The Union College softball team, ranked #8 in the latest NFCA poll, is the top seed for the NCAA Division III Softball Championship regionals to be held in Ithaca, NY. The Dutchwomen (30-4) will face either Ithaca or Misericordia Friday, May 13 at 2 p.m. The regionals will continue through Sunday, May 15, with a rain date scheduled for Monday, May 16.
Other teams joining Union at this regional are #2 seed Cortland (31-9), #3 Western New England (37-4), #4 Misericordia (30-9), #5 Ithaca (24-11) and #6 King's (31-10). Friday's first game features Ithaca vs. Misericordia at 10 a.m., followed by Western New England vs. King's at 12 p.m. After Union's game against the Game One winner, Cortland will face the winner of the Western New England-King's contest at 4 p.m. Friday.
Top-seed Union is ranked eighth in the nation, the highest ranking in the program's history, and enters the NCAA's with a school record 30 victories. The Dutchwomen have won 27 of the last 28 games, and rank in the top 10 nationally in batting (.346), ERA (0.74) and winning percentage (.882). Junior outfielder Julie Gawronski (Dunkirk, NY/Dunkirk) is batting .468 and has 13 doubles, and her 42 RBIs ranks her in the top 15 nationally. Freshman outfielder Kelly Owings (Oswego, NY/Oswego) is hitting .446 and has 11 stolen bases. Union has had outstanding seasons from two junior pitchers. Abby Arceneaux (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) is 14-2 with a 0.73 ERA and has 134 strikeouts in 105 innings. Jackie Coffey (Boston, MA/Boston), a three-time Liberty League Pitcher of the Week, enters the NCAA's with a 15-game winning streak and is 16-2 with a 0.75 ERA. This is Union's third NCAA softball tournament appearance all-time, and third straight.
College Misericordia, located in Dallas, PA, won the automatic bid from the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference. The CM Cougars are ranked 12th in NCAA Division III in battign at .348, and 20th in scoring with an average of 6.58 runs per contest. Catcher Jennifer Gehman is fourth in the country in hitting with a .512 average in 39 games. She also has eight triples, (ranked 14th), is slugging at .845 (18th) and has 48 runs scored (13th). Kristi Devins is 17-3 with a 1.13 ERA.
Ithaca won the Empire 8 Conference championship and automatic NCAA bid. The Bombers reached the championship round of the NCAA regionals last season, and won the 2002 national championship. Second baseman Jessica Stangarone is hitting .359 in 35 games, and outfielder Leigh Bonkowski is ranked 14th in the country in home runs with eight on the year. Freshman Carly Myers is 16-4 with a 0.98 ERA for the Bombers.
There are 43 teams competing in this year's tournament. The winners of the eight regionals will compete in the finals, May 20-24 at the Walnut Creek Softball Complex in Raleigh, North Carolina. The event will be hosted by Peace College.