Monday, May 9, 2011

GREYHOUND SOFTBALL SQUAD HEADED TO CORTLAND, NEW YORK IN
2011 NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

INDIANAPOLIS, IN --- The Moravian College softball team earned an automatic berth to the 2011 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament by capturing its fourth straight Landmark Conference title on Saturday, and the Greyhounds will be heading to Cortland, New York to compete in the regionals beginning on Friday, May 13th.

The Greyhounds are seeded second in the six-team regional being hosted by SUNY Cortland and will play five seed The College of Staten Island at 12:00 p.m. Moravian is currently 35-7 overall. Staten Island is 26-11 this season and received an automatic berth after winning the City University of New York Athletic Conference.

The other first-round matchups in the six-team have third seeded Montclair State (NJ) University (27-10, an at-large selection) versus fourth seed Piedmont (GA) College (27-13, the Gulf South Athletic Conference Champion) at 2:00 p.m. and top seed and host SUNY Cortland (36-3-1, the State University of New York Champion) versus sixth-seeded King’s College (18-11, the Freedom Conference Champion) at 10:00 a.m.  The losers of the first two games will play in the regional’s first elimination game at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.  For more information, visit http://www.cortlandreddragons.com/sports/2011/4/27/SB_0427112801.aspx.

The tournament will run through Sunday, Monday if necessary, with the champion earning one of eight berths in the NCAA Division III World Series being hosted by The Old Dominion Athletic Conference in Salem, Virginia, which begins on Friday, May 20th.  Friday and Saturday’s action will begin at 10:00 a.m. as well while Sunday will begin at 12:00 p.m.  The if necessary game is scheduled for Monday, May 17th at 10:00 a.m. if needed.

Moravian received one of the 41 Pool A berths into the 60-team tournament.  There were also two Pool B/Independent berths and 17 Pool C/at-large berths awards.  Moravian is making its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 14 years, and the Greyhounds are 30-25 all-time in NCAA action with berths in the 2004, 2007 and 2010 World Series.

The Greyhounds under the direction of 18-year head coach John Byrne, who as a career mark of 579-180, have posted a 35-7 overall record this spring, the 18th consecutive season that Moravian has won at least 23 games, and an 11-1 mark in Landmark Conference regular season action.  The Greyhounds, which have won over 30 games 13 times under Byrne including the last 11 years, won their 12th straight conference title this past weekend with a fourth straight Landmark Conference Championship, and the program played in the conference tournament for the 16th time in 17 years.  Moravian’s NCAA berth is its 13th berth in the last 14 years including a regional championship and berth in the 2007 and 2010 NCAA Division III World Series and a national runner-up finish at the 2004 Division III World Series.

Moravian, which was ranked fourth in the East Region in the final NCAA Division III Regional Rankings released last week, is hitting .328 with 365 hits including 97 extra-base hits.  Moravian has out-scored its opponents, 282-81, and the Greyhounds have a .965 fielding percentage this season.  The Greyhounds have     Leading Moravian at the plate is sophomore third baseman Shannen Mohr (Slatington, PA/Parkland HS), who has a .472 average, 42 hits, 29 runs, ten doubles, two homers, a school record 28 walks and 27 RBIs.  Freshman catcher Cassie Ernst (Annville, PA/Annville-Cleona HS) has a .444 average with 32 hits, 27 runs, six doubles, a home run, 14 walks, six hit by pitch and 18 RBIs while senior outfielder Amanda Paulus (Easton, PA/Easton HS) has contributed a .341 average, 30 hits, 28 runs, seven doubles, a triple, six homers and 26 RBIs. 

Freshman catcher/designated player Taylor Mihalik (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS) is hitting .351 with 33 hits, 23 runs, six doubles, five triples, a homer and 16 RBIs while junior pitcher/designated player Jenna Carmon (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central HS) has a .345 average with 30 hits, 21 runs, eight doubles, two homers, ten walks and 27 RBIs.  Freshman outfielder Miranda Sergas (Lansdale, PA/North Penn HS) has a .352 average, 32 hits, 27 runs, six doubles, two homers and 17 RBIs while sophomore first baseman Amanda Dizinno (Budd Lake, NJ/Mount Olive HS) has 26 hits, 15 runs, two doubles and 17 RBIs. 

Senior second baseman Stephanie Falzarano (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield HS) is hitting .307 to go with 39 hits, 26 runs, ten doubles, a triple and 26 RBIs while senior infielder/outfielder Maura Agnew (Doylestown, PA/Lansdale Catholic HS) has 17 hits, 13 runs, four doubles, a homer and 12 RBIs. 

Junior outfielder Olivia Evanko (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth HS) has 10 hits, 16 runs and two RBIs while sophomore outfielder Brook Kowal (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis HS) has 13 hits, 10 runs, three doubles, a home run and 10 RBIs.  Freshman outfielder Melissa Cottone (Laurys Station, PA/Parkland HS) has 11 hits, two runs, three doubles and nine RBIs while freshman infielder Eavan Matz (Port Jervis, NY/Delaware Valley HS has eight hits, six runs, a triple and five RBIs.  

Sophomore infielder Rebekah Battersby (Dingmans Ferry, PA/Delaware Valley HS) has contributed five hits, five runs, two doubles and three RBIs while freshman outfielder Alycia Sabol (Plymouth Meeting, PA/Plymouth Whitemarsh HS) has five hits, three runs, a double and four RBIs.  Freshman infielder Rachel DeLucia (Audubon, PA/Methacton HS) also has five hits to go with five runs and an RBI while freshman pitcher Elizabeth Tillou (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown HS) has four hits, five runs and two RBIs. 

Sophomore pitcher Alyssa Fegely (Mertztown, PA/Brandywine Heights HS) has six hits, three runs, a double and five RBIs while sophomore outfielder Samantha Mulderig (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township HS) has contributed five hits, eight runs and an RBI.  Sophomore catcher Tori Thomas (Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C. Ketchum HS) has four hits, three runs and a double while freshman infielder Leann Ventriglia (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North HS) has three hits, four runs and four RBIs.  Senior pitcher Elizabeth Python (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman HS) has five hits, three runs, two doubles, a triple and six RBIs. 

In the circle, Carmon is 12-4 with two saves, a 1.42 ERA, five shutouts, a no-hitter of then nationally-ranked The College of New Jersey, 25 walks and 74 strikeouts in 113.1 innings of action.  Python has a 14-0 record this season with a 0.65 ERA, six shutouts, 23 walks and 85 strikeouts in 86.1 innings of work while Fegely is 8-3 with a save, a 2.72 ERA, four shutouts, 21 walks and 58 strikeouts in 67 innings of action.  Tillou has a 1-0 record with three walks and three strikeouts in six innings of action while Sabol has a walk and three strikeouts in one inning.