Softball Team to Open NCAA Play on Friday

BLOOMSBURG- The ninth-ranked Bloomsburg University softball team will head to Kutztown for the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region opening round tournament. The Huskies, the number two seed in the bracket, will take on third-seeded West Virginia Wesleyan at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. In the day's other opening round game, Kutztown will take on fourth-seeded West Chester at noon. The winners will meet on Saturday at 11 a.m. with the losers of the first two games playing at 1:30 p.m. in the first elimination game. The tournament will continue through Sunday. The winner will advance to next weekend's super regional tournament, a best two-of-three event for the right to advance to the NCAA championship round.

The Huskies, 34-9, finished second last week at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championships. Bloomsburg is led in hitting by senior first baseman/pitcher Tara Reed (Williamsport/Williamsport). As a hitter Reed leads the team in several categories. She is first in batting average at .363, homers with seven, RBI with 30, runs scored with 34, in doubles with 10 and in triples with three. She is also tied for the team lead in stolen bases with 13. As a pitcher, Reed is 14-6 with a 1.55 ERA. She has 150 strikeouts and just 22 walks in 122 innings of work.

Behind Reed in batting is third baseman Nikki Shiko (Kulpmont/Southern Columbia) hitting .358 with a homer and 14 RBI. Shiko is second in runs scored with 31 and is tied with Reed for the lead in stolen bases with 13. Shortstop Mandy Koch (Dauphin/Central Dauphin) is third in batting at .339 with 20 RBI and is second in hits with 39.

Along with Reed in the pitching circle is sophomore Shavaun Fisher (Coplay/Allentown Central Catholic) who 17-3 with a 0.82 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 128 innings of work. Fisher has seven shutouts this season and has allowed just 15 earned runs.

The Huskies are making their NCAA D-II-leading 27th consecutive trip to the NCAA championships. Bloomsburg has two national runner-up finishes and six, third-place finishes in its history.

West Virginia Wesleyan is 42-13 and finished 30-2 in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Bobcats as a team have a .341 batting average, which led the WVIAC, are led by second baseman Emily Neiman and her .425 batting average. She has collected 25 doubles, eight home runs, 69 RBIs and scored 50 runs, all of which lead the team. Carly McCullough has been another offense threat with a .379 average and 11 doubles, six home runs, 40 RBIs and 43 runs scored. In the circle Patricia Moreno and Stephanie Wheeler have combined to start in all 55 Bobcat games. Moreno has 1.33 ERA and a record of 24-7 and four saves. She has complete games in 24 of her 28 starts, with 13 shut outs. In 175 2/3 innings of work, Moreno has struck out 214 batters and held opponents to a .158 batting average. Wheeler has an 18-5 record and an ERA of 3.32, while starting in all 27 of her pitching appearances. She has 16 complete games, three of which were shutouts. Wheeler has pitch 157 innings with 126 strikeouts.

Kutztown, 43-9-1, ranked 11th in Division II, is led by Steph Denlinger. The first baseman broke the NCAA Division II career-home run record of 62 on March 14 and has 77 homers entering regional play. She broke the PSAC career RBI record of 204 and surpassed the NCAA Division II career walks record of 145. This season, Denlinger is leading the team in batting average (.430), hits (65), home runs (21) and RBIs (59).

Katlin Arbogast leads the staff with an ERA of 1.55. She has a 19-5 record with 17 complete games, six of which were shutouts. In her 175 2/3 innings of work, Arbogast has struck out 195 and limited opponents to just a .194 batting average.

West Chester is 28-18 on the year. Leading the team with a .427 batting average is outfielder Erin MacNamee. She has a .523 on-base percentage and has scored 55 runs. MacNamee also has five home runs and 32 RBIs...Samantha Ingersoll has provided some power with five home runs and team bests 22 doubles and 53 RBIs. She batted .373 and scored 32 runs. Kate Kmiencinski led the team with seven home runs. She added 30 RBIs and scored 15 runs, while batting .362.

Tournament Schedule