| Scouting the No. 1 Messiah College Falcons (36-3, 16-0) |
 100 Words on the Falcons
As mentioned, the No. 1-seeded Falcons went undefeated in the MAC Commonwealth, and they have not lost a regular-season conference game since Apr. 16, 2014-- a streak of 39-straight games. In 2016 the Falcons have put together two different double-digit win streaks: a 17-game stretch and their current 12-game run.
The Falcons' 36 wins are the most since reaching 39 wins in 2011. Their offensive attack can be overwhelming at times as their lineup that is both deep and balanced, evidenced further by different players leading in the following six statistical categories: average, runs, hits, triples, home runs, and walks.
Insider Notes and Players to Watch
- Becky Notte was first on the team (and second in the conference) with 57 hits, and her 28 RBI was third-most on the team. Notte has been just as valuable behind the dish as she's both deftly led a Falcons' pitching staff while carrying a .991 fielding percentage.
- Carrie Fix has followed up a great first-year campaign with an outstanding sophomore season. She is third on the team in batting average and first in runs (36), doubles (18), and total bases (87). Her doubles lead the conference, her 54 hits is both second on the team and fourth in the conference.
- Amanda Jones leads Messiah in batting average (.453) and is second with 32 RBI and 75 total bases. Jones' impressive arm is also a weapon as she routinely cuts down speedy runners with darts from the shortstop hole.
- First-year slugger Erin Cressman has already tied the single-season program record of eight home runs, and she leads the team with 39 RBI, a mark good for third in the conference. She also second on the team with 31 runs.
- Senior pitcher Courtney Allen went 19-0 in the regular-season and collected a 1.41 ERA with 118 strikeouts over 129.1 innings pitched. Allen impressively recorded 15 complete games, including five complete game shutouts.
- Courtney Allen is batting .342 on the season, but the stat is somewhat misleading: Allen went 7-36 (.194) in her first 12 games, but has since batted 34-84 (.405) in 27 games since. The turning point? A 2-3 effort with two infield singles at York on May 17.
- Becky Notte reached 200 career hits this year, the third-ever player to reach the mark for Messiah. She also became the all-time leader in doubles (49) and career RBI (133).
- Both Brooke Pompeo and Courtney Allen reached the 150-hit and 100-run plateaus this season. |
Possible Lineup (Batting Average)
LF - Carrie Fix (.394)
3B - Brooke Pompeo (.328)
P - Courtney Allen (.342)
C - Becky Notte (.413)
SS - Amanda Jones (.453)
DH - Erin Cressman (.351)
CF - Amber Bingaman (.282)
1B - Sydney Boreman (.258)
RF - Shannon Denny (.355)
2B - Emily Quatrale (.167)
Pitchers
Innings -- ERA -- BA Against
Courtney Allen
129.1 IP -- 1.41 ERA -- .210 BAA
Carrie Fix
73.2 IP -- 2.85 ERA -- .267 BAA
Madelyn Yannettii
60.2 IP -- 1.38 ERA -- .227 BAA
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| Scouting the No. 2 Widener College Pride (29-9, 9-7) |
 100 Words on the Pride
Widener is appearing in the Tournament for the third-straight season after winning nine of 16 conference games. Of their seven losses in the MAC Commonwealth, just three came to teams still active: Messiah (2) and Hood. The Pride are just 3-3 in their past six games, and they last played against Messiah last Saturday. Widener held a 2-1 lead early in Game Two before the Falcons rallied for eight runs across the final four frames to win 9-4.
Widener did together a 15-game win streak from Mar. 19 through Apr. 14. They collected 10 come-from-behind wins over that stretch, with three walk-off victories.
Insider Notes and Players to Watch
- The senior class of Alie Alkins, Taylor Church, and Heather Forward have helped the program increase it's win total in each of their four seasons, with a cumulative 93-49 record entering the weekend.
- Head coach Fred Dohrmann's 592 career wins is the most of any coach in Widener College history.
- Alexis Schengrund was third in the MAC Commonwealth in conference-only ERA (1.75). She was also sixth in least number of hits allowed (37), with a conference leading .188 batting average against.
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Possible Lineup (Batting Average)
RF - Ally Horvath (.387)
2B - Lauren DelRomano (.350)
SS - Alie Alkins (.405)
CF - Katie Sterling (.388)
LF - Heather Forward (.364)
C - Taylor Church (.264)
3B - Bree VanReenen (.264)
1B - Taylor Allen (.271)
DP - Olivia Rogers (.284)
P - Katie Rabuck (.222)
Pitchers
Innings -- ERA -- BA Against
Alexis Schengrund
106.1 IP -- 1.45 ERA -- 1.79 BAA
Katie Rabuck
62.2 IP -- 3.02 ERA -- .283 BAA
Ally Horvath
51.2 IP -- 5.01 ERA -- .346 BAA |
| Scouting the No. 3 Hood College Blazers (19-15, 9-7) |
 100 Words on the Blazers
Hood arrives into the Tournament thanks to a complete turnaround from last season: the Blazers went 4-12 in the conference in 2015, but went 9-7 this year to earn the berth. As a team the Blazers were second in the conference with 164 hits (Messiah, 167). They also led the league with 19 home runs and 51 total extra-base hits.
