CALIFORNIA (May 1) – The California University of Pennsylvania softball team will begin play in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament on Wednesday, May 2, by playing IUP, which is the No. 3 seed from the PSAC Central, at Veterans Park in Quakertown, Pennsylvania at 12 p.m.

Tickets: All students from PSAC institutions will be admitted free with a valid student ID. Adult tickets are priced at $15 on Wednesday and Thursday before costing $10 on Friday and Saturday. Children under 12 years of age are admitted for free. All tickets can be purchased at the gate at Veterans Park.

Live Coverage: The PSAC is scheduled to provide live statistics for all the games. For additional information about the tournament, please click HERE.

Regional Rankings: Lock Haven moved to No. 1 in the latest Atlantic regional rankings with West Chester, West Virginia Wesleyan, Cal U and Gannon rounding out the top five. Millersville was ranked sixth, while Shepherd and Slippery Rock completed the top eight in the rankings. The NCAA regional rankings are scheduled to be released again on Wednesday afternoon during the first day of the PSAC Tournament.

Scouting (W3) Cal U: The Vulcans (18-16, 12-8) were the last team to earn a berth to the PSAC Tournament after sweeping a doubleheader on Monday. Sophomore Paige Wilson and freshman Brooke Wilson are tied for the team lead with a .348 average while Paige Wilson also leads the team with a .483 on-base percentage. Senior Carlee Wickstrom has posted a team-best five homers and 28 RBI in her first year with the program while also hitting at a .321 clip. In the circle, junior Emilee Downing ranks second in the PSAC and is 10th in the country with a 8.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. She is tied for the team lead in victories while leading the team with a 2.46 ERA.

Vulcans in the PSAC Tournament: Last year, the Vulcans suffered a 4-3 loss to eventual-PSAC Champion West Chester in their initial game of the PSAC Tournament. Cal U earned a 3-1 victory against IUP in an elimination game before suffering a 6-1 loss to Lock Haven. The Vulcans have won eight conference titles, which are the second-most in the league.

Scouting (C1) Lock Haven: The Bald Eagles (34-10, 20-0) are the first PSAC team to go undefeated in league play since Cal U in 2014 when the league was split into two divisions. Junior pitcher Bekah Slattery paces the 17-team conference with 184 strikeouts and ranks second in the league with a 1.24 ERA. She has posted a 15-4 record with four saves over 25 appearances and has limited opponents to a .175 batting average. Sophomore Kayla Gee sits fourth in the PSAC with a 1.96 ERA and leads the team with a 16-4 mark while logging 132.1 innings pitched. Junior Becca Caputo paces the Bald Eagles with a .333 average, 15 doubles and 41 RBI, while sophomore Casey Carpenter boasts a team-leading eight homers, while hitting at a .311 clip with 39 RBI.

Scouting (C2) Bloomsburg: The Huskies (19-20, 11-9) feature one of the premier hitters in the country in junior Kaylynn Wheeland, who was the only player from the PSAC to be named a finalist for the NFCA National Player of the Year. Wheeland ranks among the top three in the league this season with a .441 average, 10 homers, 44 RBI and a .771 slugging percentage. Senior Emily Mayhew leads the team with 32 runs scored while hitting at a .378 clip with six homers and 20 RBI. In the circle, freshman Tara Baney paces the team with a 2.71 ERA in over 90 innings pitched while being tied for the team lead with eight victories.

Scouting (C3) IUP: The Crimson Hawks (19-15, 14-9) boast five players hitting at least .300 this season while being one of six PSAC teams with at least 50 stolen bases. Sophomore Kaitlyn Beers leads the team in virtually every offensive category, including a .385 average, 31 RBI, 31 runs scored and a .607 slugging percentage. Freshman Renee Wall sits fourth in the league with a .483 on-base percentage and senior Alaina Montgomery ranks among the conference leaders with 19 steals. In the circle, junior Lauren Zola leads the team with over 100 strikeouts and 117.1 innings pitched behind 12 complete games.

Scouting (E1) West Chester: The Golden Rams (36-11, 14-2) captured the first conference title in program history last season and features one of the most prolific active pitchers in the NCAA Division II in senior Amanda Houck. She ranks among the top 10 in the country with 91 victories, 1.49 ERA, 744.3 innings pitched and 560 strikeouts. Houck leads the PSAC this year and ranks sixth in the nation with a 0.94 ERA, while her 23 victories pace the league and sit seventh in the country. Offensively, West Chester leads the PSAC this year with a .340 batting average and a .403 on-base percentage. Sophomore Bri Garber paces the league with a .460 average and a .541 on-base percentage, while junior Alyssa Herion has collected a conference-leading 15 doubles.

