LAKEWOOD, N.J. - - The 2014 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Softball Tournament begins on Friday at Georgian Court University with Wilmington earning the No. 5 seed squaring off against No. 4 Holy Family at 12 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 Sunday, May 4. The CACC Tournament winner earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament.
All games scheduled for field 1 will be video streamed via College TV Ticket. Links for the broadcast can be found on the CACC Softball Tournament Home Page at http://www.caccathletics.org/sports/sball/2013-14/championship.
Scouting the No. 5 Wilmington University Wildcats
The Wildcats secured the No. 5 seed for the tournament with a doubleheader sweep over Bloomfield on Saturday, April 26 on Senior Day at Asbury Field. After a five game winning streak, the Wildcats ran into a slump to close out the regular season, losing seven of their last 10 games overall.
Seniors Stephanie Sarris and Meghan Logullo, as well as sophomore Ashley Bennett were named Second Team All-CACC earlier this week after leading the Wildcats to a 16-10 CACC record.
Sarris carried the pitching staff with a 2.28 earned run average, finishing fifth in the CACC. Her 106 strikeouts rank second in the CACC as she has struck out a season high nine batters in three separate games. Sarris' 12-8 record in the circle is the third most amount of wins in the conference.
Bennett belted a team high six home runs while hitting .301 for the season. Her 24 RBIs are tied with Michelle Panasiti's 24 for most on the team.
Logullo anchored the outfield by playing all 48 games in center field, batting .283 on the year. She has four doubles, a triple and 22 RBI while scoring 17 more on the year.
Kelsey Doherty leads the team with a .345 batting average, five triples, 32 runs scored, 18 stolen bases, and 50 hits while Colby Wyatt has come on strong down the stretch to finish with a .344 batting average. Panaisiti leads the team with 11 doubles while Jen Fischbach is the only other Wildcat in double figures with 10.
Scouting the No. 4 Holy Family University Tigers
The Tigers eared the No. 4 seed with a 26-14 overall record and 17-9 record in the CACC. They come into the tournament splitting each of their last four doubleheaders, and 4-6 in their last 10 games overall. In each of the splits, the Tigers won the first game before dropping game two.
Holy Family placed five student-athletes on the All-CACC teams, led by redshirt senior Danielle McDevitt's First Team All-CACC accolades. AnnMarie Dalton was voted Second Team All-CACC while Kelsi Bunda, Brianna Scotto, and Bailey Walters garnered Honorable Mention recognition.
McDevitt lead the Tigers with a .440 batting average, ranking fifth in the CACC. She has four doubles and two triples as a part of her 51 hits on the year to go along with 28 runs scored and 16 RBI.
Erin Corrado's eight home runs ranks third in the CACC while her 34 RBI is good enough for ninth in the CACC. She is batting .283 with five doubles and 21 runs scored.
Bailey Walters leads the staff with a 1.79 earned run average while going 11-3 in the circle. She has three complete game shutouts on the year in 93.2 innings of work to go along with 67 strikeouts and 30 walks. Rachael Alligood also threw against the Wildcats in the regular season, finishing the year with a 7-3 record and a 3.21 earned run average. Amanda Paredes made 12 starts and has a 6-3 record, striking out 58 batters while only walking 13 in 83 innings of work.
All-Time Series
Friday will be the 24th meeting between the two programs since the Wildcats joined the NCAA ranks for the 2005 season. With the sweep earlier this season, the Tigers hold a 14-9 advantage in the all-time series.
The Tigers have taken four straight in the regular season but the Wildcats defeated the Tigers last year in the CACC Tournament. In 2012, the Wildcats swept the Tigers in the regular season but Holy Family took the important game in the CACC Tournament.
All-Time in CACC Tournament
It is the eighth time in the past 10 seasons the Wildcats earned a spot in the CACC Tournament.
Since joining the ranks of the NCAA in 2005, the Wildcats have only missed two CACC Tournament (2006 and 2010). The Wildcats have won two games in the double-elimination tournament on three separate occasions (2007, 2011, and 2012). They have an overall record of 7-14 in seven CACC Tournaments, going 2-2 last season.
Season Series and All-time vs. CACC Tournament Participants:
#1 Caldwell College Cougars: 2014 – 0-2 (1-10 and 2-9); All-Time – 5-22 (0-5 CACC Tournament)
#2 Georgian Court University Lions: 2014 – 2-0 (5-2 and 3-2); All-Time – 9-12 (0-1 CACC Tournament)
#3 Post University Eagles: 2014 – 1-1 (2-13 and 11-1); All-Time – 12-10 (1-1 CACC Tournament)
#4 Holy Family University Tigers: 2014 – 0-2 (2-4 and 1-2); All-Time – 9-14 (1-2 CACC Tournament)
#5 Wilmington University Wildcats
#6 Dominican College Chargers: 2014 – 0-2 (1-9 and 2-3); All-Time – 8-15 (0-1 CACC Tournament)
#7 Philadelphia University Rams: 2014 – 1-1 (1-2 and 14-1); All-Time – 12-13 (0-1 CACC Tournament)
#8 Bloomfield College Deacons: 2014 – 2-0 (2-0 and 2-1); All-Time – 17-4 (1-0 CACC Tournament)
2014 CACC Softball Tournament Game Schedule:
Friday, May 2
Game 1 - #1 Caldwell vs. #8 Bloomfield – 10:00 am – Field 1
Game 2 - #2 Georgian Court vs. #7 Philadelphia – 10:00 am – Field 2
Game 3 - #3 Post vs. #6 Dominican – Noon – Field 1
Game 4 - #4 Holy Family vs. #5 Wilmington – Noon – Field 2
Game 5 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 4 loser – 2:00 pm – Field 1
Game 6 – Game 2 loser vs. Game 3 loser – 2:00 pm – Field 2
Game 7 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 4:00 pm – Field 1
Game 8 – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner – 4:00 pm – Field 2
Saturday, May 3
Game 9 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 loser – 11:00 am – Field 1
Game 10 – Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser – 11:00 am – Field 2
Game 11 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner – 1:00 pm – Field 1
Game 12 – Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner – 1:00 pm – Field 2
Game 13 – Game 12 winner vs. Game 11 loser – 3:00 pm – Field 1
Sunday, May 4
Game 14 – Game 11 winner vs. Game 13 winner – 11:00 am – Field 1
Game 15 – (If nec.) Gm 14 winner vs. Gm 14 loser - 1:00 pm – Field 1