NEW CASTLE, Del. - The Wilmington University softball team has earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Division II East Regional 2 Tournament and will face No. 6 Franklin Pierce in the opening round on Thursday at Georgian Court University.
It is the second straight NCAA appearance in which the Wildcats will be the No. 3 seed for the tournament, doing so while hosting the second half of the East Region in 2019. This year, the Wildcats will travel to No. 2 Georgian Court to play in the four-team double-elimination tournament beginning on May 12.
The Wildcats and Ravens have only met once in the Wildcats NCAA era (first season in 2005). The game was a 3-2 victory for the Wildcats in eight innings in 2011 during the team's spring break trip to Florida. In that game, All-American Katie Warrington struck out a still-standing program record 20 batters.
The Wildcats are making their sixth NCAA Regional appearance in 2022, all under head coach Mike Shehorn who took over the reins of the program in 2014.
Location of NCAA Division II East 2 Regional Tournament:
Georgian Court University
517 9th Street
Lakewood, N.J., 08701
Admission to Regional Tournament:
Adults: $10.00
Seniors, Children & College Students w/ school ID: $5.00
Children under 3 are free
Ways to Follow the Action:
Video for All Games: https://www.caccnetwork.com/georgiancourt/
Tournament Home Page: https://gculions.com/sports/2022/5/9/2022-ncaa-division-ii-softball-tournament-east-1-regional.aspx
Scouting the No. 3 Wilmington University Wildcats:
The 2022 Wildcats are a mix of experience and youth and are getting production from both ends of the spectrum. The starting staff of freshman Kylee Gunkel and sophomore Renamarie Rocha lead the Wildcats in the circle while veterans like graduate students Lauren Lopez and Courtney Dellinger, as well as senior Kiersten Comer (CACC All-Tournament Team) are aiding in the lineup.
As a team, the Wildcats are holding the team's best ever overall batting average with a .331 average coming into the tournament. The team's .446 slugging percentage is 2nd best in program history while its .380 on-base percentage ranks third best in a single season in program history.
But the slugging percentage isn't coming from the long ball, as the team's 13 homers this season are third LOWEST in program history. They are hitting the gaps however, producing 88 doubles, which is a new program record, and 18 triples which is third most for a single season.
The 2022 team is built on speed, as they have stolen 113 bases this year which is second most. Those 113 bags have come from a number of student-athletes though, unlike the 2019 team which stole a program record 134 bases, with 92 of them coming from two players alone.
The Wildcats also move runners over, as they are second in all of NCAA Division II with 66 sacrifice bunts. Haley Downin is 14th overall in averaging 0.27 sac bunts a game. Gabbie Saucedo is tied atop the leaderboard in all of NCAA DII with seven sacrifice flies on the year.
All-Time in the NCAA Division II East Regional Tournament:
2014 (1-2): #1 LIU Post def. #8 Wilmington, 1-0; #8 Wilmington def. #4 New Haven, 2-1; #5 Southern New Hampshire def. #8 Wilmington, 1-0
2015 (1-2): #4 Adelphi def. #5 Wilmington, 3-1 (16 inn.); #5 Wilmington def. #8 Pace, 2-0; #1 Caldwell def. #5 Wilmington, 7-2
2016 (0-2): #1 Caldwell def. #8 Wilmington, 4-1; #5 Le Moyne def. #8 Wilmington, 3-2 (8 inn.)
2017 (2-2): #1 Adelphi def. #8 Wilmington, 5-3; #8 Wilmington def. #4 New Haven, 9-3; #8 Wilmington def. #5 Mercy, 12-3; #1 Adelphi def. #8 Wilmington, 5-0.
2019 (0-2): #6 Adelphi def. #3 Wilmington, 4-3 (10 inn.); #7 New Haven def. #3 Wilmington, 7-4
Overall: 4-10
Season and All-Time Series vs. NCAA East 2 Region Participants:
#2 Georgian Court University Lions: 2022 – 2-1 (vs. W 8-0 (5), W 12-6; at L 6-4 (CACC Tourn.); All-Time – 23-17; NCAA Tournament – 0-0
#3 Wilmington University Wildcats
#6 Franklin Pierce University Ravens: 2022 – DNP; All-Time – 1-0 (Last: 2011); NCAA Tournament – 0-0
#7 University of Bridgeport: 2022 – 0-1 (N L 2-0); All-Time – 3-3; NCAA Tournament – 0-0
2022 NCAA Division II East Region 2 Tournament Game Schedule:
Thursday, May 12
Game 1 – 11:00 a.m. - #2 Georgian Court vs. #7 Bridgeport
Game 2 – 2:00 p.m. - #3 Wilmington vs. #6 Franklin Pierce
Friday, May 13
Game 3 – 11:00 a.m. – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 4 – 1:30 p.m. – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5 – 4:00 p.m. – Loser Gam 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Saturday, May 14
Game 6 – 12:00 p.m. – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7 – 2:30 p.m. (if necessary) – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6