No. 17 Hounds Ready for NCAA Regional in Rochester
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College softball team is heading to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament for the 15th time in school history and the first time since 2012 as the Greyhounds received the top seed in a three-team regional being hosted by the University of Rochester on May 8-9.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College softball team is heading to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament for the 15th time in school history and the first time since 2012 as the Greyhounds received the top seed in a three-team regional being hosted by the University of Rochester on May 8-9.
The tournament begins on Friday, May 8 with the Hounds playing third seed Penn State-Berks at 11:00 a.m. The host and second seed Yellow Jackets and the Lions will play at 1:30 p.m. while Moravian and Rochester will face off at 4:00 p.m. to finish the action on Friday. Follow the tournament at http://www.uofrathletics.com/sports/2015/5/4/2015_NCAASoftballRegional.aspx?path=softball.
On Saturday, if all three teams are 1-1 after the first day, Rochester and Penn State-Berks will play at 11:00 a.m. with the winner to play Moravian at 1:30 p.m. for a berth in the Super Regionals on May 15-16. If one team is eliminated from the double elimination tournament on Friday, then Saturday's schedule will have an opening game at 11:00 a.m. and an if necessary contest at 1:30 p.m. to determine the team to advance. The eight Super Regional winners will advance to the NCAA Division III World Series in Salem, Virginia from May 21-26 at the Moyer Sports Complex.
Moravian, under the direction of 22-year head coach John Byrne, who earned his 700th career win on April 25 and has a career slate of 709-218, has posted a 34-5 overall record this spring, the 22nd consecutive season that Moravian has won at least 23 games, and an11-1 mark in Landmark Conference action. The Blue & Grey are also ranked No. 17 in the nation in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 poll.
The Greyhounds, which have won over 30 games 16 times under Byrne, competed in the conference tournament for the 16th straight year, winning the Landmark Conference title this spring for the sixth time, and the Blue & Grey are in the postseason for the 22nd straight season. Moravian posted NCAA regional championships and berths in the 2007 and 2010 NCAA Division III World Series and a national runner-up finish at the 2004 Division III World Series, and the Greyhounds are 35-29 in NCAA tournament action.
"We've been hitting the ball well this spring and need to keep it going in the NCAA Tournament. Our young pitching staff has been keeping us in every game all season," Byrne said. "We'll need to continue to limit mistakes in the field because when you reach the NCAA Tournament, teams will make you pay if you give them extra outs at the plate. You also need to get the ball in play while batting and make your opponent make the plays too."
Moravian is hitting .329 entering the tournament with 340 hits including 89 extra-base hits including 59 doubles and 25 home runs for a .468 slugging percentage. Moravian has out-scored its opponents, 236-84, for an average of 6.05 runs per game, and the Greyhounds have a .964 fielding percentage. Moravian has posted 13 shutouts in 34 wins and the squad is fourth in the nation with a 1.30 ERA, and the Hounds' pitchers have recorded 243 strikeouts and just 41 walks this spring.
Leading Moravian at the plate is senior first baseman Jenn Dalickas, who was honored the 2015 Landmark Player of the Year for a second straight year and an All-Conference First Team honoree for the third time in her career. Dalickas is hitting .510 with 49 hits, 41 runs, 12 doubles, nine homers, 32 RBIs, 88 total bases and a school record 42 walks. She is ninth in the nation with a .917 slugging percentage and first in on-base percentage at .667. Dalickas also has a team-high 209 putouts to go with nine assists. She has set the school career home run record with 35, the career walk record with 79 and the career total bases with 367, and Dalickas is second all-time with 158 RBIs and 51 doubles and third with 201 hits.
The Greyhounds have a dynamic duo in the circle this year in freshmen Amanda Carisone and Josie Novak. Carisone, who was named to the Landmark All-Conference Second Team, has won 18 straight decisions, and she has posted an 18-1 mark this spring with a 1.29 ERA, seven shutouts, 96 strikeouts and just 17 walks allowed in 135.2 innings. Novak, who was honored as the Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year and selected to the All-Conference First Team, has a 16-4 record in her debut season with a 1.31 ERA, one save, six shutouts, 147 strikeouts, the eighth most in a single season at Moravian, and just 24 walks allowed in 128.1 innings of action.
Junior right fielder Mary Schlosbon earned a spot on the Landmark All-Conference First Team this spring, and she is hitting .387 with 46 hits, 33 runs, a double, two triples and 17 RBIs. Schlosbon has also put down a team-leading 19 sacrifice bunts this spring, and she has seven stolen bases and 42 putouts. Senior center fielder Dior George, who was named to the All-Conference First Team for a fourth straight season, reached the 200 hit plateau in April and is second all-time with 204 hits. She is batting .365 with 46 hits, 37 runs to give her a school-record 180 runs scored in her career, six doubles, one triple, six homers, 33 RBIs, 12 walks and eight stolen bases. George has made 43 putouts this spring.
Sophomore left fielder Julie Siragusa has a .379 average with 39 hits, 20 runs, seven doubles, one home run, 19 RBIs and 15 walks in her first season as a starter while junior infielder Lindsay Sullivan, who was selected as a Second Team All-Conference player for a second consecutive spring, has a .303 average with 23 hits, eight runs, three doubles and six RBIs to go with 37 putouts and 15 assists. Senior infielder Lizzie Mack is hitting .275 with 25 hits, 15 runs, nine doubles, two triples, two home runs, 30 RBIs and 12 walks.
Sophomore third baseman Victoria Conner has a .459 average with 17 hits, seven runs, five doubles and eight RBIs while sophomore shortstop Madison Newhouser has contributed a .316 average with 12 hits, nine runs, two doubles and six RBIs as she returned to the lineup after sitting out 23 games with an injury. Sophomore catcher Niki Maffetone has 13 hits, five runs and six RBIs while recording 78 putouts behind the plate while sophomore designated player Abby Jeffries has 24 hits, 12 runs, seven doubles, two homers and 27 RBIs.
Sophomore infielder Chrissy Mariano has added 13 hits, seven runs, a double, a homer and 11 RBIs while freshman catcher Janae Matos has 13 hits, 14 runs, four doubles, two home runs and 13 RBIs to go with 180 putouts and six assists this spring. Sophomore infielder Lizzie Deutsch has contributed 11 hits, 15 runs, a double and two RBIs while freshman infielder Megan Taylor has eight hits, 10 runs, a double, two homers and eight RBIs. Freshman Jackie Marshall has scored three runs and added a hit while junior Kiersten Cain and freshmen Jessica D'Agostino and Jean Markovic each have contributed for the Greyhounds this season.
