Williams Hosts Softball Championship This Weekend

Tufts’ Quest for Fourth Consecutive NESCAC Crown Begins Friday Against Wesleyan

HADLEY, Mass. – For the fist time since 2006, Williams College will host the NESCAC Softball Championship at Cole Field in Williamstown, Mass. The Ephs earned the right to host the conference tournament this year when they secured the top seed in the West Division on the final weekend of the regular season. Williams will face Bowdoin, which is making its first championship appearance since 2004, on Friday, May 7, at 2:30 p.m., followed by three-time defending NESCAC champion Tufts taking on Wesleyan at 5:00 p.m. The 2010 NESCAC Softball Championship is a three-day, double-elimination tournament which will conclude on Sunday, May 9.

Williams (16-19-1, 9-3 NESCAC) had a rocky start to the year during its annual spring break trip to California, winning only three times over 14 games, but recovered nicely and finished the regular season with wins in 13 of its last 22 outings. It was anybody’s guess as to which two teams from a wild West Division would make the NESCAC championship this season. Four teams were separated by two games heading into the final weekend of play, however the Ephs managed to emerge atop the pile thanks to a doubleheader sweep of the Lord Jeffs on Saturday. Williams completed the conference slate with 2-1 series wins over Amherst, Middlebury and Wesleyan, and also earned a sweep of Hamilton. Against this year’s tournament field, the Ephs are 3-2, having split with Tufts on April 22, but have not faced Bowdoin since a 12-inning, 2-1 win in game four of the 2004 NESCAC championship. Williams went on to win its first of three consecutive league titles that year. Hoping to lead the Ephs back to Sunday’s championship game for the first time since 2006 will be rookie sensation Cedar Blazek (Highlands Ranch, Colo.). The first year outfielder has been impressive at the plate, batting .464 with a .500 on-base percentage and an .855 slugging mark. Blazek is currently tied for the conference lead in hits (51) and home runs (10) and leads the league in RBI (40), as her 10 homers are a new single-season program record.

Tufts (22-11, 10-2 NESCAC East) returns to the NESCAC championship for the 10th year in a row, as the Jumbos join the Ephs as the only two programs to make the playoffs every year that the tournament has been held. A year ago Tufts added to its legacy by outscoring its opponents 23-6 over three games en route to its sixth conference crown. The NESCAC championship was part of a remarkable 2009 season which saw the Jumbos start the year with 35 consecutive victories and win a program-record 44 games (44-3). Tufts heads into the weekend riding a seven-game winning streak, most recently sweeping the season series against Colby in East Division play. In addition to the split with Williams, Tufts took 2-of-3 from East foe Bowdoin just over a month ago but has yet to face Wesleyan this year. The Jumbos own a 4-1 record all-time against the Cardinals in NESCAC tournament play, the lone loss forcing a game seven in the 2008 championship. Leading Tufts at the plate this season has been the tandem of freshman Emily Beinecke (Concord, Mass.) and senior Casey Sullivan (Berlin, Conn.). Beinecke is making her case for Rookie of the Year honors as she paces the NESCAC with a .469 batting average and owns a .491 on-base mark. Sullivan ranks among the top 10 players in the conference in hitting with a .417 average and a .843 slugging percentage, tying for the conference lead with 10 home runs while also hitting 10 doubles and going 15-for-16 on stolen base attempts.

Wesleyan (20-15-1, 8-4 NESCAC West) came through when it counted during its final series of the regular season against Middlebury and will participate in the NESCAC championship for the fourth year in a row. Tied with the Panthers prior to their weekend series, the Cardinals dropped the first game 5-0 on Friday but rallied during Saturday’s doubleheader, winning the first game 10-7 in eight innings and then clinching the final playoff spot in the second game with a 6-4 victory. Wesleyan heads into the tournament an even 5-5 in its last 10 outings and has only faced Williams this season in divisional play, going 1-2 against the Ephs with a big 16-6 win an a pair of close losses (7-6, 5-3). The Cardinals’ talented offense has been productive this season, scoring a league-high 226 runs with a team batting average of .315 and a slugging percentage of .433. Pulling double-duty in the batter’s box and inside the circle for the Cardinals has been sophomore Dana Levy (Westport, Conn.) and senior Meaghan Dendy (Swansea, Mass.). Levy has averaged .330 so far this season and has posted a 1.76 ERA over 14 appearances, going 5-4 with two saves. Dendy has driven in a single-season program record 33 runs and averages .315 at the plate while recording 74 strikeouts over 106.2 IP for a 7-7 record and a 3.35 ERA.

Back in the NESCAC championship for the first time in six years is Bowdoin (30-10, 9-3 NESCAC East). The Polar Bears set a record for victories in a season with their 27th in a 4-0 win over Trinity on April 24 and have now won 13 of their last 15 outings, most recently sweeping aside rival Bates this past weekend. The only team that the Polar Bears have seen this spring is the aforementioned series with Tufts, as two of the three games were decided by a single run. Strong pitching has been the cornerstone of Bowdoin’s success this season. The Polar Bears’ pitching staff has combined for a league-low 2.28 ERA and has held opposing batters to an average of .240 while recording 205 strikeouts. In the circle, junior Kara Nilan (Pittsfield, Mass.) has been tough to beat, going 8-2 over 14 appearances with a 1.59 ERA (1st NESCAC), an opposing average of .215, and 76 strikeouts. Senior teammate Julia Jacobs (Ridgewood, N.J.) also ranks among the conference’s top pitchers with a 2.23 ERA over 100.1 innings pitched. Holding opponents to a .242 average, Jacobs has gone 11-5 with two saves over 21 appearances and has registered 69 strikeouts. The duo hope to help their team advance to Sunday’s championship for only the second time in tournament history.

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. 

2010 NESCAC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Day 1 - Friday, May 7 at Williams
Game 1 - E2 Bowdoin at W1 Williams - 2:30 p.m.
Game 2 - W2 Wesleyan vs. E1 Tufts - 5:00 p.m.

Day 2 - Saturday, May 8 at Williams
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 9 at Williams
Game 6 - Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5 - 10:00 a.m.
Game 7 - If Necessary - Immediately Following