Shippensburg to Host 2005 PSAC Softball Championship

April 27, 2005

Tournament Web Site | Tournament Bracket (.pdf)

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Shippensburg University will serve as the host institution for the 2005 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Softball Championship, April 28-30.  Thursday's action at Robb Sports Complex begins at 10:00 a.m.

This year's tournament marks a pair of firsts.  This is the first time that Shippensburg, two-time defending champions, will host the tournament since the championship was inaugurated 26 years ago.  Furthermore, the championship has expanded from its traditional four-team qualification and has a six-team field this season.

Shippensburg, the East No. 1 seed, and Lock Haven University, the No. 1 seed from the West, have first-round byes.  The opening game of the tournament has East No. 2 Bloomsburg University against West No. 3 California University (Pa.).  Scheduled for a Noon start, West No. 2 Indiana University (Pa.) will play East No. 3 Kutztown University.  Lock Haven will take on the game one winner at 2:00 p.m. and Shippensburg the game two winner at 4:00 p.m.

Below are brief capsules on each of this year's participants.

Shippensburg - No. 1 East (37-3, 20-2)
The Lady Raiders are coming off their second straight PSAC East title…Shippensburg currently leads the nation in team batting average (.388)…Senior CF/C Jaime Dacey leads the country with a .569 batting average…she also leads the conference in triples (11), runs scored (48), hits (70), and RBIs (54)…Senior LF Liz Corr (.473) holds Shippensburg career records for hits (271), runs (161), and at-bats (677)…Other top hitters include senior C Sarah Costa (.455, 10 2B, 7 3B, 6 HR)…On the mound, Shippensburg is led by junior Kelley Tiesi (21-1, 0.66 ERA, 164 K), who recently recorded her 700th career strikeout, and freshman Danielle Shields (11-1, 1.14 ERA, 110 K)…Shippensburg is looking for its third consecutive PSAC Championship.

Lock Haven - No. 1 West (32-6, 17-1)
The Lady Eagles claimed an outright PSAC West title for the first time since 1988 - a year in which they finished as national runners-up... Five more wins would tie the school record which was set in 2002... CF Lynn Spiezio holds career records for at-bats (536) and hits (196), and is just two shy of the stolen base record (79)... Junior SS Courtney Hughes is tied for career HRs with 13, seven of which came this season... She leads the team with a .387 batting average... Other top hitters include C Janet Paterson (.344, 8 HR, 34 RBI) and 2B Heather Johnson (.382, 24 RBI)... The pitching staff is solid, with Janet Middlestead (13-1, 0.74 ERA, 106 K) and Shona Guevara (17-4, 1.29, 123 K) sharing duties... Lock Haven's only tournament championship came in 1982.

Bloomsburg - No. 2 East (36-6, 17-5)
Bloomsburg is making its 22nd appearance in the PSAC tournament in the last 23 years, after failing to qualify for the tournament last year…The Huskies lead the conference with a 0.98 team earned run average…senior Jaime Wilson (10-1, 0.72 ERA, 84 K) and senior Amanda Smith (12-3, 1.35 ERA, 132 K) are the top hurlers…Senior 1B/DH Sara Roba is one of the top hitters in the conference, with a .409 batting average, 16 doubles, 8 home runs and 48 RBIs….Other top hitters include senior 1B Dee Wolfe (.400, 33 RBIs, 16 2B) and senior SS Amanda Breon (.394, 7 3B, 16 extra base hits)…Bloomsburg has won 13 PSAC Championships…Its last title came in 2002.

Indiana (Pa.) - No. 2 West (21-13, 13-6)
The Indians hopes rely heavily on the arm of junior P Jodie Swavely (15-3, 1.54 ERA, 140 K, 16 CG), who has handled well over half of the Indians innings this season... She ranks in IUP's top five in nearly every career pitching category... She also a strong presence at the plate with a .355 average, 27 runs, 11 extra-base hits and 22 RBI... C Sarah White (.398, 9 2B, 7 HR, 32 RBI) is one of the leagues top hitters... She is joined by 1B Carolyn Fendrich (.367, 16 runs, 7 2B) and utility player Melissa Klingensmith (.325, 15 runs, 16 RBI)... Though a perennial contender, IUP seeks its first softball championship.

Kutztown - No. 3 East (26-20, 13-11)
The Golden Bears are making their second consecutive appearance in the PSAC tournament…sophomore OF Adriane Willmer leads Kutztown at the plate, batting .365 with 5 doubles and 4 triples…she also has 13 stolen bases…several batters could step up at the tournament for the Golden Bears, including senior SS Stacy Bricker (.398, 14 2B, 30 RBIs) and freshman utility player Tarin Horonozy (.355, 5 HR, 33 RBIs)…the pitching duties are shared by Cheryl Griffith (8-6, 1.96 ERA, 63K), Rachel Weidensaul (8-6, 2.34 ERA, 48 K) and Stacey Denlinger (9-6, 2.84 ERA, 86 K)…Kutztown will be looking for its first softball championship.

California (Pa.) - No. 3 West (24-14, 13-7)
California comes into the tournament as a rare underdog as it didn't win the PSAC West title for the first time in 17 seasons... The Vulcans have a powerful hitting unit... The league's top hitter, SS/3B Jennifer Doty has registered a .493 average with 17 doubles, 14 HR, 5 3B, 49 RBI and 47 runs... Freshman 1B Amanda Collins has had a stellar rookie campaign (.410, 18 runs, 29 RBI, 13 extra-base hits)... P/1B Becky Mezyk has 12 wins on the mound at hits .394 with 42 runs, 16 extra-base hits and 31 RBI... 3B Carlee Yaquinto (.386, 19 runs) and OF/2B Debbie Tedesco (.352, 28 runs, 28 RBI, 13 extra-base hits)  round the West's top hitting unit... California has won six league championships... Its most recent came in 2000, the last of five straight titles.

- Lady Raider Softball -