U has appeared in the finals four times since 2000, including last season when it lost to Kutztown in extra innings.
Scouting Mansfield: The Mounties enter the weekend as the No. 4 seed from the PSAC East after posting a 15-13 league record and 23-15 overall mark. Senior Kate Pratt is tied for eighth in the PSAC with seven home runs and also leads the team with 10 wins and 74 strikeouts in the circle. Mansfield's pitching staff ranks third in the conference with a 2.25 ERA and holds opponents to a .227 batting average, second only to the Vulcans. Senior outfielder Stephanie Simmenth ranks fifth in the PSAC and leads the team with a .407 batting average.
Scouting Bloomsburg: The Huskies will head to the tournament as the No. 2 seed from the PSAC East following an 18-10 league mark and 26-15 overall record. Senior outfielder Chrissy Belko is tied for third with nine home runs and ranks seventh in the conference with a .398 batting average. The Bloomsburg pitching staff, which lead the conference with a 1.87 ERA and ranks second with 105 runs allowed (73 earned), is led by the duo of junior Sarah Bertoni and freshman Taylor Parker. Parker leads the team with a 1.57 ERA in 125.0 innings pitched and ranks in the top 10 in the conference in wins, strikeouts, complete games, and is slotted third with five shutouts.
Scouting Gannon: The Lady Knights come into the tournament as the No. 3 seed from the PSAC West following a 16-12 league record and 23-19 overall mark. Junior Jess Rectenwald is the team's leader at the plate and on the rubber. She leads the conference with a .455 batting average and finished in the top-15 in wins, ERA, strikeouts and complete games. As a team, Gannon ranks fifth in batting average (.292) and doubles (63).
Scouting West Chester: The Golden Rams finished the regular season with a 19-9 league record and 34-17 overall mark to earn the No. 1 seed from the PSAC East. While a 2.60 ERA ranks sixth in the conference, West Chester tallied a league-best 11 shutout wins this season. Senior pitcher Kim Muri was part of seven of those shutouts, including three complete-game shutouts, and ranks third in the PSAC with 16 wins, while fellow sophomore pitcher Katie Erb led the PSAC with four saves. Muri also leads the team at the plate with 38 RBI and is tied for second in the conference. The Golden Rams ranks second in the PSAC with 62 stolen bases, led by senior outfielder Megan Kelly who has tallied 21 to lead the team and rank third in the conference.
Scouting Edinboro: The Fighting Scots earned the No. 4 seed in the PSAC West after finishing the season 12-15-1 in PSAC West play and 17-22-1 overall. Senior outfielder Brenna Cosgrove ranks fourth in the PSAC with a .411 batting average and tallied 24 stolen bases to rank second. Edinboro ranks third in stolen bases with 57 this season and finished the regular season in the top-10 of the conference with a .284 team batting average, 23 home runs and 158 RBI.
Scouting IUP: The Crimson Hawks secured the No. 2 seed in the PSAC West after compiling a 22-6 league record with a 29-13 overall tally. Offensively, IUP ranks second in home runs (38) and third in the conference in RBI, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Senior outfielder Jasa Mitchell wrapped up the regular-season ranked second with 11 home runs and a .735 slugging percentage. The Crimson Hawk pitching staff ranks fifth with a 2.54 team-ERA and is led by junior Alexa Campbell. She has compiled 12 wins and ranks fifth in the PSAC with a 1.94 ERA, while also ranking seventh with a .234 batting average against.
Scouting Shippensburg: The Raiders enter the weekend as the No. 3 seed in the PSAC East following their 17-11 league mark and 31-13 overall record. Senior pitcher Emily Estep turned in an impressive regular-season. She led the PSAC with 20 wins, a 0.96 ERA,158 strikeouts in 146.1 innings pitched. Shippensburg ranks fourth with a .292 team batting average and leads the conference with 72 stolen bases. Senior outfielder Hilary Lyons and junior outfielder Tyler Thompson each rank in the top-four of the PSAC in stolen bases, as Lyons leads the conference with 28 and Thompson has swiped 20 this season.
2013 Tournament Rewind: The Vulcans earned a 6-2 opening-round win over Mansfield, but was defeated 3-2 by Bloomsburg in the team's second game. After staving off elimination with wins over Gannon and West Chester, Cal U earned a 4-0 win over Bloomsburg to send the Vulcans into the championship against Kutztown. Despite the Vulcans holding a 7-4 lead entering the bottom of the fifth, the Golden Bears rallied for six-unanswered runs, including a walk-off three-run home run in the 10th inning, to earn the PSAC Championship.
Looking Ahead: The winner of the PSAC Tournament will receive an automatic qualifier (AQ) into the 2014 NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tournament. The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is the only other conference in the Atlantic region to earn an AQ this season, as the next top-six teams in the final Atlantic regional rankings will receive at-large bids. The MEC is not eligible for an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament during its first year of existence.
