Lycoming News

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference issued the following announcement on May 21.

The Seton Hill University Griffins defeated the Kutztown University Golden Bears in a best-of-three Super Regional Tournament series Saturday in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.

 

After a 7-0 victory in game one, the Griffins took game two, ­­­9-5, to take the series.

 

SHU is now 41-10 this season and will advance to the NCAA Division II Softball World Series.

 

With Kutztown’s loss, they fall to 40-15 on the season and their year comes to an end. The Golden Bears won the PSAC Eastern Division regular season crown, the PSAC Title and were finalists in the Atlantic Region.

 

As for the Griffins, their bats came alive in the series and were led by the region’s top hurler, Morgan Ryan.

 

Ryan threw both games in the series. In game one, she hurled a complete-game shutout allowing just six hits and one walk while punching out five. She also tossed three scoreless innings in game two as the offense exploded down the stretch.

 

Grace Paredes had four RBIs over the course of two games and had four hits including two doubles.

 

Seton Hill will now travel to the Regency Athletic Complex in Denver, Colorado for the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championship Series hosted by Metropolitan State University of Denver. The eight regional champions will be re-seeded for a double-elimination tournament from May 26-31, with a national champion being crowned at its conclusion.

Super Region Brackets

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- Kutztown and Seton Hill won their Atlantic Region Pods today and will advance to the 2022 NCAA Division II Softball Super Regionals Final scheduled for Thursday, May 19 at 1 p.m.

 

Kutztown 2, West Virginia Wesleyan 0

Kutztown shut out West Virginia Wesleyan 2-0 to win Atlantic Region pod 1. Brianna Hughes hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning. Amber Brugger threw a complete game and allowed five hits. Gracie Payne went 3-for-3 for West Virginia Wesleyan.

 

Claflin 5, Shippensburg 2

Claflin defeated Shippensburg 5-2 in the first game of the day in Atlantic Region 2 play. Brenay Howard hit solo home runs in the first and sixth innings for Claflin. She also came home to score in the third. The Panthers scored two more runs in the fifth inning. The Raiders scored twice in the first inning. Katelyn Minney drew a walk with the bases load and then Maelynn Leber singled to bring Morgan DeFeo home. With the loss, Shippensburg is eliminated from the tournament.

 

Seton Hill 11, Claflin 0

Seton Hill shut out Claflin 11-0 to win Atlantic Region Pod 2. The Griffins cemented their win with an 11-run outburst in the top of the seventh inning. Morgan Ryan tripled, brought in three runs, and scored. Jenna Osikowicz and Gracie Paredes both scored two runs, and four Seton Hill batters each had two hits. Jada Garrick collected two hits for Claflin.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- A pair of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference teams won their games in the NCAA DII Softball Tournament. Kutztown, Seton hill and Shippensburg are remaining in the tournament, while Bloomsburg and Mercyhurst have been eliminated.

 

Kutztown 4, West Virginia State 3 (8 Innings)

The Goldean Bears had to come from behind to get the victory trailing early, 3-0. Kutztown scored four unanswered runs including the walk-off sacrifice fly in the the eighth to earn the victory thanks to Kate Ostaszewski that scored Brianna Stocklin.

 

Seton Hill 3, Shippensburg 2

The Griffins won in 10 innings over Shippensburg. Seton Hill battled throughout the day in a back-and-forth affair, but Brooklyn Fukushima got a sac fly and an RBI in the bottom of the 10th to earn the victory. Shippensburg is not done yet as they will play Claflin in the loser’s bracket.

 

Fairmont State 8, Mercyhurst 3

Mercyhurst could not get its stride in the elimination game Friday. Fairmont put up runs in the first, second, third and sixth innings to essentially end the contest. The Lakers mustered just five hits in the contest.

 

Bloomsburg 2, Claflin 3

There was a scoreless game throughout the contest until the seventh inning. Two runs were tallied in the top of the seventh by the Huskies, but Claflin tallied two as well and won the game in extras with one in the bottom of the 10th. Bloomsburg’s Nicolette Ray registered a hit and both RBIs.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- Three Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference teams won their first games of the 2022 NCAA Division II Softball Tournament. The Regional round is double-elimination.

