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College Softball

NFCA LEADOFF CLASSIC-DIII

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by jonriv » Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:37 am

Division III Leadoff Classic

March 2-4 | Lincoln Park | Tucson, Ariz.

Schedule (PDF) | Tournament Central

32 Participating Teams

Babson, Berry, Birmingham-Southern, Central, Christopher Newport, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Coe, DePauw, East Texas Baptist, Fontbonne, George Fox, Illinois Wesleyan, Linfield, Manhattanville, Messiah, MIT, Moravian, Otterbein, Pacific, Pacific Lutheran, Rochester, St. Catherine, St. John Fisher, St. Thomas, Texas Lutheran, Thomas More, Trine, Virginia Wesleyan, Whitworth, William Paterson, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wittenberg
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by jonriv » Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:38 am

From Babson Softball

No. 24 Softball at the NCFA Leadoff Classic
Friday, March 2 vs. No. 11 Christopher Newport, 12 p.m. | vs. No. 6 Trine, 2:30pm
Saturday, March 3 vs. No. 20 Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 5 p.m. | vs. No. 21 Central (Iowa), 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 4 vs. No. 9 Texas Lutheran, 11 a.m. | vs. William Paterson, 1:30 p.m. (all times eastern)
Lincoln Park Field – Tucson, Ariz.

THE SETUP
The 24th-ranked Babson College softball team opens the 2018 season with six games over three days at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Tucson, Ariz, beginning on Friday. The Beavers, who are competing in the event for the first time since 2008 and traveling to Arizona for the first time since 2007, will face five nationally-ranked foes to start the year.

SERIES HISTORY
vs. Christopher Newport: first meeting
vs. Trine: first meeting
vs. Wisconsin-Oshkosh: first meeting
vs. Central (Iowa): Babson suffered an 11-2 loss in six innings to the Dutch in the only other meeting between the teams at the 2007 NFCA Leadoff Classic in Panama City Beach, Fla.
vs. Texas Lutheran: first meeting
vs. William Paterson: first meeting

SCOUTING THE CAPTAINS
No. 11 Christopher Newport (3-1) is coming off a doubleheader sweep of Division II Davis & Elkins on February 24. First-year Patty Maye Ohanian is 5-for-11 (.455) with a double, a homer and six RBI, while sophomores Tara Deck and Liz Andrews are both hitting .400 and have combined for three doubles and eight runs batted in over the Captains' first four games. Classmates Aubrey Bates and Laura Kate Moss boast a 0.58 ERA and have recorded 24 strikeouts in 21 innings this spring. Senior Rachael Payne, who is on the national player of the year watch list, is one of 14 returners for a team that went 34-10 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the 11th year in a row in 2017.

SCOUTING THE THUNDER
No. 6 Trine (0-0) returns 14 players from a squad that went 37-10 and reached the College World Series for the second time in school history last spring. All-conference and all-region senior Kaylee Fox is on the national player of the year watch list after finishing among the Division III leaders with 16 home runs in 2016. Sophomore Makenna Hartline earned all-region honors after belting 11 homers, while classmate Danielle Ray finished 18-5 with 2.06 ERA and 164 strikeouts in 163.1 innings as a rookie.

SCOUTING THE TITANS
No. 20 Wisconsin-Oshkosh (4-0) enters the weekend coming off a sweep of Lakeland and Marian on February 25. Sophomore Amanda McIlhany is 6-for-10 with four RBI and all-region junior Abby Menting has gone 7-for-12 (.583) at the plate with four extra-base hits and four RBI this season. Sophomore Claire Petrus and junior Bailey Smaney boast a 0.91 ERA and have struck out 19 over 22 innings of work. The Titans return 13 players from a team that went 33-13 and fell to Trine in the NCAA super regionals.

