RELEASE DATE: 5/08/03

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MANSFIELD HOST ECAC DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1994  

MANSFIELD – The Mansfield University softball team will host the ECAC Division II Softball Championship Tournament for the first time since 1994 this Saturday and Sunday at Helen Lutes Field.

Mansfield will be the #3 seed with an 18-16 record. Georgian Court College (NJ) is the top seed with a 30-11 mark.

Teikyo-Post (CT) is the number two seed at 26-18-1 with Dowling College (NY) the fourth seed with a 24-24 record.

It will mark the Mountaineers seventh trip to the ECAC Championship Tournament since 1989. Mansfield won the title in 1991 and 1992 and finished second in 1989, 1990, 1994 and 1999.

Saturday’s opening round games will be played at 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm.

Sunday’s Championship Round will be played at 10 a.m. and noon and 2 p.m. if needed.

ECAC DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

#1 Seed            Georgian Court College

Georgian Court brings the best record in the tournament into Helen Lutes field with a 30-11 mark. The Golden Lions were the regular season champions of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) winning 18 of 20 games.

They finished second in the conference in hitting with a .290 team batting average and were also second in home runs (11). Junior Lisa Hollis ranked third in the CACC with a .416 batting average with seven home runs and a conference best 35 RBI.

Georgian Court also led the CACC in pitching with a team ERA of 0.94. Senior Lauren Anderson was the ace on the mound with a 18-6 overall record. In 157.2 innings worked, Anderson struck out 176 strikeouts while recording a CACC leading 10 shutouts. Sophomore Sherry Keech topped the CACC in ERA with a mark of 0.88 and posted a 12-5 record.

#2 Seed            Teikyo Post University

The #4 seed in the CACC Championship Tournament, Teikyo Post stunned the field by capturing the school’s first CACC Championship last weekend. Freshman Crista Holtom was named MVP of the CACC Tournament after see pitched every inning with a perfect 3-0 record. Teikyo post was fifth in the CACC in pitching with a 2.23 team ERA. Holtom led the conference in wins with a 21-11 record and started in 23 games.

The Eagles are eighth in the conference in hitting with a .268 batting average with senior Krissy Tarallo hitting a team leading .336 with 44 hits including 10 doubles and three home runs. Junior Diane Mulligan is right behind Tarallo with a .322 batting average including 23 RBI.

#3 Seed             Mansfield University

The Mountaineers just missed the NCAA Mid Atlantic Regional after finishing seventh in the regional rankings.  Mansfield ranked fourth in the PSAC in hitting with a .289 team batting average and was first in home runs with 29.

Mansfield had three of the top 15 hitters in the PSAC this season. Senior Jes Ricker, a four-time All-PSAC selection, ranked sixth in the conference with a .366 average and in the top ten in nine different categories. Sophomore Jaclyn Laskowski was 15^th in the PSAC with a .337 average and led the conference in home runs (9) and was second in RBI (33). Sophomore Alison Tagliaferri was 14^th in batting with a .341 average with five home runs.

Taglaiferri was also an ace on the mound and ranked fourth in the PSAC in strikeouts per game. Freshman Kristen Dean went 7-5 from the mound.

#4 Seed            Dowling College

The Golden Lions finished with a 16-8 conference mark and 24-24 overall finish. Dowling was eighth in the NYCAC in hitting with a .243 team batting average and fifth in team pitching with a 2.10 ERA.

Jackie Legnon topped the team in batting with a .301 average with Megan Pfaeffle hitting .289 with three home runs and 18 RBI.

Crystal Freyer went 11-6 overall with a 1.83 ERA. In 18 appearances, she recorded 16 complete games with four shutouts. Nicole Porter (3-5) and Megan Pfaeffle (5-7) round out a solid staff.