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Bloomsburg, West Chester and California Advance to Championship Series of PSAC Softball Tournament

Sunday, April 18, 2010 9:21 PM

Championship Series Schedule  |  Bloomsburg Site

(at Bloomsburg)
Friday, April 30
Game 1 - (2) California vs. (3) West Chester, 11:00 a.m.
Game 2 - (1) Bloomsburg vs. Game 1 loser, 1:00 p.m.
Game 3 - (1) Bloomsburg vs. Game 1 winner, 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 1
On Saturday, if all three teams remain after Friday, lots will be drawn to determine which teams play in Game 4 and which is byed to Game 5. If two teams remain after Day 1, the two teams will play 1 or 2 games to determine champion, depending on need in the double-elimination format. Game times for Saturday are scheduled for 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. (if necessary).

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Host California's Page
Host Bloomsburg's Page
Host West Chester's Page

IUP, West Chester and Kutztown, each needing to win their first games on Saturday to force second games against California, Lock Haven and Bloomsburg, respectively, did just that as the Crimson Hawks, Golden Rams and Golden Bears all avoided elimination by defeating the three aforementioned schools on Saturday morning. In the deciding games, California and Bloomsburg bounced back to defeat IUP and Kutztown, while West Chester defeated Lock Haven again to advance, making it all three number one seeds advancing to the second weekend for the first time under the current format of the PSAC Tournament, which is in its second year.

Bloomsburg will host the three-team tournament next Friday and Saturday.


Saturday Results/Schedule

IUP 14, California 9

California outhit IUP 15-13 but the Vulcans stranded 12 runners on base while IUP took advantage of its opportunities, leaving just five on base as the Crimson Hawks outslugged the Vulcans 14-9 in the first game Saturday to force a deciding second game between the two teams.

Dee Eppinger hit two home runs, had five RBI and scored four times to lead the IUP offense. Marissa Leslie drove in three runs on a seventh-inning bases-clearing double that was the big knock in a six-run seventh inning for IUP. The teams had been tied 8-8 before IUP broke it open in the seventh. Three Vulcans had three-hit games. Julie Mackenzie went 3-for-5 with five RBI while Alyson Johnson drove in three and also went 3-for-5.

California 4, IUP 0 (IUP eliminated)

Danielle Easton's three-run home run in the top of the seventh broke a scoreless tie and sent California to the PSAC championship series next weekend as the Vulcans bounced back from its defeat in the first game on Saturday to top IUP 4-0 in the second game. Amanda Wallace drove in another run in the seventh to account for all of Cal's offense. The Vulcans received most of its offensive production from the top of the order, as the top three hitters in Cal's lineup combined to go 7-for-11 with three RBI and three runs scored.

Maria Greco bounced back on the mound from a tough outing in the first game and tossed a complete game three-hit shutout, striking out seven and walking just one. She outdualed IUP ace Erin Holloway, who aside from the seventh inning allowed just six hits and no runs. For the game, she struck out 10 and walked four.


West Chester 5, Lock Haven 4

Sam Ingersoll's two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh erased a one-run deficit and gave West Chester a 5-4 win over Lock Haven to force a second game between the two teams on Saturday afternoon. With the Lady Eagles leading by one and needing three outs to eliminate the Golden Rams, Evelyn Anderson singled to lead off the inning and then Ingersoll following with the game-winning homer.

The Golden Rams had a balanced hit attack as eight of their nine starters had hits. Brooke Muth, who had two hits at the plate, picked up the win in relief on the mound for West Chester, allowing two runs on four hits in 4.1 innings of relief. Amanda Gutmaker drove in two runs for Lock Haven.

West Chester 5, Lock Haven 4 (Lock Haven eliminated)

Lock Haven took a 4-0 lead after three innings but West Chester scored three run in the top of the sixth to move within one and then scored twice more in the top of the seventh to take a 5-4 lead and Devon Utterback worked around a one-out walk in the bottom of the seventh to retire the side and send West Chester to the championship series next weekend with another 5-4 win to eliminate the defending tournament champions Lock Haven.

After the Lady Eagles had scored all four of their runs off starter Brooke Muth, Utterback came on and blanked the Eagles for the last four innings, allowing just one hit to pick up the win. Sarah Morse got the start for Lock Haven and allowed three runs, just one of which was earned, over the first 5.2 innings. Becca Bailey came on and got out of the sixth with the lead still intact but then gave up a leadoff home run to Nicole Cruts in the seventh and then Sam Ingersoll gave the Rams the lead with an RBI single.


Kutztown 10, Bloomsburg 3

Kutztown took advance of four Bloomsburg errors, which account for half of their runs (5) and combined that with 13 hits to top Bloomsburg 10-3 to force a second game.

Heather Hannum hit a grand slam, which was part of a five-run first inning for Kutztown. All five runs in the inning were unearned, as an error prolonged the innning. That would be all the Golden Bears would need in the game. Monica Glomb pitched six scoreless innings out of the bullpen to pick up the win, allowing just one unearned run. Bloomsburg's Shavaun Fisher allowed just one earned run but gave up six overall runs on seven hits to take the loss.

