CALIFORNIA (May 2) – The California (PA) softball team will start action in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament on Wednesday, May 3, by playing (E5) Bloomsburg at Veterans Park in Quakertown, Pennsylvania at 10 a.m.

Tickets: All students from PSAC institutions will be admitted free with 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. Tickets can only be purchased via TicketLeap; no cash will be accepted at the event and all sales are final.

Live Coverage: The PSAC will provide live stats and live video for all the games. For additional information about the tournament, please click HERE

Regional Rankings: East Stroudsburg was tabbed the top-ranked team in the latest Atlantic Regional rankings followed by West Chester at second. Shippensburg was slotted in the fourth position and Seton Hill placed seventh, while Kutztown and Mercyhurst were ninth and 10th, respectively.

Scouting (W4) Cal: The Vulcans posted a record of 26-22 overall with a league mark of 19-13 as they earned the fourth seed for the tournament. Sophomore pitcher Caleigh Rister paces the team with a 1.82 earned-run average (ERA) which ranks fourth in the conference as she boasts a 12-7 record and was named to the All-PSAC West Second Team. Sophomore shortstop Kaitlyn Actermeier leads the team with a .396 batting average in addition to a 1.033 OPS.

Vulcans in the PSAC Tournament: Last year, Cal was eliminated from the PSAC Tournament after suffering a pair of losses, beginning with a 4-3 loss against Shepherd followed by a 3-2 loss versus Gannon. The Vulcans are making their 28th PSAC Tournament appearance under head coach Rick Bertagnolli.

Scouting (W1) Seton Hill: The Griffins (29-15, 22-8) feature the PSAC West Pitcher of the Year in Lauren Dellett with the second-best ERA in the league at 1.52 followed by the fifth-most strikeouts with 138, as she boasts an 18-6 record and has held opponents to a .220 batting average. Seton Hill also features an All-PSAC West First-Team honoree in junior Nina Grandey with a .318 batting average as she led the Griffins with 47 hits. In her first year at the helm of Seton Hill, Cassie Moore was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year.

Scouting (W2) Mercyhurst: The Lakers (31-19, 21-11) paced the league with a .345 batting average in addition to recording a conference-best 502 hits. The Mercyhurst lineup showcases the PSAC West Athlete of the Year in senior Allison Dejidas, who boasts a staggering .442 batting average, 1.306 OPS and .806 slugging percentage with 14 home runs and 65 RBI. Graduate student Cheyenne Hindman was also named to the All-PSAC West First Team at third base as she notched a .314 batting average with seven home runs and 45 RBI.

Scouting (W3) Slippery Rock: The Rock (28-22, 19-13) pitching rotation features a pair of All-PSAC West First Team selections in junior Kelsi Anderson and senior Alexsa Hurd. Anderson tallied a 2.82 ERA with a 14-8 record and logged eight complete games while registering 171 strikeouts as she limited opposing teams to a .218 batting average. Hurd posted a record of 11-4 with a 3.43 ERA and eight complete games as well. She tallied 115 strikeouts and surrendered only 92 hits with a .229 opponent batting average.

Scouting (W5) Gannon: The Lady Knights (18-26, 17-15) blasted the second-most home runs in the league with 38 in addition to 187 RBI. Gannon features a trio of All-PSAC West selection led by sophomore Abbey Girman, who ranked in the top-20 of the conference with a .372 batting average with a 1.242 OPS as she is third for the PSAC with 12 homers. Jules Ryan and redshirt sophomore Natalia Mallozzi were tabbed to the All-PSAC West Second-Team. Ryan posted a .315 batting average with 35 hits and 61 RBI in addition to an .892 OPS. Mallozzi batted at a .346 clip from the dish while tallying 37 hits.

Scouting (E1) West Chester: The Golden Rams (36-15, 24-6) are led by a four All-PSAC East First-Team honorees which include senior Katelyn Rittenbaugh, sophomore Hailey Melvin, Danielle Ciliberto and Madison Melvin. Rittenbaugh posted a .339 batting average with 56 hits, 28 RBI and 30 runs scored. Hailey Melvin collected a .380 batting average with 60 hits and 37 RBI in addition to a .945 OPS. Ciliberto notched a 1.25 ERA as she collected a 13-4 record with nine complete games while totaling 82 strikeouts in 101.0 innings. Madison Melvin paced the conference with a .480 batting average and 83 hits while registering a .542 on-base percentage. West Chester hit at a .315 clip as it notched 440 hits this season. In her 20th season as head coach, Diane Lokey was named the 2023 PSAC East Coach of the Year.

