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Softball
2009 NCAA Division II Atlantic Regionals
NCAA DIVISION II
ATLANTIC REGIONAL PREVIEW
KUTZTOWN,
Pa. — The Kutztown University softball
team will be hosting the regional for the third-straight year and
make their seventh-consecutive appearance under 22nd-year head coach
Judy Lawes.
This season's Atlantic
Regional format is split up at locations of Kutztown and Lock Haven,
with four teams at each location.
In the 2008 double
elimination regional, the Golden Bears were 2-2. Both losses came at
the hands of Bloomsburg, the elimination game earned the Huskies a
trip to the regional championship.
At this season's
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships, it was
Bloomsburg again which doomed KU. Bloomsburg jumped out to a 4-0 lead
before the Golden Bears were able to get an out and went on to win
8-1 in the semifinal round.
KU and Bloomsburg could
meet again in the regional, but first the Golden Bears, seeded No.
2, will meet up with No. 7 West Chester at noon on Friday in the
first round on North Campus Field. In the regular season KU swept
all four games with a 3-1 win in each of the games at West Chester
and an 8-5 and 8-0 win at home.
Following the KU-West
Chester
game will be No. 3 Bloomsburg against No. 6 West Virginia-Wesleyan
at 2:30 p.m. on North Campus Field. This will be the first meeting
between the two teams in 2009.
As mentioned, the Golden
Bears lost in the PSAC semifinal to Bloomsburg. The teams split a
doubleheader at KU in the regular season with Bloomsburg winning the
first game 2-1 and KU winning 3-0 in game two.
KU and West Virginia-Wesleyan also did not meet during the 2009 season.
Scouting the
Golden Bears:The Golden Bears
(43-9-1) have been led offensively by the senior quartet of
Steph
Denlinger (sr. Harleysville/Souderton),
Ashley Fitzgerald (sr. Kitchener, ONT/Resurrection),
Krista
Cameron (sr. Formosa, ONT/Sacred Heart) and
Kim
Morrison (sr. Newmartket, ONT/Sir William Mulock).
Denlinger has
broken numerous offensive records this past season, while hitting
out of the three hole. The first basemen broke the NCAA Division II
career-home run record of 62 on March 14. She has since greatly
distanced herself, sitting at 77 homers entering regional play. She
broke the PSAC career RBI record of 204 and surpassed the NCAA
Division II career walks record of 145. This season, Denlinger is
leading the team in batting average (.430), hits (65), home runs
(21) and RBIs (59).
Cameron has been
a tough out this season, hitting in the fifth spot. She boasts a
.384 batting average, trailing Denlinger in hits by two, with 63.
Cameron has blasted 10 home runs and 49 RBIs, despite Denlinger and
Fitzgerald clearing the bases ahead of her. She leads the team in
doubles with 15 and triples with five.
Fitzgerald,
batting clean-up between Denlinger and Cameron has been solid with a
.367 batting average. She belted 12 home runs and knocked in 41
RBIs. Fitzgerald has added 12 doubles and scored 33 runs, and has
only struck out seven times in 150 at-bats.
Recently being
moved to the lead-off spot, Morrison has set the table for these
power hitters all season. She is batting .323, with an on-base
percentage of .355. Morrison has scored 37 runs, while hitting four
home runs and 13 RBIs.
The Golden Bear
offense is solid top-to-bottom, with
Maria
Schiavo (jr. Old Forge/Old Forge) hitting .299 on the season
and scoring 34 runs.
Krista Tedjeske (so. Summerhill/Forest Hills) has knocked in
23 RBIs, while
Heather Hannum (fr. Hatboro/Hatboro-Horsham) has knocked in
19 and add nine home runs.
The pitching staff has been
stingy all season, compiling a collective ERA of 1.83.
Katlin Arbogast (jr. Ambler/Wissahickon) leads the staff
with an ERA of 1.55. She has a 19-5 record with 17 complete games,
six of which were shutouts. In her 175 2/3 innings of work, Arbogast
has struck out 195 and limited opponents to just a .194 batting
average.
Mary Hoch (so.
Somerton/St. Hubert) trails Arbogast, but barely, with a
1.59 ERA and a 16-2 record. Hoch added six complete games, two of
them shutouts. In 96.2 innings pitched, she has 85 strikeouts and a
.209 batting average against.