Bloomsburg 7, Kutztown 5 (Kutztown eliminated)

Kutztown raced out to a 5-1 lead after three innings but Bloomsburg came back with a six-run fourth inning and Shavaun Fisher blanked the Golden Bears for the final four innings, with only an intentional walk separating her from setting the side down in order in each of the last four innings as Bloomsburg rebounded with a 7-5 win over Kutztown to advance to the championship series next weekend. The Huskies will host California and West Chester in the three-team tournament.

Nikki Shiko, Emily Young and Mandy Koch each had two RBI while Danielle Lazorka and Casey Massimini each had three hits for the Huskies. Katie Lynch drove in a pair for Kutztown, including one on a solo home run in the first inning.

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Lock Haven, California and Bloomsburg each went 2-0 on Friday as they eliminated Mercyhurst, East Stroudsburg and Edinboro, respectively, on the first day of the PSAC softball championship.

Friday Results/Recaps

West Chester Site
Game 1 - Lock Haven 6, Mercyhurst 5 (8)

Mercyhurst tied the game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh but Lock Haven went ahead with an RBI single by Jess Sefter in the top of the eighth and then Becca Bailey retired the side in order in the bottom of the eighth as Lock Haven topped Mercyhurst 6-5 in the first game at the West Chester site.

Erin Clary homered went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI while Brittany Pataky also homered and drove in two to lead the Lady Eagles. Jen Bower led homered for Mercyhurst and went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI while Kara Gorgos also had a pair or RBI for the Lakers. It was a back-and-forth game as Lock Haven took a 2-0 lead in the third on Clary's two-run shot before the Lakers tied it in the fourth on Gorgos' two-run single. Lock Haven took a 5-2 lead in the sixth, highlighted by Pataky's two-run homer before Mercyhurst came right back in its half of the sixth to cut it to 5-4 on back-to-back homers by Bower and Amber Rapose. The Lakers tied it in the bottom of the seventh by an RBI single by Bower before Lock Haven went back ahead in the top of the eighth. Bailey, who struck out 16 and walked just one, worked just her second 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the eighth to put the game away.

Game 2 - West Chester 14, Mercyhurst 3 (5) (Mercyhurst eliminated)

Erin MacNamee hit two home runs and drove in eight runs to key a 13-hit attack as West Chester eliminated Mercyhurst with a 14-3 win in five innings. The Golden Rams jumped on the Lakers early, scoring four runs in the first and three in the second to take a 7-1 lead after two frames. West Chester then put the game away with a seven-run fourth inning.

MacNamee went 3-for-4 with three runs in addition to her eight RBI. Evelyn Anderson and Samantha Ingersoll each scored three runs for the Rams. Brooke Muth earned the win on the mound for West Chester, allowing two earned runs in five innings.

Game 3 - Lock Haven 4, West Chester 0

Just hours after its hot bats eliminated Mercyhurst with 14 runs, West Chester's bats were silenced by Lock Haven ace Becca Bailey, who hurled a complete game two-hit shutout to lift Lock Haven to a 4-0 victory and put the defending PSAC champions on the verge of advancing to the next round. Bailey walked two and struck out eight in the win, while the Lady Eagles scored all four of their runs in the first inning.

Lock Haven batted around in the first inning as West Chester ace Brooke Muth did not make it out of the first inning as she gave up all four runs. She was relieved by Devon Utterback, who pitched the remainder of the game and despite walking seven did not give up any runs, but Lock Haven would not need any more offense for the remainder of the game, as Bailey only allowed one West Chester runner to make it as far as second base, and that came on a throwing error.

Lock Haven and West Chester will meet again tomorrow at noon. The Lady Eagles need just one victory to advance onto next weekend's finals while West Chester will need to win two games to advance.



Bloomsburg Site
Game 1 - Kutztown 4, Edinboro 3 (8)

A game-winning home run by Krista Tedjeske in the bottom of the eighth inning gave Kutztown a 4-3 win over Edinboro in the first game at the Bloomsburg site. Kutztown led 3-1 after five innings but Edinboro scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to force extra frames.

Tedjeske went 3-for-4 with three RBI to lead the Golden Bears. Kari Falk knocked in a pair for the Fighting Scots. Monica Glomb picked up the win in relief for Kutztown, pitching the final 5.2 innings in relief of starter Katlin Arbogast. Beth Mullins took the hard-luck loss for Edinboro despite giving up just two earned runs as two of three Kutztown runs scored in the three-run third were unearned due to an error. Down to their final out in the top of the seventh, Edinboro tied the game on a two-out homer by Aimee Sisson to force extras.

Game 2 - Bloomsburg 4, Edinboro 0 (Edinboro eliminated)

Shavaun Fisher pitched a complete game two-hit shutout, striking out 11 and walking just one, to lead Bloomsburg to a 4-0 win over Edinboro, eliminating the Fighting Scots. The Huskies did all of their scoring in the first three innings, scoring one in the first, two in the second and one in the third, although all of their runs were unearned, as the Huskies took advance of four Edinboro errors.