Scouting (E2) Shippensburg: The Raiders (21-17, 8-8) feature the toughest player in NCAA Division II to strikeout this year in freshman Courtney Coy, as she has struck out just one time in 114 at-bats this season. Sophomore Kayla Bonawitz ranks third in the PSAC with .435 batting average and senior Tara Bicko is hitting at a .382 clip while scoring a team-leading 36 runs. In the circle, junior Taryn Wilson ranks second in the league with 175 strikeouts and 16 victories.

Scouting (E3) Millersville: The Marauders (23-18, 8-8) boast one of the most prolific offenses in the PSAC this year, as they lead the league with 45 home runs and rank second with 247 runs and a .331 batting average. Freshman Faith Willenbrock and sophomore Rebecca Blatt have combined for 25 homers with Willenbrock leading the conference with 14 homers and a .827 slugging percentage. Blatt also paces the league with 52 RBI while hitting at a .373 clip. Millersville pitchers Cassidy Pinchorski and Catherine Johnson have both earned eight victories this year while both have totaled over 85.0 innings pitched.
 
Scouting (W1) Gannon: The Lady Knights (25-12, 15-5) sit second in the PSAC with a 2.17 ERA while leading the league with 6.35 runs per game. Sophomore Madi Beining ranks third in the conference with a 4.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while junior Kellyn Perich sits third in the league with a 1.70 ERA. Freshman Kaity Stocker anchors the offense with a .509 on-base percentage and a .750 on-base percentage, both of which rank among the top three in the PSAC. She also leads the team with a .369 batting average, nine homers and 38 RBI. Senior Jackie Martinez is hitting at a .368 clip with 12 doubles, 26 RBI and 24 runs scored.

Scouting (W2) Seton Hill: The Griffins (21-13, 13-7) featured a pair of players hitting nearly at a .390 clip this season in junior Brooke Bower and Christiana Skrabak. A transfer from Ohio, Skrabak leads the team with a .568 slugging percentage while posting 22 RBI and 26 runs scored. Bower paces the team with a 28 runs scored while featuring a .443 on-base percentage. Junior Devyn Terry is one of the top two-way players in the conference, as she leads the team with four homers and 11 victories. She has posted a 2.14 ERA while working over 110 innings while also hitting at a .358 clip.

2017 Tournament Recap: West Chester claimed its first conference title in school history last year after posting a 4-0 record in the double-elimination tournament. The Golden Rams earned a 6-0 victory over Bloomsburg in the championship after registering an 8-1 run-rule victory over the Huskies on the previous day. Facing elimination, Bloomsburg advanced to the title game with a 7-5 win over Lock Haven.

Looking Ahead: The winner of the PSAC Tournament will receive an automatic qualifier (AQ) into the 2018 NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tournament. The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and the Mountain East Conference (MEC) will also receive an AQ. The next top-five ranked teams in the final Atlantic regional rankings will receive at-large bids.

2018 PSAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 2
Game 1: (C3) IUP vs. (W3) California, 12 p.m.
Game 2: (C1) Lock Haven vs. (E3) Millersville, 12 p.m.
Game 3: (E2) Shippensburg vs. (W2) Seton Hill, 3 p.m.
Game 4: (W1) Gannon vs. (C2) Bloomsburg, 3 p.m.
Game 5: (E1) West Chester vs. Winner of Game 1, 6 p.m.
Game 6: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 6 p.m. (loser eliminated)
 
Thursday, May 3
Game 7: Loser of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 4, 12 p.m.
Game 8: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 6, 12 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 9: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 2, 3 p.m.
Game 10: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, 3 p.m.
Game 11: Loser of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 7, 6 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 12: Loser of Game 10 vs. Winner of Game 8, 6 p.m. (loser eliminated)
 
Friday, May 4
Game 13: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10, 12 p.m.
Game 14: Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 12, 3 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 15: Loser of Game 13 vs. Winner of Game 14, 6 p.m. (loser eliminated)
 
Saturday, May 5
Game 16: Winner of Game 13 vs. Winner of Game 15, 12 p.m.
IF necessary, Game 17:  Game 16 winner vs. Game 16 loser, 3 p.m.