LAKEWOOD, N.J. - - The 2017 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Softball Tournament begins on Thursday at Georgian Court University with Wilmington University earning the No. 4 seed squaring off against No. 5 Concordia at 12:00 p.m. on Field 2.
The CACC Tournament features the top eight teams throughout the regular season in a double elimination type tournament, with the winner being crowned on Saturday, May 6. The CACC Tournament winner earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament.
The Wildcats (34-17, 17-9 CACC) are looking to win their second consecutive CACC Tournament and third in four years after capturing the 2014 Tournament Championship as the No. 5 seed as well.
All games could have a different live stat links depending on which field the game is being played on. Be sure to continue to check athletics.wilmu.edu/sports/sball/2016-17/schedule for each specific game live stat link. Game updates can also been followed by logging onto Twitter and following @WilmUAthletics.
Scouting the No. 4 Wilmington University Wildcats:
The Wildcats their program record with 34 wins this season, tying the mark set in 2013 (34-20) and again in 2015 (34-18). The 19 conference wins are tied for second most in program history, only behind last year's mark of 20 wins and six losses. The 19 wins ties the mark set in 2013 and again in 2015.
The Wildcats had four members voted All-CACC, including freshman left fielder Rosa'Lynn Burton being named the CACC Rookie of the Year. Burton was joined on the First Team with starting pitcher Caitlyn Whiteside. Second baseman Jazmeen Llamas and third baseman Kaitlyn Slater were voted Second Team All-CACC.
Burton leads the Wildcats and is second in the CACC with a .474 batting average while also leading the CACC with 82 hit, 52 runs scored, and 39 stolen bases. Her 39 stolen bases are already a single season program record while she is one hit away from tying the single season program record, set by Brook Ash in 2013.
Slater leads the team and is second in the CACC with 44 RBI on the year. She is tied atop the conference with nine home runs, which also set a new single season program mark for the Wildcats. Colby Wyatt has six homers on the season and is second on the team with 39 RBI. Wyatt broke the program's all-time RBI mark earlier this season and now has 110 career RBI.
Llamas is second on the team with a .376 batting average while freshman catcher Mirabella Klebart is third with a .318 batting average. Becca Stanley is fourth on the team with a .317 average with four home runs, and is third in the CACC with 15 stolen bases.
In the circle, Whiteside leads the CACC with a 1.13 ERA, throwing a single season program record with 13 complete game shutouts. In 154.1 innings pitched, she has only allowed 25 earned runs and 17 walks while striking out 78 batters. She is 17-7 on the season in 31 appearances. She ended the regular season in tossing 28 consecutive scoreless innings.
Senior starter Brooklyn Lachette is fifth in the CACC with a 1.93 ERA, going 6-3 in 21 appearances. In 72.2 innings this season, she has allowed 20 earned runs while striking out 32 batters with only 11 walks. She has thrown 20 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run to end the season.
As a team, the Wildcats lead the league with 97 stolen bases, third in the CACC with a .308 batting average, and third overall with a .434 slugging percentage. They are also second in the CACC in mashing 27 home runs, second to only Georgian Court's 30 who did not reach the CACC Tournament.
As a staff, the Wildcats lead the CACC with a 1.84 ERA, nearly .40 points lower than Dominican's 2.26 team ERA. The Wildcats rank fifth in the league with a .958 fielding percentage.
All-Time Series:
Thursday will be the 28th meeting between the crosstown rivals but only the second meeting between the two in the CACC Tournament. The only other time the two programs met in the postseason was in the 2005 CACC Tournament, the first season the Wildcats were an NCAA Division II member.
The Lightning won the second game of the team's doubleheader this season, snapping a six-game winning streak by the Wildcats dating back to the 2014 season. The Wildcats 8-2 against the Lightning in the last 10 games between the two teams, and 13-2 in the last 15 games overall.
The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 19-8, in the program's NCAA era.
