Softball | 5/20/2021 4:29:00 PM
EAU CLAIRE, Wisc. – The No. 17 Alfred University softball team will look to make its first trip to the Badger State a successful one, as the Saxons begin their NCAA Tournament journey Friday afternoon from Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Bollinger Fields.
The Saxons (31-9) are seeded second in the Eau Claire, Wisconsin region and will face fifth-seeded Piedmont (Ga.) in the first round on Friday at 1 p.m. EST. On the other side of the bracket, top-seed Wisconsin-Oshkosh will take on sixth-seeded Illinois College, while eighth-ranked and third seeded Linfield (Ore.) will face Southern Maine. More information about the double elimination tournament is available at the Tournament Central link below. The winner at each of the eight six-team regionals advances to play for the national championship May 27-June 1 in Salem, Va.
Live Stats/Video:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/uwec/
Tournament Central:
https://www.blugolds.com/sports/sball/NCAARegionals
The Saxons are making their fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, all in the last 11 years (2010, 2014, 2015, 2021). AU is 10-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament games, including a Women's College World Series run in the 2015 season. The Saxons have never faced Piedmont, Southern Maine, or Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The Saxons faced Linfield once: in the 2015 Women's College World Series opening game, an 8-0 Linfield victory. The Saxons have also faced Illinois College once: a 6-3 Saxon victory in 2008.
Alfred is among the national leaders in several categories. The Saxons are seventh in the nation with a program-record 110 stolen bases, blowing past the previous mark of 66 set by the 2015 and 2017 teams. They are ninth with 388 hits, 15th with 263 runs scored and 25th with 73 doubles, as the team sports a .338 batting average. As a pitching staff, the Saxons are fourth nationally with a 7.12 strikeout to walk ratio and 15th with a 1.06 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched).
Individually, the Saxons are led offensively by a quartet of NFCA All-Region talents. Junior infielder
Ashley Lugo (Hesperia, Calif./Oak Hills) is second on the team with a .406 batting average and leads the team and is second nationally with an AU-record 49 stolen bases. She also leads the team with 49 runs scored, 56 hits, 11 doubles, and four triples. Junior outfielder
Alyssa Guitron (San Bernardino, Calif./Cajon) leads the team with a .409 batting average, adding 29 RBI and a team-leading 11 doubles. Junior infielder
Allison O'Toole (Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley) made the most of playing in just 26 contests, sporting a .444 batting average with 18 RBI and 12 runs scored. Junior infielder
Tatiana Mejia (North Hills, Calif./John F. Kennedy) has started 38 of 39 games at third base, sporting a .341 batting average with a .923 OPS in 115 at-bats. She has 13 extra base hits including 10 doubles and three home runs and is second on the team with 11 stolen bases, 16 drawn walks and 36 runs scored.
The Saxons have also received production from Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, infielder
Mya Wells (San Ramon, Calif./California). The rookie is batting .375 on the season, leading the team with 34 RBI and 17 walks, while adding three home runs. Graduate infielder
Elena Ceja (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Beach Union) leads the team with four home runs, batting a career-best .351 with seven doubles and 18 runs scored.
In the circle, Empire 8 Pitcher of the Year and NFCA All-Region selection in graduate
Jessica Wilcox (Forestville, N.Y./Pine Valley) sports a 17-4 record with a 1.32 earned run average, seven shutouts, and an AU-record 232 strikeouts in 24 appearances and 143 1/3 innings pitched. Wilcox is among the national leaders in several categories. She is second in the nation in strikeouts, sixth in strikeouts per seven innings (11.6), shutouts, and strikeout-to-walk ratio (19.83), and 14th in WHIP (0.77). Sophomore
Arden Hatch (Orangevale, Calif./St. Francis) has gotten stronger in the tail end of the season, with a 7-2 record, 3.22 earned run average, and 54 strikeouts and two shutouts in 15 appearances and 58 2/3 innings pitched. She has allowed just six earned runs in her last six appearances. First year
Megan Bennett (Athens, Pa./Athens Area) is also 7-2 on the year, with a 2.71 earned run average and 47 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings.