Scouting (E2) East Stroudsburg: The Warriors (36-14, 24-8) boasts the third-best ERA in the conference with a mark of 2.40 as the pitching rotation has registered 288 strikeouts with six shutouts. The ESU defense is led by All-PSAC East First Team selection and PSAC East Pitcher of the Year junior Paige Zigmund, who ranks third in the PSAC with an ERA of 1.71 and also led the conference with 20 wins in the circle, plus 146 strikeouts while holding teams to a .215 batting average.

Scouting (E3) Kutztown: The Golden Bears (28-22, 22-10) feature a pair of All-PSAC East honorees as senior Sarah Harvey was tabbed to the First team followed by Haley Gravish, who was named to the All-PSAC East Second Team. Harvey posted a .392 batting average with 36 RBI, 56 hits with a 1.044 OPS. In the circle, Harvey tallied a 3.67 ERA with 53 strikeouts and a 6-5 record. Gravish ranked fifth in the league with a 1.94 ERA while notching 108 strikeouts in 144.2 innings.

Scouting (E4) Shippensburg: The Red Raiders (27-18, 19-13) boasted a team batting average of .297 that ranked seventh in the league with 26 home runs. Shippensburg features the PSAC East Athlete of the Year in graduate student Hannah Marsteller and the PSAC East Freshman of the Year in Caitlyn Martell. Marsteller recorded the fourth-best batting average with a .440 clip in addition to pacing the conference with a 1.430 OPS. She also tied for first with 14 home runs along with 46 RBI. Martell notched a .358 batting average with 54 hits, four home runs and 22 RBI.

Scouting (E5) Bloomsburg: The Huskies (21-31, 15-17) lineup will feature All-PSAC East First Team honoree Emma Little and All-PSAC East Second Team selection Callie Sowers. Little posted a .324 batting average, .869 OPS with 45 hits and 32 RBI. Sowers ranked among the top-10 in the PSAC with a 2.77 ERA and a record of 14-15 while tossing a league-leading 23 complete games. She also paced the league with 227 strikeouts and held opponents to a .239 batting average.

Looks Ahead: The winner of the PSAC Tournament will receive an automatic qualifier (AQ) to the 2023 NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tournament. The champions of 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.

2023 PSAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Wednesday, May 3
Game 1: (W5) Gannon vs. (E4) Shippensburg, 10 a.m.
Game 2: (W4) California vs. (E5) Bloomsburg, 10 a.m.
Game 3: (W3) Slippery Rock vs. (E2) East Stroudsburg, 12:30 p.m.
Game 4: (W2) Mercyhurst vs. (E3) Kutztown, 12:30 p.m.
Game 5: (W1) Seton Hill vs. Winner of Game 1, 3 p.m.
Game 6: (E1) West Chester vs. Winner of Game 2, 3 p.m.
Game 7: Loser of Game 2 vs. Loser of Game 5, 5:30 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 8: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 6, 5:30 p.m. (loser eliminated)
 
Thursday, May 4
Game 9: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5, 10 a.m.
Game 10: Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 4, 10 a.m.
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 3, 12:30 p.m.
Game 12: Loser of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 8, 12:30 p.m.
Game 13: Loser of Game 10 vs. Winner of Game 11, 3 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 14: Winner of Game 12 vs. Loser of Game 9, 3 p.m. (loser eliminated)
 
Friday, May 5
Game 15: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10, 10 a.m.
Game 16: Winner of Game 13 vs. Winner of Game 14, 12:30 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 17: Loser of Game 15 vs. Winner of Game 16, 3 p.m. (loser eliminated)
 
Saturday, May 6
Game 18: Winner of Game 15 vs. Winner of Game 17, 11 a.m.
IF necessary, Game 19 Game 18 winner vs. Game 18 loser, 1 p.m.