Nikki Shiko went 3-for-4 with a run for Bloomsburg while Lori Neyhard went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI. Fisher retired 13 of the final 14 hitters she faced as Edinboro never threatened as they did not advance a single runner past first base.

Game 3 - Bloomsburg 3, Kutztown 2

Bloomsburg raced out to a 3-0 lead after four innings and then withstood a Kutztown comeback attempt as the Golden Bears scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings but were retired in order in the seventh as the Huskies held on for the victory. With the win, Bloomsburg is on the verge of advancing to the PSAC championship series for the second straight year.

Fisher picked up the win in the second straight game on the afternoon, allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out six. Katlin Arbogast was tagged with the tough-luck loss for Kutztown, as she allowed just six hits and two earned runs. The Huskies took advantage of an error by Arbogast in the third inning to score their first run and then added two more in the fourth. Heather Hannum hit a solo home run in the sixth for Kutztown to pull them within one but they Bears fell just short. Nikki Shiko and Danielle Lazorka each went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run while Hannum had a pair of hits for the Bears.



California Site
Game 1 - IUP 12, East Stroudsburg 6

Eight of IUP's nine starters in the starting lineup recorded hits while three Crimson Hawks recorded multiple RBI as the Crimson Hawks rode a 12-hit attack and overcame three home runs by East Stroudsburg to defeat the Warriors 12-6 in the first game at the California site.

Alicea Ashe, Rachel Gieringer and Brittany Zanzalari each homered for the Warriors, while Kristen Tunno homered and scored three times for the Crimson Hawks. Megan McCormick and Stefanie Poates each went 2-for-4 with two RBI for IUP. The Crimson Hawks jumped on the Warriors with a four-run first after the Warriors had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the inning on Gieringer's solo home run. IUP took a 5-1 lead with a single run in the second and never looked back, extending its lead to 6-1 before East Stroudsburg came back with two run in the fifth. IUP answered back with two of its own in the fifth before answering the Warriors' three sixth-inning runs with four more of its own in the bottom half.

Game 2 - California 7, East Stroudsburg 3 (East Stroudsburg eliminated)

Trailing 3-1 entering the sixth inning, California scored six runs in the sixth, highlighted by a three-run homer by Julia Mueller, en route to a 7-3 win over East Stroudsburg to eliminate the Warriors. Other than an RBI single by Kristen McKenzie in the second, Cal's bats were quieted by ESU starter Jackie Bataglino up until the sixth, as the Vulcans had five of their nine hits in that frame. In addition to Muellers' homer, they also got RBI doubles from Danielle Easton and Amanda Wallace.

Lauren Shaheen and Maria Greco combined on a three-hitter for Cal. Other than the three-run fifth inning for the Warriors, ESU had only one other baserunner in the entire game. Greco came on to the get the final out of the fifth inning and then set down the Warrios in order in both the sixth and seventh innings to preserve the win.

Game 3 - California 7, IUP 2

In a near mirror-image of its first game of the day, California scored six runs in the sixth inning to break open a close game and the Vulcans then finished off IUP despite allowing two runs in the seventh and defeated the Crimson Hawks 7-2. With the win, Cal moves within one win of advancing onto the championship round of the PSAC tournament after the Vulcans fell one game shy of advancing last year.
The Vulcans got a two-run double from Kayleigh Braim and a three-run homer from Danielle Easton in the sixth inning. IUP was blanked for six innings by Lauren Shaheen before Dee Eppinger hit a two-run homer in the seventh.

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Lock Haven, Pa. - West Chester, Bloomsburg and California have earned the No. 1 seeds and the right to host the first rounds of the PSAC softball tournament next weekend. A total of nine teams will compete for the PSAC softball championship beginning this Friday, April 23 and continuing on through Saturday, April 24. The first round is comprised of three pools of three teams each. The winners of each pool then advance onto the final round the following weekend, April 30-May 1. All rounds are in a double elimination format.

Although there are still a handful of divisional games remaining on the schedule, none of them will affect the final seedings. West Chester earned the top seed in the East, winning the tiebreaker with Kutztown based on its 4-0 record against third-place East Stroudsburg while Kutztown went 2-2 against the Warriors. East Stroudsburg got the No. 3 seed. Bloomsburg enters its final divisional games against IUP this week undefeated in Central Division play and it earns the first seed regardless of the result. The Crimson Hawks earn the No. 2 seed while four-time defending PSAC champion and defending national champion Lock Haven is the No. 3 seed. California is the No. 1 seed in the PSAC West for the second straight year while No. 2 Mercyhurst makes its first-ever appearance in the PSAC Tournament. No. 3 Edinboro rounds out the field.


Seedings and pairings are listed below.


Eastern Division
1. West Chester
2. Kutztown
3. East Stroudsburg

Central Division
1. Bloomsburg
2. IUP
3. Lock Haven