 

Kutztown 6, Fairmont State 2

Kutztown defeated Fairmont State 6-2 in the first game of NCAA Atlantic Region Pod 1 play. Brianna Stocklin singled, doubled, tripled, and scored three runs. Hannah Auvil singled, doubled, scored once, and brought in two runs. Amber Brugger pitched a complete game and allowed two runs, six hits, and struck out four batters. Emily Riggs singled, doubled, scored, and brought in a run for Fairmont State. The Golden Bears play West Virginia Wesleyan on Friday at 10 a.m.

 

West Virginia Wesleyan 3, Mercyhurst 2

Mercyhurst fell 3-2 to West Virginia Wesleyan in the first game of the NCAA tournament. The Lakers scored one run in the fifth inning and one in the sixth. Cheyenne Hindman collected two hits and scored on a sacrifice fly by Sarah Koscho. Grace Hightower and Lauren Niglio each recorded a hit and scored a run for West Virginia Wesleyan. The Lakers face Fairmont State on Friday at 12:30 p.m.

 

Shippensburg 10, Bloomsburg 3

Shippensburg won 10-3 against Bloomsburg in the opening game of NCAA Atlantic Region Pod 2 play. Hannah Marsteller drew a walk, recorded four hits, and brought in four runs for the Raiders. Taylor Myers walked twice, collected three hits, and scored five runs. Alicia Ball threw a complete game. Erin DelPierre walked, singed twice, and scored a run for Bloomsburg. Bella Culp walked and scored one of the Huskies’ runs. Shippensburg will play Seton Hill at 12 p.m. on Friday and Bloomsburg takes on Claflin at 2:30 p.m.

 

Seton Hill 3, Claflin 0

Seton Hill shut out Claflin 3-0 in their first game of the NCAA postseason. Brooklyn Fukushima singled to bring Nichole McClendon home in the first inning for the 1-0 lead. Mackenzie Zang’s single in the fourth inning brough Grace Paredes and Kelleigh Pollock home. Morgan Ryan pitched five innings and allowed two hits while striking out seven batters. Claflin collected three hits on the day. Seton Hill will play Shippensburg at 12 p.m. on Friday.

INDIANAPOLIS --- The Kutztown University, Seton Hill University, Bloomsburg University, Mercyhurst University, and Shippensburg University softball programs were selected to the NCAA Division II tournament, the association announced Monday.

 

Kutztown won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship Sunday and is the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Region. They enter the postseason with a 37-13 overall record. The Golden Bears will host the first round and are set to face No. 8 Fairmont State in the opening matchup.

 

Seton Hill earned the No. 2 seed. The Griffins went 36-10 in the regular season and were the No. 2 seed in the PSAC Championship. They will play No. 7 Claflin in the first game.

 

Bloomsburg received the No. 3 seed. They advanced to the semifinals of the PSAC championship last weekend. They will travel to No. 6 Shippensburg for the first round.

 

Mercyhurst is in at the No. 4 seed. The Lakers are making their first tournament appearance in program history. They were the runners up at the 2022 PSAC Softball championship. Mercyhurst will face off against No. 5 seed West Virginia Wesleyan University in the first round.

 

Shippensburg claimed the No. 6 seed and hosting duties. The Raiders were the No. 2 seed in the PSAC Championship and posted a 31-18 regular season record. They will play host to No. 3 Bloomsburg for the first game of the playoffs.

 

ABOUT THE PSAC

Headquartered in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference comprised of 18 institutions in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The member institutions are Bloomsburg University, California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University, East Stroudsburg University, Edinboro University, Gannon University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown University, Lock Haven University, Mansfield University, Mercyhurst University, Millersville University, The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Seton Hill University, Shepherd University, Shippensburg University, Slippery Rock University and West Chester University.

Original source can be found here.