All Four Teams from 2007 Tournament Return for Shot at 2008 Title

HADLEY, Mass. - Defending NESCAC Softball Champion Tufts University will look to earn a second-straight title when the Jumbos compete in the 2008 NESCAC Softball Championship against Trinity, Wesleyan and Williams at the Wesleyan Softball Field in Middletown, Conn. this weekend. The three-day, double-elimination tournament begins on Friday, May 2 with Trinity facing host Wesleyan at 2:30 p.m., followed shortly afterwards with Williams taking on Tufts at 5:00 p.m. The 2008 NESCAC Softball Championship continues throughout the weekend and will conclude on Sunday, May 4 with the championship game beginning at 10:00 a.m. Fans unable to attend this weekend’s action will be able to follow all three games live via the Internet thanks to Wesleyan ITS.

After making its first-ever appearance in the NESCAC Softball Championship last spring, Wesleyan (18-14, 10-2 NESCAC West) finished atop the West Division standings for the first time in program history and earned the right to host this year’s championship. The Cardinals picked up series sweeps over Hamilton and Middlebury while also taking 2-of-3 games from Amherst and Williams to claim the West’s top seed. After locking up hosting duties on April 18 with an 11-2 win over Amherst, the Cardinals have gone 2-3, most recently splitting a two-game set with rival Trinity on Saturday, April 26, winning the first game 7-3 before falling in the second outing 6-5. Against this year’s championship field, Wesleyan is 4-2, as the Cardinals edged Tufts 9-6 during spring break on March 18. Wesleyan ranks second in the conference in offense heading into the weekend, collectively batting .330, while the pitching staff is fifth overall with an ERA of 3.24. Freshman Talia Bernstein (Miami, Fla.) currently paces the Cardinals at the dish, hitting .417 with a team-high 45 hits, 28 RBIs, and team-record and league-leading 10 doubles while starting all 32 games. Sophomore Meaghan Dendy (Swansea, Mass.), an All-Conference First Team member last spring, leads Wesleyan from the rubber with a 10-4 record and a 2.08 ERA over 16 appearances, pitching 11 complete games. Dendy has also helped her own cause on occasion, with a .388 average in the batter’s box along with seven doubles, a triple, and a team-high 30 runs scored.

Tufts (25-8, 11-1 NESCAC East) also secured the top seed in its division a week before the end of the season by taking 2-of-3 from East Division foe Trinity in Medford, Mass. The Jumbos are in the midst of another stellar spring, having gone 18-3 since the start of April. Tufts finished out the conference slate last weekend with a three-game sweep of Bates in Lewiston, Maine, winning Friday’s contest 8-0 in five innings before taking two on Saturday, 7-3 and 19-0. Against this year’s championship field, Tufts is 2-3. The Jumbos lead the league in most statistical categories, including batting (.347), on-base percentage (.397), runs scored (.234), hits (327), home runs (25), stolen bases (60), and double-plays turned (16). Pitching for the Jumbos has also been a strong point, as the team’s 2.56 ERA is second among all conference teams while opponents have hit .255 against them, also second in the NESCAC. Leading the Tufts pitching staff is rookie Izzie Santone (Madison, Conn.) with a 2.02 ERA and a 6-2 record, while sophomore Stefanie Tong (Burlingame, Calif.) is 8-0 with a 2.49 ERA and junior Lauren Gelmetti (Westfield, N.J.) holds a 2.65 ERA and an 8-2 mark. At the plate, sophomore Christy Tinker (Woodbridge, Conn.) has a team-leading .409 batting average, as her seven home runs place her in a three-way tie among all conference players. Junior Samantha Kuhles (Somerville, N.J.) is second for the Jumbos in hitting with a .398 average, however her 10 doubles are tied with Wesleyan’s Bernstein for the conference lead.

While Trinity (15-13, 8-4 NESCAC East) fell short in its quest for the top spot in the East Division, the Bantams did make the tournament field for the fourth consecutive season. Trinity managed a program first during last year’s championship by reaching the finals before falling to Tufts by a 5-0 score. The Bantams had a rocky end to the regular season, going 3-7 over their last 10 games but still managed to forge a split with Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon. Trinity has only faced Wesleyan once in tournament play, coming during last year’s first elimination game which the Bantams won 8-5. Trinity is 2-3 against the championship field, having not yet faced Williams this season. Statistically, the Bantams are third in the NESCAC in offense, batting .310, while the pitching staff has combined to put together a 3.54 ERA, ranking sixth in the conference. Junior Ariana Mullin (Woodbridge, Conn.) is among the league leaders this year in multiple offensive categories, batting .439 (3rd NESCAC) with an on-base percentage of .495 (3rd) and a slugging mark of .695 (4th).

The remaining playoff spot came down to the wire for Williams (19-18, 7-5 NESCAC West) last Saturday. The Ephs faced NESCAC rival Amherst during the final weekend of play, needing to win only one game to earn a berth in the 2008 championship. After dropping the first two games of the weekend to Amherst, Williams rebounded by winning the third meeting 10-6. The Ephs will be making their eighth-consecutive appearance in the NESCAC Softball Championship, a figure matched only by Tufts. Williams has won three NESCAC Softball crowns, all coming in a row between 2004 and 2006. During last year’s championship at Tufts, the Ephs picked up a day one victory over Trinity before eventually being knocked out on day two by the Bantams. Williams enters the weekend 2-2 against this year’s championship field, and Friday’s meeting between the Ephs and the Jumbos will be the 13th in championship history with the all-time playoff series deadlocked at 6-6. The Ephs rank fourth in the NESCAC with a combined batting average of .301 while collecting a league-best 101 walks. In the circle, the Williams hurlers hold a 3.68 ERA, eighth among league teams. Leading her team and the conference in multiple statistical categories is junior Joey Lye (Scarborough, Ontario), an All-NESCAC selection in each of the last two years. The Ephs’ leadoff hitter is first in batting average at .512 along with an on-base percentage of .572, 40 runs scored, and 62 hits, 15 more than the next closest batter in the league.

The top two teams from the East and West divisions earn the right to participate in the NESCAC Softball Championship. The host site rotates between divisions on a yearly basis, with the top team in the West Division earning the right to host the event this season. After Friday’s pair of contests, Saturday’s morning game will be the first elimination game of the tournament between the two first day losers, followed by a contest between the first day winners. The late afternoon contest on Saturday will be an elimination game between the two teams who split their first two tournament games. Sunday’s championship will feature the survivor of the final game on Saturday and the remaining undefeated team in the tournament. A second game will immediately follow if the undefeated team falls in Sunday’s championship game.

2008 NESCAC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Day 1 - Friday, May 2 at Wesleyan
Game 1 - E2 Trinity at W1 Wesleyan - 2:30 p.m.
Game 2 - W2 Williams vs. E1 Tufts - 5:00 p.m.
Day 2 - Saturday, May 3 at Wesleyan
Game 3 - Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 - 10:00 a.m.
Game 4 - Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 - 12:30 p.m.
Game 5 - Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 - 3:00 p.m.
Day 3 - Sunday, May 4 at Wesleyan
Game 6 - Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5 - 10:00 a.m.
Game 7 - If Necessary - Immediately Following