Softball
2009 PSAC Championships
 

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PSAC Championship Preview
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Lawrence Field - Lock Haven, Pa.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — Even the new playoff and divisional format in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference couldn’t prevent a repeat of the last two years.

For the third straight year, it comes down to Kutztown, Bloomsburg and Lock Haven for the PSAC tournament title.

The only difference is there is an eight-day layoff between what essentially would be the quarterfinals and the semifinal, as opposed to the fluid tournament schedule last season.

In the new format, each team had to win their respective regional tournament to advance to the PSAC single-elimination tournament at Lock Haven.

Bloomsburg needed five games to win the tournament in the West, knocking off the host and No. 1 seed California (Pa.).

Lock Haven, the defending champion, won its two games in the Central to advance, while Kutztown defeated Edinboro twice to move on to the next round.

As the No. 1 seed in the championship round, Lock Haven will await the winner of the semifinal matchup between No. 2 seeded Kutztown and No. 3 Bloomsburg. The first game is at 1 p.m. and the championship game is at 3 p.m. Both games at Lock Haven University will be available online via a video Webcast hosted by Lock Haven.

The Golden Bears (43-8-1), ranked eighth in the nation, are 1-1 against the Huskies this season, including a 3-0 shutout. Mary Hoch (so. Somerton/St. Hubert) pitched in that win, holding Bloomsburg to just three hits.

Hoch also pitched the final game of the first round tournament, holding Edinboro to four hits and striking out seven. She is 16-1 on the season with a team-best 1.30 ERA. She’s thrown six complete games and struck out 85.

Teammate Katlin Arbogast (jr. Ambler/Wissahickon) has pitched in 169 2/3 innings, striking out 193 and posting a 1.44 ERA. She is 19-5 on the season.

At the plate, Steph Denlinger (sr. Harleysville/Souderton) was the catalyst in the PSAC first round tournament, scoring the game-winning runs in both victories. She homered in the bottom of the eighth in Game 2 to give KU the walk-off win, and in Game 4, she drew a walk and scored the go-ahead run on a flyball that was dropped in the outfield.

Denlinger leads KU on the season with a .433 average, 21 homers, 59 RBIs and 65 runs scored. She’s walked 32 times.

KU’s Canadian trio of Krista Cameron (sr. Formosa, ONTARIO/Sacred Heart), Ashley Fitzgerald (sr. Kitchener, ONTARIO/Resurrection) and Kim Morrison (sr. Newmarket, ONTARIO /Sir William Mulock) have been just as potent as Denlinger offensively.

Cameron is batting .385 with 15 doubles, five triples, 10 homers, 49 RBIs and 28 runs scored.

Fitzgerald, who homered off the scoreboard in right field at North Campus Field in Game 2 of the first round, is batting .374. The reigning PSAC East Player of the Year has 12 doubles, 12 homers, 41 RBIs and 33 runs scored.

Morrison is fourth in batting with a .325 average. She has nine doubles, a triple, four homers and 13 RBIs. She’s second on the team in runs scored with 36. She also has a team-best 16 sacrifice hits.

Morrison and Maria Schiavo (jr. Old Forge/Old Forge) lead off the Golden Bears’ lineup and have combined for 70 runs this season. Schiavo is batting .298 with 54 hits, including five doubles and a triple.

Lock Haven (40-5):
With Kristin Erb in the circle, Lock Haven, ranked third in the nation, has been the top team in the PSAC the last three years. Already having won the school three PSAC titles, the NCAA standout pitcher will look to make it four straight.

In 2009, Erb has a 39-4 record with a 0.45 ERA. She has pitched 39 complete games and 25 complete-game shutouts. She has a league-best 310 strikeouts. She has allowed just one home run on the season.

Offensively, Lock Haven has seven players batting better than .300.

Ilia Lopez leads the team with a .367 batting average. She has 14 doubles, seven homers, 35 RBIs and 28 runs scored.

Sarah Norris provides the power with her team-best 13 home runs. She’s batting .357 with eight doubles, 30 RBIs and 43 runs scored.

Amanda Roosa is batting .341, and both Erica Eisenbise and Brittany Muthard have a .333 average.

Bloomsburg (33-8):
As last season’s runner-up, Bloomsburg, ranked 15th in the nation, had to do a lot to get back into the position to have another shot at Lock Haven and the PSAC title.

After winning the opening game of the first round tournament, Bloomsburg fell to host California (Pa.). Facing elimination, the Huskies won three straight games, including the final two against the No. 1 seeded Vulcans, to advance to Lock Haven.

Shavaun Fisher and Tara Reed have been the leaders for Bloomsburg, pitching the Huskies to 30 of their 33 wins.

Fisher (16-3) has a team-best 0.81 ERA, with seven complete-game shutouts. She has 125 strikeouts in 121 innings.

Reed (14-5) has 147 strikeouts in 116 2/3 innings, posting a 1.20 ERA and five complete-game shutout. She also has been a big contributor on the offensive side, batting .347 with 10 doubles, three triples and six homers. She also has 29 RBIs and 31 runs scored.

Nikki Shiko leads the Huskies with a .364 average. She has five doubles, 14 RBIs and 28 runs scored.

Lauro Mauro is second on the team in RBIs with 27. She has seven doubles, a triple and three homers for a .288 batting average.