SCOUTING THE DUTCH
No. 21 Central (0-0) returns a pair of all-region selections among six position starters after reaching the NCAA Tournament for the 28th time in 31 years last spring. Sophomore Sara Tallman batted .408 with seven doubles and 24 stolen bases, and senior Paige Dickel hit .336 with 13 extra-base hits and 22 RBI in 2017. JuniorMariah Fritz finished 10-5 with a 1.56 ERA and two shutouts for a pitching staff that lost its top hurler to graduation. The Dutch, which open the weekend against Trine and Christopher Newport, finished with an overall mark of 32-10 last year.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
No. 9 Texas Lutheran (2-0) shutout Huston-Tillotson in both ends of a season-opening doubleheader back on February 10. Senior All-American Maitlin Raycroft struck out 16 and tossed her ninth career no-hitter in the opening game of the twin bill for the Bulldogs. Texas Lutheran returns 17 players from a team that went 38-6 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth year in a row last spring. Senior Kyla Lockley hit .363 with 12 doubles, 29 stolen bases and 43 runs scored, while classmate Kelsi McEachern batted .330 with 13 extra-base hits and drove in 33 runs in 2017. Raycroft went 21-3 with a 1.29 ERA and 219 strikeouts in 140.2 innings in the circle.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
William Paterson (0-0) returns 12 players from a team that went 28-13 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years last spring. Junior Christine Griffith was named to the preseason national player of the year watch list after batting .430 with 22 extra-base hits and 33 runs batted in last season, while Kara Molnar hit .346 with seven doubles, seven triples and RBI. The Pioneers, who lost their top two pitchers to graduation, bring back sophomore Andee Lupica, who was 1-0 with a 3.29 ERA in seven relief appearances in 2017.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
No. 24 Babson (0-0) enters the season with 13 players from a team that went 33-16 and reached the NCAA super regionals for the first time in school history last spring. Junior Josephine Mares hit .348 with 11 extra-base hits and 13 RBI, classmate Annie Quine batted .323 with six doubles and 20 runs batted in, and fellow junior Ashley Tango smacked a team-high 11 doubles to go along with 23 RBI. Senior Ali Reilly went 17-7 with 2.50 ERA and eight shutouts in 173.2 innings, while sophomore Brooke Stock was 16-9 with a 2.76 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 167.1 innings as a rookie. In addition to last year's NCAA Tournament success, the Beavers won their first NEWMAC Tournament championship since 2006 with three straight elimination-game victories.

POLL PRESENCE
The Green and White, which was ranked 25th in the NFCA Division III preseason poll back on February 8, enters the season in the top 25 for the first time since 2014. Babson is currently one of just three New England programs in the national rankings along with No. 4 Williams and No. 7 Amherst.

STREAKING INTO 2018
Quine enters the season having reached base in six consecutive games, while Tango and senior Samantha Smith both own a base hit in three straight outings. Additionally, Reilly won her final eight decisions in 2017.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Beavers batted .550 (61-for-111) with runners on third base and less than two outs last season.
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by jonriv » Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:45 am

No. 18 Greyhounds Set to Begin 2018 Season at NFCA DIII Leadoff Classic in Arizona on March 2

The Greyhounds celebrate a home run by Lauren Goetz '20 during the 2017 season at Blue & Grey Field. The Greyhounds celebrate a home run by Lauren Goetz '20 during the 2017 season at Blue & Grey Field.
Feb 27, 2018
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College softball squad is ready to begin its 2018 schedule on Saturday, February 24 with a non-conference doubleheader at Gwynedd Mercy University before the team heads to Arizona for 12 games including six contests versus some of the top teams in the country in the 2018 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Leadoff Classic the first weekend in March.

Head Coach John Byrne begins his 25th season leading the Greyhounds with 14 letterwinners and 10 starters from last year's 36-6 squad that participated in the program's 23rd straight postseason appearance.

Once again this spring, the key to Moravian's success will be in the circle where coach Byrne returns seniors Amanda Carisone and Josie Novak, who both earned All-Conference honors in 2017 with Novak being named to the NFCA All-America Second Team and Carisone adding a spot on the All-Atlantic Region Third Team. Carisone posted an 18-3 record last spring with a 1.03 ERA, three shutouts and 77 strikeouts in 128.2 innings while Novak was also 18-3 with two saves, a 0.77 ERA, 13 shutouts and 144 strikeouts in 135.2 innings of action. Sophomore Paige Lesher and freshman Meghan Bauer look to contribute innings and add depth to the staff this spring.

