SCHENECTADY, N.Y.-The women's softball team received its second consecutive bid to the NCAA Division III championship tournament and will begin playing for the national crown on Friday against Staten Island at Ramapo College at 10 a.m.
The 21-3 Dutchwomen are among the 44 teams that are playing for the championship and are the Mahwah, New Jersey, region's No. 4 seed. Staten Island, which is 18-12-1, is seeded fifth. Moravian (34-4) is the region's top seed and received a first-round bye while No. 2 Ramapo (32-6) will play No. 3 Allegheny (22-14) on Friday.
“This is a great reward for a team that has worked extremely hard again this year,” said head coach Peter Brown, who has guided the Dutchwomen to a seven-year record of 151-75-1. “Reaching the national tournament was one of the top four goals that the team set for itself this year. Winning the UCAA title (which they did with their 7-1 record), winning 20 games, and earning a spot in the NCAA tournament were our top three goals, and we have achieved those,” Brown explained. “Our next goal is to improve upon last year's finish in the tournament.”
The 2003 Dutchwomen advanced to the championship round of the New York State regional last year at Cortland. Union lost to Ithaca, 5-4, in its first-ever NCAA game then beat William Paterson (3-1), Elms (8-0) and Ithaca (7-3) before losing to Cortland (3-1) in the regional title showdown.
Sophomore pitcher/first baseman Abby Arceneaux (Mechanicville, NY) leads the Dutchwomen, and the UCAA, in both pitching (with an earned run average of 0.66) and hitting (with a batting average of .407). The 2003 UCAA “Rookie of the Year” has a mound record of 11-1 and has given up just 48 hits while striking out 94 in 81.2 innings. Classmate Jackie Coffey (Boston, MA), who has a two-year record of 21-2, is 10-2 this season (both losses coming by the score of 2-1) and has given up 60 hits while striking out 73 in 80 innings of work. The duo has a combined earned run average of 0.89.
Freshman second baseman Colleen White is second on the team in hitting with her .360 average and is tied with Arceneaux for the team lead in runs batted in with 18. Her .560 slugging percentage (which includes a team-high six doubles with three home runs) is second to sophomore Julie Gawronski's (Dunkirk, NY) .579 standard. Gawronski, who is hitting .303, has four doubles, a triple and a team-high five home runs (giving her 10 for her career) among her 23 hits. Third on Union's hitting chart is sophomore shortstop Beth Carcone (Utica, NY) who is hitting .347.
Tournament Schedule (double elimination):
Friday, May 7
- Game 1-Union vs. Staten Island, 10 a.m.
- Game 2-Ramapo vs. Allegheny, 12:00 p.m.
- Game 3-Winner Game 1 vs. Moravian, 2:00 p.m.
- Game 4-Loser game 1 vs. loser game 2, 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 8
- Game 5-Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 11:00 a.m.
- Game 6-Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3, 1:00 p.m.
- Game 7-Loser Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 9
- Game 8-Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 7, 12:00 p.m.
- Game 9-(if necessary)-Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 8, 2:00 p.m.