Softball Team to Play in PSAC Championship Round

BLOOMSBURG-- The Bloomsburg University softball team will travel to Lock Haven University on Sunday for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship round. The Huskies, 33-8, will take on Kutztown, 43-8-1, in a semi-final game at 1 p.m. with the winner taking on Lock Haven, 40-5, for the PSAC title immediately afterwards.

Nikki Shiko

Tara Reed

The Huskies will be looking for their 15th PSAC championship in school history and first since 2002. Bloomsburg, ranked 15th in Division II, reached the PSAC championship round by coming through the loser's bracket in one of the PSAC first round sites last weekend. The Huskies had to beat East Stroudsburg to stay alive last week, then, beat Cal twice to move on.

Leading Bloomsburg offensively this year has been the trio of Nikki Shiko (Kulpmont/Southern Columbia), Tara Reed (Williamsport/Williamsport) and Mandy Koch (Dauphin/Central Dauphin). Shiko is batting a team-high .364 with a homer and 14 RBI, while Reed is second at .347 with six homers and 29 RBI and Koch third at .330 with 17 RBI. Reed also leads the team in runs scored with 31 and in doubles with 10 and is tied with Shiko for the team lead in stolen bases with 13.

The Huskies pitching staff is led bhy sophomore Shavaun Fisher (Coplay/Allentown Central Catholic) who has stepped forward and posted a team-best record of 16-3 with a 0.81 ERA. Fisher has 125 strikeouts and walked just 30 in 121 innings of work. She has seven shutouts and 15 complete games. Reed is the Huskies other top hurler with a mark of 14-5 and a 1.20 ERA. She has fanned 145 on the season, just three shy of her career best, and walked just 18 in 116 innings of work. She has five shutouts and 14 complete games.

Mandy Koch

Shavaun Fisher

Kutztown, ranked eighth in Division II, split a doubleheader with the Huskies on April 17. The Huskies won the opener 2-1 behind Fisher, then, dropped the second game 3-0 with Reed suffering the loss. Steph Denlinger leads the Golden Bears with 21 homers and 59 RBI, while Mary Hoch is 16-1 with a 1.30 ERA.

Lock Haven, ranked third in the country, took three of four games from the Huskies during the regular season. The Lady Eagles won 1-0 at Bloomsburg, and 7-0 and 2-1 at Lock Haven. Bloomsburg's lone win in the four games played was a 2-1, eighth inning victory. Pitcher Kristen Erb is 39-4 with a 0.46 ERA, while Illia Lopez is hitting .367 with seven homers and 35 RBI.