Kutztown University will serve as host for the 2007 NCAA Division II Mid-Atlantic Regional Softball Tournament Thursday-Monday,  May 10-14.

         A total of 64 teams were selected to participate in the 2007 NCAA Division II Softball Championship with eight teams competing at eight regional sites in double-elimination tournaments to determine the final eight championship participants. The eight regional championship winners will advance to the Division II championship May 17-21 at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio to be hosted by Ashland University.

All of the games of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament will be played at Kutztown University’s North Campus Field.  Lock Haven is the #1 seed and Kutztown is the #2 seed.   Bloomsburg us the #3 seed while East Stroudsburg is #4.  Shippensburg burg is #5, N.C. Central #6, Edinboro #7 and Bowie State #8.

Ticket prices are $7 for adults, $3 for students. 

Bloomsburg (35-13): The Huskies, ranked 19th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) National Poll, will be making a record 25th consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships and will look to advance to the national championship round for the first time since 2005. Last season, the Huskies fell in the Mid Atlantic Regional final to eventual national champion Lock Haven. The Huskies have participated in every NCAA Division II tournament since 1983 and have the most wins of any Division II school with 71.  Huskies head coach Jan Hutchinson, recently won her 1,600th victory between softball and field hockey.  Offensively, Bloomsburg is led by freshman Nikki Shiko who is batting .382 with four homers and 12 RBI. Sophomore shortstop/pitcher Tara Reed is second at .366 with a team-high 14 doubles to go with three homers and 19 RBI. Ashley Lynn leads the pitchers with a mark of 20-5 and a 1.24 ERA. Lynn has fanned 197 in 153 innings and opponents are hitting just .201 off the junior.

Bowie State (27-7): Bowie State will be making their first appearance at the NCAA Regionals. The Lady Bulldogs, coached by Fred Burroughs, enter the tournament winners of their last 20 games and as Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Champions. On offense Bowie State is led by Tiffany Toney who is batting .491 with three home runs and 35 RBI and Tricia Corbin who is batting .450 with four home runs and 47 RBI.  Jillian Willey and Heather Enders have started all but two games in the pitcher’s circle this season.  Willey has a 2.17 ERA with 109 strikeouts in 96.2 innings.  Enders has struck out 96 in 87 innings with a 2.41 ERA.

East Stroudsburg (26-26): The Warriors will be making only their third NCAA Regional appearance, following trips in 1982 and 2006.  Last year, ESU appeared in the NCAA Regional for the first time since 1982 as the No. 6 seed and defeated No. 3 Kutztown, 3-1, in the opening round.  The Warriors are coached by first year head coach Jill Fuduric.  ESU is led by a pair of seniors in the middle infield in shortstop Jen Veronisi and second baseman Shannon Dietrich. Veronisi, hitting .313 this season, leads the Warriors with 28 RBI and 29 runs, and ranks in the top 10 in the country with 40 stolen bases. Dietrich has team-highs with a .331 batting average and a .432 on-base percentage in 2007.  In the circle, senior Crissy Wontroba and junior Kristen Halvorsen have started all but two games for the Warriors. Wontroba is 14-8 with a 3.06 ERA and 109strikeouts, while Halvorsen has posted a 2.93 ERA and 123 strikeouts is 11-14 on the season.

Edinboro (19-20): Edinboro will be making their first ever trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament.  Edinboro is under the direction of head coach Dan Gierlak.  The Fighting Scots will rely on the left arm of Vanessa Rose. The junior has 13-14 record with a 1.97 ERA. In 174 innings, she has allowed 151 hits and 19 walks with 197 strikeouts. She has already set school records for innings pitched and strikeouts.  2B Dana Webb leads the Scots with a .359 average with three home runs and 24 RBIs.  SS Katelyn Gurgiolo is next at .333 and has a team-high 14 stolen bases.  3B Danielle Arno is only hitting .264, but has set the single-season record for home runs with eight, and has 24 RBIs. 

Kutztown (42-16):  KU, the 14th ranked team in Division II, comes into the tournament with a record of 42-16.  Under 20th-year head coach Judy Lawes, The Golden Bears won its first out-right PSAC East Regular Season title but fell to Lock Haven in the PSAC championship game last weekend.  As a team, the Golden Bears are batting .354 with 64 home runs.  Kutztown features a potent offense led by sophomore infielder Steph Denlinger. Denlinger is batting .496 and has set PSAC records in home runs (23) and RBI (69).  Center fielder Adriane Willmer is hitting .416 with 62 runs scored and 21 RBI.  Utility player Ashley Fitzgerald hits .396 with a KU record 20 doubles, 10 home runs and 59 RBI.  3B Krista Cameron is hitting .357 with 44 runs, 18 doubles, 16 homers and 61 RBI.  Freshman pitcher Kaitlin Arbogast is 27-8.  She has struck out a school record 274 batters in 242.1 innings and has a 1.82 earned-run average.

Lock Haven (45-3):  LHU, ranked second in Division II, is the defending Mid-Atlantic Region and NCAA Champion. The Lady Eagles, 45-3, also captured their second-straight PSAC championship last week. Sophomore pitcher Kristen Erb has been dominant, posting a 32-2 record and a 0.42 ERA, while striking out 229 batters in 211.2 innings pitched.  Erb was named the PSAC tournament MVP, after pitching 29 innings in three LHU wins on May 5.  Sophomore 3B Sarah Norris leads the Lady Eagles with 11 home runs, reaching double digits in that category for the second year in a row. Second baseman Devin Glezen leads the offense in batting average (.362) while hitting five home runs and 24 RBIs.  Shortstop Ilia Lopez has 10 home runs.

North Carolina Central (31-11): North Carolina Central University will participate in the NCAA Division II Softball Regional Championship for the second straight year and second time in school history.  NCCU qualified for the regional tournament by receiving an at-large bid, the first in Lady Eagles’ softball history.  NCCU made its first appearance last season, losing to national champion Lock Haven in the first round. Sophia Blue leads NCC with a .503 batting average and has 12 doubles and 46 RBI. Natasha Bailey is batting .448 with 28 RBI and 30 runs scored.  Stacey Greene has pitched 153.1 innings, striking out 128 batters.  She has a 2.51 ERA.  Kristen Schooler has a 2.62 ERA in 66.2 innings.

Shippensburg (29-22):  Ship has qualified for the NCAA regional championship for the sixth consecutive and 11th time overall.  This year will mark the first since 2003 that Shippensburg has not hosted the region championship.  The Lady Raiders are led by freshman infielder Nicole Henninger, who leads the team with a .400 batting average, 12 home runs and 47 RBI.  Dani Shields has pitched 149.1 innings for Shippensburg, striking out 203 with a 2.34 ERA.  Lori Knopf has a 2.27 ERA in 80.1 innings.