LAKEWOOD, N.J. - - The 2018 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Softball Tournament begins on Thursday at Georgian Court University with Wilmington University earning the No. 2 seed squaring off against No. 7 Holy Family at 10:00 a.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 5. The CACC Tournament winner earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament.
The Wildcats (35-15, 21-5 CACC) are looking to continue their trend by winning CACC Tournament Championships in every other season, after capturing the 2014 and 2016 Tournament Championships.
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/2017-18/schedule for each specific game live stat link. Game updates can also been followed by logging onto Twitter and following @WilmUAthletics.
Scouting the No. 2 Wilmington University Wildcats:
The Wildcats won a record number of CACC games this season, going 21-5 in the regular season. They bested the mark set by the 2016 team that went 20-6 and went on to win the CACC Tournament.
The Wildcats had five players named All-CACC earlier this week, including the CACC Pitcher of the Year in Makayla McCarthy. The Wildcats also placed five players on the All-CACC teams in 2015 and 2016.
McCarthy leads the CACC with 191 strikeouts this season, going 16-8 overall with a CACC second best 1.70 ERA. She struck out a season high 14 batters twice on the year, finishing the year with seven games of 10 or more strikeouts.
Rosa'Lynn Burton repeated her First Team All-CACC performance in her sophomore season, ranking second in the CACC with a .465 batting average and leading the league with 39 stolen bases. Caitlyn Whiteside also repeated as a CACC First Team performer, leading the CACC with 18 wins, going 18-7 overall. She is fourth in the CACC with a 2.60 ERA and has three shutouts with 21 complete games.
Annie Davila was the final Wildcat on the First Team, earning the utility spot. She finished the regular season with a .311 batting average, collecting 32 hits with five doubles, four home runs, and 27 RBI. Freshman Lauren Lopez was named the Second Team All-CACC third baseman after hitting .286 with 42 hits, eight double, a triple, two home runs, and ranking fifth in the CACC with 36 RBI.
As a team, the Wildcats rank third overall with a .312 batting average, and third in CACC play with a .341 batting average. The Wildcats lead the CACC with an overall ERA of 2.19, .44 lower than Caldwell. They are second in CACC play with a 1.91 team ERA. Defensively, the Wildcats are second overall with a .961 fielding percentage and fourth in league play with a .964 fielding percentage.
All-Time Series with Holy Family:
Thursday will be the 35th meeting between the two programs since the Wildcats joined the NCAA ranks for the 2005 season. It will be the seventh meeting between the two teams in the CACC Tournament with the Wildcats holding a 4-2 advantage over the Tigers. The two teams met twice in the 2016 CACC Tournament, with the Wildcats inning both matchups, including a 1-0 victory for the Championship.
In the last 10 meeting between the two programs, the teams have split the meeting, 5-5. The Tigers swept the Wildcats in the 2015 and 2017 regular season doubleheaders, with the Wildcats sweeping all four games they played in 2016. The teams split the regular season doubleheader this season.
Overall, the Tigers lead the all-time series, 19-15.
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
2017 (0-2): #5 Goldey-Beacom def. #4 Wilmington, 2-0; #8 Post def. #4 Wilmington, 9-1 (6 inn.)
Overall: 17-18
Season Series and All-Time vs. CACC Tournament Participants:
#1 Caldwell University Cougars: 2018 – at L 3-2 (8)/W 6-5; All-Time – 9-30; CACC Tournament – 1-7
#2 Wilmington University Wildcats
#3 Georgian Court University Lions: 2018 – at W 12-3 (5)/W 11-3 (6); All-Time – 18-12; CACC Tournament – 1-1
#4 Dominican College Chargers: 2018 – at W 4-1/W 3-2; All-Time – 12-21; CACC Tournament – 1-2
#5 Post University Eagles: 2018 – vs. W 5-3/L 3-1; All-Time – 18-14; CACC Tournament – 1-2
#6 Felician University Golden Falcons: 2018 – vs. W 8-3/W 5-0; All-Time – 24-10; CACC Tournament – 4-1
#7 Holy Family University Tigers: 2018 – vs. W 8-5/L 7-6; All-Time – 15-19; CACC Tournament – 4-2
#8 Jefferson Rams: 2018 – at W 9-0/W 6-4; All-Time – 18-15; CACC Tournament – 0-1
2018 CACC Softball Tournament Game Schedule:
Thursday, May 3:
Game 1: #1 Caldwell vs. #8 Jefferson (10 a.m., Field 1)
Game 2: #2 Wilmington vs. #7 Holy Family (10 a.m., Field 2)
Game 3: #3 Georgian Court vs. #6 Felician (12 p.m., Field 1)
Game 4: #4 Dominican vs. #5 Post (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 4:
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 s. Game 11 Loser (3 p.m., Field 1)
Saturday, May 5:
Game 14: Game 11 Winner vs. Game 13 Winner (12 p.m., Field 1)
Game 15: "If Necessary" Game (2 p.m., Field 1)