At the plate, senior All-Conference catcher Janae Matos returns after being named to the NFCA All-America First Team and being selected as the 2017 Diamond Sports NCAA Division III Catcher of the Year. In 2017, Matos hit .523 with 56 hits, 23 runs, 22 doubles, three homers and 45 RBIs while leading the team with 203 putouts.


The Greyhounds return four other All-Conference players in junior shortstop Kaela Kane, junior center fielder Kat Spilman, sophomore utility player Lauren Goetz and sophomore right fielder Emily Stanilious. Spilman hit .400 last season with 48 hits, 32 runs, four doubles, a triple, five home runs and 19 RBIs while Kane added 35 hits, 26 runs, four doubles, a triple, 14 RBIs and seven stolen bases. Stanilious posted a .324 average with 23 hits, 18 runs, two doubles, a triple, a homer, 10 RBIs and eight stolen bases in her debut season while Goetz added a .307 average, 27 hits, 16 runs, eight doubles, a home run and 17 RBIs.

Joining Spilman and Stanilious in the outfield are senior Jackie Marshall, junior Ashley Gindle and sophomore Samantha O'Keefe. Goetz and freshman utility player Shannon Brogan will both challenge for playing time in the outfield, the infield and as a designated player.

Coach Byrne also returns depth in the infield led by junior third baseman Madison Shaneberger, who had 18 its, 16 runs, five doubles, three homers and 12 RBIs, and senior first baseman/catcher Jean Markovic, who added 14 hits, six runs, four RBIs, a home run and seven RBIs. Junior infielder Julia DeMarco has the ability to play several positions and had eight hits, 10 runs, a double, a homer and two RBIs last spring, and the Greyhounds look for freshmen Maddisen Bieber and Maura Kane as senior Megan Taylor to challenge for playing time.

Matos will likely spend most of the season behind the play but will be given time off by Markovic and freshman Brooke Wehr, who also has the ability to see time in the infield.

Moravian enters the 2018 season as the favorite in the Landmark Conference Preseason Poll, and the squad was also ranked No. 18 in the NFCA Division III Preseason Top 25 Poll.
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by jonriv » Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:47 am

MIT Softball Unveils 2018 Schedule; Engineers to Open at NFCA Leadoff Classic
MIT Softball Unveils 2018 Schedule; Engineers to Open at NFCA Leadoff Classic
Feb 14, 2018
Cambridge, Mass. (February 14) – The MIT softball program has announced its slate of games for the 2018 season, which will feature 38 contests including six at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Leadoff Classic, 12 home games at Briggs Field and 18 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) games. The Engineers will be under the guidance of eighth-year head coach Jen Williams.

The Engineers will open the season at the NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic in Tucson, Arizona, which will take place from March 2-4. On the trip west, MIT will face No. 8 St. Catherine, which competed and finished seventh in the NCAA Division III Championship in Oklahoma City last season, No. 18 Moravian, Wittenberg, Birmingham Southern, William Paterson and DePauw. Over the course of the season, the Engineers will face nine different teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year.

When MIT returns east, the Engineers will travel to Simmons College on March 17 for a doubleheader before opening their home schedule with a twin bill against reigning Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) champion Johnson & Wales on March 22. Two days later, MIT will open NEWMAC play with two games at Wheaton College before traveling out of region for contests against Rowan University (March 26) and Manhattanville (March 27).

When the calendar flips to April, MIT will travel to Tufts for two games against the three-time NCAA champions on the third and return to its NEWMAC schedule with home games against Wellesley and Springfield on April 13 and 14, respectively, with the 14th expected to be Senior Day. Prior to the NEWMAC postseason tournament, the Engineers will play at WPI on April 21 and at home against Salve Regina on April 24 to round out their schedule.

