Bloomsburg Softball Looks to Capture Regional Title

BLOOMSBURG- The Bloomsburg University softball team will compete at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships beginning Thursday, May 10 and continuing through Monday, May 14. Bloomsburg (35-13) will face sixth-seeded North Carolina Central in the opening round game at 2:00 p.m. at Kutztown University, the host of this year's championships. Joining Bloomsburg in the regional will be Lock Haven (top seed); Kutztown (2nd seed); East Stroudsburg (4th); Shippensburg (5th); Edinboro (7th) and Bowie State (8th).

The Huskies, ranked 22nd in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) National Poll, will be making a record 25th consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships and will look to advance to the championship round for the first time since 2005. Last season, the Huskies fell in the Mid Atlantic Regional final to eventual national champion Lock Haven. The Huskies have participated in every NCAA Division II tournament since 1983 and have the most wins of any Division II school with 71. Bloomsburg hopes to add to its 10 Mid-Atlantic titles, by far the most of any school in its region.

Offensively, Bloomsburg is led by freshman Nikki Shiko who is batting .382 with four homers and 12 RBI. Sophomore shortstop/pitcher Tara Reed is second at .366 with a team-high 14 doubles to go with three homers and 19 RBI. Leading the Huskies in homers is Missy Bachert with six to go along with 19 runs batted in. Ashley Lynn leads the pitchers with a mark of 20-5 and a 1.24 ERA. Lynn has fanned 197 in 153 innings and opponents are hitting just .183 off the junior. Lynn has been dominant throughout the season, throwing two no-hitters and also going a stretch of 54 straight innings without allowing an earned run. Junior Sheelin Fisher has also been solid on the mound, going 10-3 this season with a 2.11 ERA.

North Carolina Central (31-11) will be making their second appearance in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. The Lady Eagles made their first appearance last season, losing to national champion Lock Haven in the first round. Sophomore Sophia Blue leads NCC with a .503 batting average and has 12 doubles and 46 RBI.

Lock Haven, ranked second in Division II, is the defending Mid-Atlantic Region and NCAA Champion. The Lady Eagles, 45-3, also captured their second consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship last week. Sophomore pitcher Kristen Erb has been dominant, posting a 32-2 record and a 0.42 ERA, while striking out 229 batters in 211.2 innings pitched.

Kutztown, the 15th ranked team in Division II, comes into the tournament with a record of 42-16. The Golden Bears won the PSAC East Regular Season title but fell to Lock Haven in the PSAC championship game. Kutztown features a potent offense led by sophomore infielder Steph Denlinger. Denlinger is batting .496 and has set PSAC records in home runs (23) and RBI (69). As a team, the Golden Bears are batting .354 with 64 home runs.

East Stroudsburg, 26-26, will be making their second consecutive appearance and third overall at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals. East Stroudsburg's only other appearance was in 1982. Last season the Warriors won their opening round game over Kutztown but dropped back-to-back contests to Shippensburg and California. Senior shortstop Jen Veronesi is batting .331 and leads the team with six long balls and 24 RBI this season.

Shippensburg, 29-22, has qualified for the NCAA regional championship for the sixth consecutive and 11th time overall. The Lady Raiders are led by freshman infielder Nicole Henninger, who leads the team with a .400 batting average, 12 home runs and 47 RBI.

Edinboro, 19-20, will be making their first ever trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament. The Fighting Scots will rely on the left arm of Vanessa Rose. The junior has 13-14 record with a 1.97 ERA. In 174 innings, she has allowed 151 hits and 19 walks with 197 strikeouts. She has already set school records for innings pitched and strikeouts.

Bowie State, 27-2, will also be making their first appearance at the NCAA Regionals. The Lady Bulldogs enter the tournament winners of their last 20 games and as Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Champions. On offense Bowie State is lead by Tiffany Toney who is batting .491 with three home runs and 35 RBI and Tricia Corbin who is batting .450 with four home runs and 47 RBI.

A total of 64 teams were selected to participate in the 2007 NCAA Division II Softball Championship with eight teams competing at eight regional sites in double-elimination tournaments to determine the final eight championship participants. The eight regional championship winners will advance to the Division II championship May 17-21 at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio to be hosted by hosted by Ashland University (Ohio).

In the other first-round match ups, East Stroudsburg will take on Shippensburg, Lock Haven will face Bowie State and Kutztown will battle Edinboro. Should the Huskies defeat North Carolina Central, they will face the winner of Kutztown and Edinboro on Friday at 4:30 p.m.