HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College softball team looks to make some more history this weekend at Montclair State University when it takes part in regional action of the 2014 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
The Centennial Conference champion Fords (27-9), who have already established a new single-season program record for wins, now take aim at the first NCAA tournament victory in program history.
Haverford's first opponent in the double-elimination regional bracket is Wheaton (Mass.) College. The Lyons (30-10) earned an at-large bid to the tournament after reaching the 30-win mark for the 10th time in program history.
Wheaton, which enters the weekend having lost six of its last seven games, is making its eighth appearance in the national tournament with an NCAA postseason record of 23-16.
Five Lyons were named to the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) all-conference squad led by senior Jenna Rocha and sophomore Emma Hart. Rocha, an all-conference player for three years of her career, is a tough out as she owns a .372 batting average and .497 on-base percentage. The infielder has four home runs, 11 doubles, 28 RBIs and 31 walks on the season while currently ranking fourth nationally in walks per game (0.78).
Hart paces the team in hits (50), runs (37) and stolen bases (16). The sophomore outfielder, who was the leading base stealer in the NEWMAC this season, has registered 31 multi-hit games over the course of her career.
Senior Ashley Brillon and sophomore Madeline Hatch also earned all-conference honors for their plate production. Brillon ranks second on the team, and sixth in the conference, in batting average at .405 while Hatch came through with a .483 batting average with runners in scoring position this season.
Senior pitcher Allison Baker merited all-conference honors for a 14-5 record that included 13 complete-game outings. Baker averages 4.06 strikeouts per game and allowed two runs or less in 12 of her 21 appearances this season.
Emily Berardi gives the Wheaton another option in the circle as she struck out 37 in 58.2 innings of work. The right-hander has also made a mark with her bat as she is hitting .423 with 23 runs scored and 22 RBIs.
Top seed, and regional host, Montclair State (36-6) was also an at-large selection to the national tournament. The Red Hawks, who are making their 22nd overall appearance in the NCAA regionals, finished fifth at the NCAA softball championship in 2013. Montclair, which enters the weekend ranked 12th nationally by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), boasts four players that hit above .300 in Brooke Powers (.350), Dana Amato (.341), Alex Hill (.336) and Melissa Rustemeyer (.306). Hill, a senior right-hander, however, is the cornerstone of the Red Hawks' success. Named a first-team All-American the last two seasons, Hill leads D-III in strikeouts (341), shutouts (17) and saves (5) while also ranking among the national leaders in victories (25, second), ERA (0.56, fourth) and hits allowed per seven innings (fifth, 3.74).
Farmingdale State (23-12) will be the fourth seed of the regional bracket. The Rams grabbed an automatic ticket to the national tournament by winning their fourth straight Skyline Conference title. Junior pitcher Taylor Webb threw a no-hitter in the five-inning championship game victory over The Sage Colleges.
Sophomore catcher Meagan Anderson leads Farmingdale State at the plate with team-high marks in slugging percentage (.805), on-base percentage (.554), batting average (.508), hits (60), runs (47), doubles (18) and triples (4).
Joining Anderson as first-team all-conference honorees in the Skyline were Hillary Genova, Michelle Mongiello, Andrea Klarman and Lori Michalowski. Genova registered a .930 fielding percentage at shortstop while also chipping in at the plate with a .313 batting average. Mongiello leads Farmingdale State in RBIs (32) and ranks second in slugging percentage (.687) and batting average (.434). Klarman tops the team with four home runs while Michalowski, the conference's rookie of the year, is hitting .432 with a slugging percentage of .687.
Montclair State, Wheaton and Farmingdale State are all formidable opponents but third-seeded Haverford is ready to make its mark. Appearing in the national tournament for just the second time in program history, the Fords, who have won a program-record nine straight games, look to continue to shine on the regional stage.
Haverford ranks 40th nationally in team ERA as sophomores Sara Tauriello (20th, 1.10) and Emily Winesett (44th, 1.38) both rank among the top 45 nationally. Senior Claire Fitzgerald and Brittany Stevenson, along with freshman Kendall Chambers, provide depth to the pitching staff.
Buoyed by the effective all-conference duo of Tauriello and Winesett in the pitching circle, the Fords outscored their opponents 19-8 over the conference tournament run that culminated in the program's second title.
Seniors Elizabeth Newman and Jen DiCandilo, and junior Jill Schnall, each earned all-conference honors this season for their plate production. Newman paced the team in batting average (.400), runs scored (29) and hits (42) while DiCandilo hit .312 with a team-high nine doubles. Schnall will look to continue her career year that has included team-high marks in slugging percentage (.719), on-base percentage (.471), total bases (69), RBIs (29), walks (17) and home runs (9).
Four of the top-seven home-run hitters in program history will be in the lineup this weekend as sophomore Kristin Tatum (nine home runs) and junior Dayle Comerford (eight) join DiCandilo (12) and career-leader Schnall (14) as threats to go deep. Named the most valuable player of the Centennial tournament, Comerford went 6-for-11 with seven RBIs over the course of the Fords' conference-championship weekend.
Juniors Sarah Brody, Julie Garlick and Lauren Touey have also delivered clutch hits over the course of the Fords' historic season.
Regional action will continue throughout the weekend with the winner of the bracket facing the winner of the Kean (University) Regional in the super regionals set for May 16-17.