Moravian Heading to No. 5 Linfield (Ore.) for NCAA Division III Super Regional on May 21-22
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- The Moravian University softball team is set for its fifth appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championship Super Regionals, and the Greyhounds are heading to No. 5 Linfield (Ore.) University on Thursday and Friday, May 21-22.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- The Moravian University softball team is set for its fifth appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championship Super Regionals, and the Greyhounds are heading to No. 5 Linfield (Ore.) University on Thursday and Friday, May 21-22.
The best-of-three series starts with the Greyhounds and Wildcats facing off on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. EDT The squads will meet again on Friday at 4:00 p.m. EDT with Moravian batting as the home team. If the series is tied at 1-1, the if necessary contest will follow at 6:30 p.m. EDT with a coin flip to determine home squad. The winner will advance to the 2026 NCAA Division III National Championship Finals at the James Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Virginia from May 28 through June 3.
Moravian is in its 22nd trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament, and the Hounds are 60-47 all-time in NCAA Tournament action. The Blue & Grey have won eight NCAA Regionals including Bethlehem (Pa.) Regional this past week. The Greyhounds will be competing in the Super Regionals for the fifth time with a title in 2023 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Hounds have reached the Championship Round four times including playing in the National Championship game in 2004 and an appearance in 2023 at East Texas Baptist University.
The Greyhounds are guided by fourth-year head coach Josh Baltz, who has led the Blue & Grey to a 35-10 overall record this spring including a 14-2 mark to earn the top seed in the Landmark Conference Tournament, where the Hounds won their fourth straight and 13th Landmark Conference title and 21st overall conference championship since 2000.
Moravian is hitting .329 entering the NCAA tournament with 423 hits including 109 extra-base hits with 70 doubles, 14 triples and 25 home runs for a .463 slugging percentage. Moravian has outscored its opponents, 280-110, for an average of 6.2 runs per game, and the Greyhounds have a .965 fielding percentage. Moravian has posted 11 shutouts in 35 wins for a 1.71 ERA, and the Hounds' pitchers have recorded 198 strikeouts and just 61 walks in 302.2 innings this spring.
Junior pitcher/utility player Kyra Holtje, the Landmark Conference Player of the Year and All-Conference First Team honoree at utility, leads the Hounds with a .399 batting average to go with 59 hits, 39 runs, 15 doubles, three triples, seven homers, 36 RBIs, 16 stolen bases and 17 walks while senior third baseman Sydney Andrews , who was named to the Landmark All-Conference First Team, has a .383 average with 57 hits, 42 runs, 11 doubles, four triples, three homers, 33 RBIs, 17 walks and ten stolen bases. Sophomore first baseman Kaley Hoffman, who was selected to the Landmark All-Conference First Team, has posted a .366 average, 37 hits, 20 runs, nine doubles, a triple, 12 walks and 17 RBIs while sophomore catcher Sydney Scarpato has registered a .362 batting average, 21 hits, seven runs, a double, a homer and 13 RBIs.
Senior pitcher/right fielder Sarah DeStefano is hitting .349 with 45 hits, 19 runs, a double, a triple, ten stolen bases and 26 RBIs while freshman left fielder Natalie Chloros has a .336 average with 48 hits, 37 runs, six doubles, two triples, a home run, 27 RBIs, 24 walks and six stolen bases. Junior center fielder Shayla Morgan has a .330 batting average to go with 36 hits, 27 runs, a double, a homer, 11 RBIs, 18 walks and 20 stolen bases while senior shortstop Samantha Derickson has registered a .300 average with 45 hits, 23 runs, 11 doubles, a triple, three homers, 28 RBIs and nine walks.
Senior catcher Marcie Silberman, who was selected to the Landmark All-Conference Second Team, has contributed 41 hits, 14 runs, eight doubles, seven homers, 11 walks and 27 RBIs while freshman designated player Shauna McNamee has recorded 11 hits, six runs, three doubles, 10 RBIs and six walks. Junior second baseman Emma Grace Pachkowski has nine hits, 12 runs, a double, a homer and seven RBIs while sophomore Amelia Noll has added six hits, two runs, a double, a home run and eight RBIs. Senior Madison Berning has three hits, a run and an RBI while junior Cassandra Farrell has scored 11 runs to go with two hits, a double, a triple, eight stolen bases and four RBIs. Freshman Nicole Giglio has 11 runs, a hit, a triple and three RBIs while sophomore Julie Zook has a hit, a run and an RBI. Senior Emma Wariwanchik has a hit, a double and two RBIs while junior Madelin Cooper has scored seven times with three stolen bases and senior Kendall Szor has scored once.
DeStefano, the Landmark Conference Pitcher of the Year, Landmark All-Conference First Team Selection, the Most Outstanding Performer in the Landmark Conference Tournament and the Most Outstanding Performer in the NCAA Division III Bethlehem, Pa. Regional, has a 17-6 mark with five shutouts, 106 strikeouts and a 1.25 ERA over 156.1 innings while Holtje is 12-3 in the circle with five shutouts, a 1.84 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 99 innings. Senior Natalie Otto has a 6-1 slate with a shutout, two saves and 30 strikeouts in 41.2 innings while Andrews has recorded three strikeouts in 4.2 innings of action. Riley Robinson has two strikeouts in an inning of work.
Joining DeStefano on the Bethlehem, Pa. Regional All-Tournament Team were Derickson, Holtje and Silberman.