Piedmont (22-11) is the regular season division and tournament champions of the USA-South Conference. The Lions are making their second straight and eighth overall tournament appearance with a 12-14 overall record.
Piedmont is batting .308 on the year while compiling a 1.57 earned run average that ranks eighth in the country. The Lions' 18 triples on the year are eighth most in the nation.
Outfielder Katelyn Perry, the USA South Player of the Year, was Piedmont University's lone representative on the NFCA All-Region Team, after hitting .432 with a team-best eight doubles, five triples, four home runs, 35 runs batted in, a .747 slugging percentage and a .482 on-base percentage. The Lions' Martina Maloch was named USA South Pitcher of the Year, producing a 9-2 record with a 1.63 earned run average and 63 strikeouts in 98.2 innings.
Top-seeded
Wisconsin-Oshkosh (24-11) comes into the tournament as champions of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). This is the ninth tournament appearance for the Titans, who have earned regional titles in the 1988 and 2017 seasons.
UW-Oshkosh has four NFCA All-Region talents in pitcher Maddie Fink, catcher Hannah Ritter, outfielder Natalie Dillon, and infielder Amanda McIlhany. Fink, the WIAC Pitcher of the Year, has a 16-3 record with two saves, a 2.29 earned run average and 88 strikeouts in 122.1 innings pitched. Ritter paces the team with a .472 batting average, 58 hits, 11 doubles, 72 total bases, a .585 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage to go along with 21 runs batted in.
Linfield (36-7) is back in the NCAA tournament for the 16th time since 2004. The Wildcats have a 71-32 record in the national postseason, winning Division III titles in 2007 and 2011, and finishing as the runners-up in 2010 and 2012. Linfield's 71 wins are the seventh most in tournament history.
This year's version of the Wildcats sports a .352 batting average and a 3.90 earned run average and has a potent offense. Linfield ranks second nationally in home runs (45) and runs scored (344), seventh in slugging percentage (.567) and stolen bases (113), and eighth in scoring (8.0).
Six Wildcats earned NFCA All-Region honors: catcher Kamryn Apling, outfielders Kelsey Wilkinson and Baily Paul, infielder Katrina Johns, designated player Emma Podliska and pitcher Tayah Kelley. Wilkinson, whose 32 steals rank 10th in the nation, is batting .392 with 60 hits, 13 doubles and 52 runs scored. Kelley is 17-4 with a 4.47 earned run average and 134 strikeouts in 131 innings.
Southern Maine (31-4-1) earned one of seven at-large bids to enter the 2021 tournament after earning a Little East regular season title but fell in the championship round of its conference tournament. This is the third NCAA Tournament appearance for the Huskies, who reached the dance in consecutive seasons in 1998 and 1999. USM are an almost-perfect 13-0-1 in road games this season.
As a team, Southern Maine sports a .359 batting average and a 2.34 earned run average. They have a pair of NFCA All-Region honorees in pitcher Kirsten Pelletier and catcher Ashley Tinsman. Pelletier has a 13-1 record this season with a 2.50 earned run average and 64 strikeouts in 103.2 innings pitched. Tinsman powers the Huskies' offense with a .446 batting average, 54 hits, 42 runs scored, seven home runs, 49 RBIs, a .719 slugging percentage and a .496 on-base percentage. Tinsman is seventh nationally in RBI.
Illinois College (25-12) is making its NCAA Tournament debut this weekend after lifting the Midwest Conference (MWC) Championship. The Lady Blues have won 14 of their last 15 games entering the tournament.
The Lady Blues sport a .296 batting average and a 2.15 earned run average. They have 13 shutouts this season, good for ninth nationally. Illinois College has a pair of NFCA All-Region selections in pitcher Sydney Hood and outfielder Madisyn Webster. Webster is batting a team-best .451 with 55 hits, 34 runs scored, 13 steals and a .485 on-base percentage. All but five of Webster's hits this season have been singles. Hood, the MWC South Pitcher of the Year, is 13-5 with a 1.29 earned run average, five shutouts and 99 strikeouts in 114 innings.