The Blazers' sweep of Lebanon Valley last Saturday solidified their place in this weekend's games.
Insider Notes and Players to Watch
- The Blazers' 88 RBI were most in the MAC Commonwealth, and they were just a single run behind Messiah for most runs scored (97-96).
- Hood led the conference with 88 strikeouts, 25 more than the next postseason team (Widener, 63).
- Ashley Fourcade was fourth in the conference with 24 hits across 16 games, trailing just Sammy Bost of Lebanon Valley (30), and Amanda Jones (25) and Becky Notte (25) of Messiah.
- Of all the active conference pitchers, Kayli Paugh is the leader of conference innings pitched with 58.2. She collected a 3.10 ERA over those innings, right in line with her overall season mark. She also threw eight complete games, third-most of any pitcher in league games this season.
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Possible Lineup (Batting Average)
DP - Kaylee Krietz (.377)
1B - Sophia Leamon (.280)
SS - Kristy Erfurdt (.366)
3B - Ashley Fourcade (.315)
C - Shelby Alcorn (.390)
P - Kayli Paugh (.354)
RF - Roo Saglimbeni (.333)
CF - Jasmine Webster (.250)
2B - Kristen Scott (.239)
LF - Maddy Collins (.071)
Pitchers
Innings -- ERA -- BA Against
Sophia Leamon
103.1 IP -- 3.05 ERA -- .284 BAA
Kayli Paugh
96.2 IP -- 3.11 ERA -- .281 BAA |
| Scouting the No. 4 Stevenson College Mustangs (15-24, 8-8) |
 100 Words on the Mustangs
Stevenson swept Albright in back-to-back shutouts (5-0, 3-0) to end the regular-season and vault themselves in the Tournament. That effort helped them overcome a 2-8 stretch in the conference that left them on the bubble entering the final day. This is the Mustangs' second-straight conference tourney appearance.
Stevenson is 10-2 when outhitting its opponents, and they're 7-3 when holding opponents to two runs or less. Interestingly, the Mustangs have also scored 40 percent of their runs across the fifth and sixth innings this season.
Insider Notes and Players to Watch
- Senior Kristen Mueller is six hits shy of tying the school record for career hits (173).
- The Mustangs are hitting .467 (14-30) with the bases loaded, including Mueller who is 5-5 with two grand slams.
- Three Stevenson players are hitting over .400 with two outs: Emily Soller (.432, 19-44), Molly Hoyt (.436, 17-39), and Kate Finnen (.405, 17-42).
- Mueller and Soller each have 12 multi-hit games this season, and they've also each hit in 28 of the team's 38 games. |
Possible Lineup (Batting Average)
SS - Kristen Mueller (.360)
CF - Tiffany Kahl (.298)
1B - Molly Hoyt (.303)
2B - Emily Soller (.368)
C - Naomi Fields (.397)
3B - Kate Finnen (.300)
RF - Sabrina Gordon (.256)
DH - Laura Welch (.128)
LF - Erin Stephey (.278)
P - Brooke Steinbach (.000)
Pitchers
Innings -- ERA -- BA Against
Jasmyn Ogletree
108.0 IP -- 4.21 ERA -- .323 BAA
Brooke Steinbach
90.0 IP -- 4.51 ERA -- .321 BAA |
| Scouting the No. 5 Arcadia College Knights (23-17, 7-9) |
 100 Words on the Knights
Arcadia won three of their final four MAC Commonwealth contests, including a sweep of Lebanon Valley, to qualify for the Tournament. They're 9-2 overall in their past 11 games.
Despite carrying just a .300 on-base percentage as a team in conference games, the Knights struck out just 58 times in 16 games and led all teams in sac flies. That contact-heavy approach keeps opposing defenses honest, while on the other side of the ball the Knights led all conference teams with a .973 fielding percentage in league games.
Insider Notes and Players to Watch
- Arcadia's 5-2 record over their final seven conference games put their league record at 7-9, the same as both Lebanon Valley and Albright. The Knights got the edge for the Tournament by way of tie-breaking scenarios.
- Freshman Jackie Bilotti is second in the conference with a .441 batting average, and her 28 runs, 45 hits, 15 doubles, .627 slugging percentage, and .483 on-base percentage are all Top-10 conference marks.
- Amanda Hess hit .426 (23-54) in conference play to lead the team. She recorded a .537 slugging percentage and a .418 on-base percentage over those 16 games.
- Sarah Gunia held a 4-2 record with a 2.15 ERA in conference play, much in line with a her overall ERA of 2.11 across nearly 90 innings pitched.
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Possible Lineup (Batting Average)
CF - Sara Boyadis (.239)
2B - Sarah Gunia (.246)
SS - Jackie Bilotti (.441)
3B - Amanda Hess (.394)
DP - Nicole Iasiello (.377)
1B - Alicia McMahon (.307)
P - Erin Wilson (.250)
LF - Nicki Larro (.160)
RF - Marissa Mancinelli (.333)
C - Kaylee Zarick (.227)
Pitchers
Innings -- ERA -- BA Against
Erin Wilson
126.0 IP -- 2.39 ERA -- .233 BAA
Sarah Gunia
86.1 IP -- 2.11 ERA -- .279 BAA |