Rounding out the
staff is
Monica
Glomb (so. Mars/Mars). She has a 2.68 ERA, with an 8-2
record. Glomb matches Hoch with six complete games and she adds
three shutouts, one of which was an early season no-hitter against
Lake Erie.
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No. 3
Bloomsburg University Huskies |
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34-9 Overall, 13-3 PSAC Central |
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At the Plate:
Tara Reed leads the Huskies offense in
practically all offensive categories. She has a team
best in batting average (.363), hits (45), doubles
(10), triples (3), home runs (7), RBIs (30) and runs
scored (34). Reed is tied for the team lead in
stolen bases with 13 and in second in base-on-balls
with 19.... Nikki Shiko is batting .358,
with a home run, 14 RBIs and 31 runs scored. She has
13 stolen bases on 13 attempts.... Mandy Koch
and Lacy Mauro have been key contributors to
the offense. Koch is batting .339, with 20 RBIs and
14 runs scored. Mauro is batting .291, with three
home runs, 29 RBIs and 19 runs scored.
In the
Circle: Shavaun Fisher and
Tara Reed comprise the 1-2 punch of the Huskies
pitching staff. Fisher has microscopic 0.82 ERA in
128 innings of work. She has compiled a 17-3 record
after starting in 18 games and appearing in 21.
Fisher has 136 strikeouts, .185 batting average
against. She also has seven complete-game shutouts
and totaled 16 complete games.... Reed, dangerous
with the bat, has a 1.55 ERA and a record of 14-6 in
the pitcher's circle. She 14 complete games and five
shutouts in 122 innings pitched. Reed has a staff
best 150 strikeouts and limited opponents to a .175
batting average....As a team, the Huskies have a
1.23 ERA, which ranked second in the PSAC. |
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No. 6 West Virginia-Wesleyan College Bobcats |
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42-13 Overall, 30-2 WVIAC |
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At the Plate:
The Bobcats as a team have a .341 batting average,
which led the WVIAC, are led by second baseman
Emily Neiman and her .425 batting average. She
has collected 25 doubles, eight home runs, 69 RBIs
and scored 50 runs, all of which lead the team. She
is a perfect 11-for-11 with stolen bases....
Carly McCullough has been another offense threat
with a .379 average and 11 doubles, six home runs,
40 RBIs and 43 runs scored. Stephanie Wheeler
and Stephanie St. Peter share nearly
identical batting averages with Wheeler batting
.347, while St. Peter is at .344. Wheeler has 11
doubles, four home runs, 38 RBIs and 28 runs scored.
St. Peter has six doubles, two home runs, 25
RBIs and 15 runs scored.
In the
Circle: Patricia Moreno and
Stephanie Wheeler have combined to start in all
55 Bobcat games and have each received all the
pitching decisions. Moreno has 1.33 ERA and a record
of 24-7 and four saves. She has complete games in 24
of her 28 starts, with 13 shut outs. In 175 2/3
innings of work, Moreno has struck out 214 batters
and held opponents to a .158 batting average.
Wheeler has an 18-5 record and an ERA of 3.32, while
starting in all 27 of her pitching appearances. She
has 16 complete games, three of which were shutouts.
Wheeler has pitch 157 innings, striking out 126 and
limiting opponents to a .251 batting average.... The
team had an ERA of 1.75, which was second in the
West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. |
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No. 7 West Chester University Golden Bears |
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28-18 Overall, 6-10
PSAC East |
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At the Plate:
The Golden Rams rank second in the PSAC with a team
batting average of .323.... Leading the team with a
.427 batting average is outfielder Erin MacNamee.
She has a .523 on-base percentage and has scored 55
runs. MacNamee also has five home runs and 32
RBIs...Samantha Ingersoll has provided some
power with five home runs and team bests 22 doubles
and 53 RBIs. She batted .373 and scored 32 runs....
Kate Kmiencinski
led the team with
seven home runs. She added 30 RBIs and scored 15
runs, while batting .362.
In the
Circle: Shannon Padula and
Samantha Soprano have accounted for every inning
of the 46 Golden Ram games....Padula had a 2.20 ERA
for a 17-11 record. She has appeared in 33 games and
completed 26 of her 27 games started, with six
shutouts and two saves. In 191 innings pitched,
Padula has struck out 66 batters. ...Soprano
compiled an 11-7 record and with an ERA of 3.01. She
appeared in 20 games, starting in 19 and had 13
complete games. She pitched 104 2/3 innings,
striking out 39 and managing two shutouts. |
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