Returning to the squad in March will be senior captain NFCA All-New England First Team honoree Jasmin Joseph (Woodland Hills, Calif.) as well as junior pitcher Ravenne Nasser (Methuen, Mass.), who was named to the NFCA All-New England Second Team a year ago. The Engineers will also introduce two freshmen to the program this spring including pitcher Colleen Campbell (Snoqualmie, Wash.) and infielder Pheobe Li (Morganville, N.J.
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by jonriv » Sat Mar 03, 2018 10:45 am

No. 24 Softball Splits with No. 11 Christopher Newport and No. 6 Trine on Opening Day of NFCA Leadoff Classic


TUCSON, Ariz.—The 24th-ranked Babson College softball team opened the 2018 season by splitting with a pair of nationally-ranked opponents on the first day of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Leadoff Classic on Friday afternoon. The Beavers defeated 11th-ranked Christopher Newport, 6-4, in their first game of the day before falling to No. 6 Trine University, 3-2, in game two.

GAME ONE: Babson 6, Christopher Newport 4
Sophomore Jacqueline Paul (Burlington, N.J.) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and senior Samantha Smith (Hillsborough, N.J.) doubled and drove in a pair of runs to help the Green and White win its season opener for the second year in a row. Senior Ali Reilly (New Canaan, Conn.) went the distance for the Beavers (1-1), allowing three earned runs on six hits while striking out five and walking three.

Sophomore Liz Andrews (Chesapeake, Va.) was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI for the Captains. Classmate Laura Kate Moss (Mechanicsville, Va.) suffered the loss to fall to 1-2 on the year after giving up three runs on seven hits in five innings.

Reilly worked out of a jam in the first down just a run and Babson pulled even in the fourth when junior Annie Quine (Santa Monica, Calif.) scored on sophomore Annie Mitchell's (Rehoboth, Mass.) two-out single. The Beavers went ahead for good an inning later as sophomore Victoria Casey (Emerson, N.J.) plated senior Nicole Civello (Huntington Station, N.Y. with a single, and Smith followed with a two-out RBI double to make it 3-1.

Christopher Newport (0-1) cut its deficit in half in the bottom half of the fifth, but the Beavers tacked on three more runs despite getting just one hit in the seventh. Sophomore Tori Roche (Andover, Mass.) scored on an error and Paul followed with a two-out, two-run single to push the margin to 6-2.

GAME TWO: Trine 3, Babson 2
The sixth-ranked Thunder, which is coming off a trip to the College World Series last season, rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh inning to scratch out a one-run victory over the Beavers.

Sophomore Brooke Stock (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) struck out 12 while giving up five hits and four walks in a complete-game effort for Babson. Junior Josephine Mares (Houston, Texas) tripled and scored, while Mitchell and Quine each drove in a run in the loss.

Sophomore Makenna Hartline (Niles, Mich.) smacked a three-run homer and senior Erica Robles (Long Beach, Calif.) went 3-for-4 with a double for Trine (2-0). Sophomore Danielle Ray (Hamilton, Ohio) earned her first victory of the year after allowing five hits and three walks over seven innings.

Mares tripled to start the bottom of the first and scored two batters later on a single by Quine. The Green and White went down in order in the second and third innings, but doubled its advantage in the fourth when Mitchell drove in junior Ashley Tango (Reading, Mass.) with a two-out single.

Stock, who struck out the side in three of the first four innings, worked around an error in the fourth and back-to-back singles to start the fifth. First-year Kennedy Baugh (Walton, Ky.) walked to lead off the seventh, Robles singled to put runners on the corners, and Hartline followed with a three-run blast to give the Thunder a 3-2 advantage.

Casey drew a two-out walk in the last of the seventh, but Ray got a ground ball to third base to end the game.

Babson returns to action on Saturday when it takes on Wisconsin-Oshkosh at 5 p.m. ET and Central (Iowa) at 7:30 p.m. ET.

TOURNAMENT NOTES
• Friday's matchups were the first in program history with both Christopher Newport and Trine.
• Reilly has won nine straight decisions going back to April of last season, while Quine has now reached base in eight consecutive games going back to last year.
• Tango extended her hitting streak to five games with a single in both outings.
• The Beavers are 12-7 going back to the start of last year in 1- and 2-run game
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