All-Time in the CACC Tournament:
2005 (1-2): #3 Felician def. #6 Wilmington, 5-4; #6 Wilmington def. #4 Post, 3-0 (8); #5 Goldey-Beacom 8 def. #6 Wilmington, 8-1
2006: DNP
2007 (2-2): #3 Wilmington def. #6 Felician, 3-2; #2 Caldwell def. #3 Wilmington, 7-5; #3 Wilmington def. #6 Felician, 6-1; #2 Caldwell def. #3 Wilmington, 9-2
2008 (0-2): #4 Holy Family def. #5 Wilmington, 1-0; #3 Dominican def. #5 Wilmington, 9-4
2009 (0-2): #2 Caldwell def. #7 Wilmington, 3-0; #6 Philadelphia def. #7 Wilmington, 5-4
2010: DNP
2011 (2-2): #5 Caldwell def. #4 Wilmington, 2-0; #4 Wilmington def. #8 Felician, 7-5; #4 Wilmington def. #7 Bloomfield, 1-0; #5 Caldwell def. #4 Wilmington, 7-2
2012 (0-2): #5 Post def. #4 Wilmington, 6-1; #8 Holy Family def. #4 Wilmington, 8-5
2013 (2-2): #3 Wilmington def. #6 Holy Family, 10-2; #2 Caldwell def. #3 Wilmington, 1-0; #3 Wilmington def. #5 USciences, 1-0; #4 Georgian Court def. #3 Wilmington, 7-0
2014 (4-0): #5 Wilmington def. #4 Holy Family, 4-2; #5 Wilmington def. #1 Caldwell, 6-3; #5 Wilmington def. #3 Post, 6-0; #5 Wilmington def. #2 Georgian Court, 5-2
2015 (2-2): #3 Wilmington def. #6 Felician, 4-0; #3 Wilmington def. #2 Dominican, 3-2; #1 Caldwell def. #3 Wilmington, 4-3; #2 Dominican def. #3 Wilmington, 3-0
2016 (4-0): #3 Wilmington def. #6 Concordia, 1-0; #3 Wilmington def. #7 Bloomfield, 10-5; #3 Wilmington def. #4 Holy Family, 9-2; #3 Wilmington def. #4 Holy Family, 1-0
Overall: 17-16
Season Series and All-Time vs. CACC Tournament Participants:
#1 Caldwell University Cougars: 2017 – L 5-3/L 12-0 (5); All-Time – 8-29; CACC Tournament – 1-7
#2 Holy Family University: 2017 – L 5-3/L 6-3; All-Time – 14-18; CACC Tournament – 4-2
#3 Dominican College: 2017 – L 4-1/W 4-0; All-Time – 10-21; CACC Tournament – 1-2
#4 Wilmington University
#5 Goldey-Beacom College: 2017 – W 12-0 (5)/L 2-1 (9); All-Time – 19-8; CACC Tournament – 0-1
#6 Felician University: 2017 – L 5-4/W 7-0; All-Time – 22-10; CACC Tournament – 4-1
#7 Philadelphia University: 2017 – W 2-0/L 1-0; All-Time – 16-15; CACC Tournament – 0-1
#8 Post University: 2017 – W 10-0 (5)/W 7-6; All-Time – 17-12; CACC Tournament – 2-1
2017 CACC Softball Tournament Game Schedule:
Thursday, May 4:
Game 1: #1 Caldwell vs. #8 Post (10 a.m., Field 1)
Game 2: #2 Holy Family vs. #7 Philadelphia (10 a.m., Field 2)
Game 3: #3 Dominican vs. #6 Felician (12 p.m., Field 1)
Game 4: #4 Wilmington vs. #5 Goldey-Beacom (12 p.m., Field 2)
Game 5: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser (2 p.m., Field 1)
Game 6: Game 2 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser (2 p.m., Field 2)
Game 7: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner (4 p.m., Field 1)
Game 8: Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner (4 p.m., Field 2)
Friday, May 5:
Game 9: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser (11 a.m., Field 1)
Game 10: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Loser (11 a.m., Field 2)
Game 11: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (1 p.m., Field 1)
Game 12: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner (1 p.m., Field 2)
Game 13: Game 12 Winner vs. Game 11 Loser (3 p.m., Field 1)
Saturday, May 6:
Game 14: Game 11 Winner vs. Game 13 Winner (12 p.m., Field 1)
Game 15: "If Necessary Game" Game 14 Winner vs. Game 14 Loser (2 p.m., Field 1)