May 8, 2000

GREYHOUNDS MAKING 3rd STRAIGHT TRIP TO NCAA TOURNEY

BETHELHEM, PA --- After waiting for 20 days, the Moravian College softball team finally found out were it would be playing the 2000 NCAA Division III East Regional. The Greyhounds are seeded fourth in their third straight trip to the NCAA Tourney and will travel to King’s College in Wilkes-Barre for the NCAA Division III East Regional.

Moravian, currently 24-10 overall, will play fifth-seeded John Jay (NY) College (23-13) in the first game of the double elimination tournament on Friday, May 12^th at 10:00 a.m. Second seeded and tournament host King’s College (37-4) will play Western Connecticut State University (28-7), the third seed at 12:00 p.m. on Friday with the region’s top seed, The College of New Jersey (32-7-1) playing the winner of the Moravian-John Jay game at 2:00 p.m. The losing teams from the first two games will play the first elimination game at 4:00 p.m. Friday.

Tournament action will continue into Saturday and Sunday with Monday being used as a rain make-up date. The winner of the East Regional, along with the winners of the seven other regions, will head to Salem, Virginia for the NCAA Division III College World Series, May 18th through 22nd.

The Greyhounds, who had to wait out the conference call the last two seasons to earn an at-large berth, knew they had made the tournament for a third straight year back on April 19^th when a loss by Widener University clinched the 2000 Commonwealth Conference Championship for the team. This year’s conference call didn’t end until nearly 4:00 a.m. Monday morning. John Jay comes in as the winner of the City of New York Athletic Conference while King’s won the Freedom Conference and The College of New Jersey won the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Western Connecticut State is the only at-large team in the region.

Leading the Greyhounds has been senior pitcher Becky Stroup (Palmerton/Palmerton Area HS). A Commonwealth Conference First Team All-Star this spring, Stroup has tossed four straight shutouts and has not allowed a run in 32 innings. She leads the Moravian pitching staff with a 13-4 record and a 1.55 ERA in 113 innings. Stroup has a total of seven shutouts this season and she has added 75 strikeouts and allowed 41 walks.

Sophomore pitcher Rachel Mowrey (Hellertown/Saucon Valley HS) has been almost as dominant on the mound. The Commonwealth Conference Second Team All-Star is 9-6 with a 2.28 ERA in 95 innings. Mowrey has 51 strikeouts on the season and has walked just ten batters this season. Mowrey has not allowed a walk to a batter in ten of her 15 outings this season.

At the plate, the Greyhounds are led by senior shortstop Zan Azzolino (Lodi, NJ/ Immaculate Heart Academy), who was a Commonwealth Conference All-Star for the third straight season this spring. Azzolino enters the NCAA Tournament with a .385 batting average with 37 hits, 22 runs scored and 13 RBIs. Azzolino has set the Moravian record for most at-bats between strikeouts as she has not struck out since April 15, 1999, a span of 131 official at-bats.

Sophomore designated player Deb Noble (Cranford, NJ/Cranford HS), who was on the 1999 NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Team as was Azzolino, earned Commonwealth Conference First Team accolades this spring while hitting .380. Noble leads the Greyhounds with 38 hits, 34 RBIs and 13 extra-base hits including nine doubles, two triples and two homeruns.

Sophomore catcher Stacy Matuczinski (Bethlehem/Liberty HS) was named to the Commonwealth Conference All-Star First Team after being on the second team as a freshman. Matuczinski is hitting .365 this season with 38 hits, 20 runs scored, 11 RBIs, seven doubles and a team high 12 sacrifices. Matuczinski has thrown out four runs this season and started all but one game for the Greyhounds.

Sophomore outfielder Sarah Leiby (Fleetwood/Fleetwood HS) earned Commonwealth Conference Second Team honors after starting in left field the entire season. Leiby is batting .327 with 32 hits, 21 runs scored, 16 RBIs and 11 extra-base hits with nine doubles, a triple and a homerun.

Sophomore out fielder Summer Miller (Mount Holly, NJ/Rancocas Valley Regional HS) has 34 hits this season to go along with 11 runs, 14 RBIs, four doubles and a .358 batting average. Freshman Kim Gehman (Topton/Brandywine Heights HS) has hit .304 in her debut season for the Greyhounds. Gehman, who had not played first base in high school, has started the last 27 games at first base for Moravian. She has 24 hits, 14 runs score, 10 RBIs and a team high four stolen bases.

Junior outfielder Missy Hummel (Walnutport/Northampton HS) has collected 31 hits in a team leading 105 at-bats for a .295 average this season. Hummel has added 22 runs, two doubles and four RBIs. Hummel and Miller each have five assists from the outfield this spring.

Sophomore second baseman Laurie Rentschler (Slatington/Northern Lehigh HS) has collected 24 hits this spring and she has driven in 15 runs. Senior third baseman Krysten Mack (Canton, CT/Canton HS) has added 18 hits this spring while freshman outfielder Danielle Dest (Windsor, CT/Northwest Catholic HS) has ten hits in her debut season.

Rounding out the Greyhound squad is freshman pitcher Jillian Simms (Hampton, NJ/Voorhees HS), who earned a victory in her only start of the season.

The Greyhounds first opponent at the NCAA Division III East Regional, John Jay, comes in with a potent offense that is second in the nation in runs per game at 9.81 and 13th in batting average at .369. However, John Jay’s pitching staff is allowing 6.58 runs per game.

Leading the Bloodhounds on the mound is sophomore Heather Stewart with a 15-10 record and a 5.72 ERA in 148 innings. Stewart has 80 strikeouts this season but has walked 86 batters.

At the plate, Stewart again leads the John Jay squad with 60 hits in 153 at-bats for a .451 batting average. Stewart has added 44 RBIs, 43 runs scored, six doubles, four triples and two home runs this season. Senior outfielder Samantha Fourcell has 46 hits and 24 RBIs this spring while senior catcher Loreylys Perez has added 40 base hits and 30 RBIs. Junior infielder Alissa Logan leads the Bloodhounds in extra-base hits with 18 including seven doubles, three triples and eight homeruns.