BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College softball team is set for its 25th consecutive postseason appearance as the Greyhounds earned the top seed for the 2019 Landmark Conference Tournament that begins on Friday, May 3 at Blue & Grey Field in Bethlehem.
The starts with the Greyhounds playing fourth seed The University of Scranton at 11:00 a.m. Second seed The Catholic University of America and third seed Susquehanna University will battle at 1:00 p.m. and the winners of the first two games will play at 3:00 p.m. Friday, with the winner of that game earning a berth in the championship round on Saturday. The losers of Friday's first two games will begin action on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. Tickets are $7 for adults and $4 for seniors while children under 10 and all Landmark Conference students, faculty and staff with ID are free. Follow the tournament at https://www.moraviansports.com/sports/sball/2018-19/Landmark/index.
Moravian enters the Landmark Tournament as the top seed for the eighth time in the 12-year history of the conference. Moravian has won a total of eight Landmark Conference Championships and is the only program in the conference to make the tournament in each of the conference's 12 seasons.
The Greyhounds, led by 26-year head coach John Byrne who has a career slate of 854-246, has posted a 31-5 overall record this spring, the 26th straight year that Moravian has won at least 23 games, and an 11-1 mark in Landmark Conference action. The Blue & Grey are also ranked No. 10 in the nation in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 poll.
The Hounds, who have won over 30 games 20 times under Byrne, are in the conference tournament for the 20th consecutive season and the 24th time in 25 years. Moravian posted NCAA regional championships in the 2007 and 2010 to earn berths in NCAA Division III World Series and a national runner-up finish at the 2004 Division III World Series. The Hounds have also won regional championships in 2015 and 2018 to advance to the Super Regionals.
Moravian is hitting .385 entering the tournament with 401 hits including 106 extra-base hits with 65 doubles and 26 home runs for a .551 slugging percentage. Moravian has out-scored its opponents, 286-81, for an average of 7.94 runs per game, and the Greyhounds have a .958 fielding percentage. Moravian has posted eight shutouts in 31 wins for a 1.49 ERA, and the Hounds' pitchers have recorded 109 strikeouts and just 37 walks this spring.
Sophomore shortstop Maddisen Bieber leads the Greyhounds at the plate with a .495 average to go with 54 hits, 30 runs, nine doubles and 17 RBIs while freshman pitcher/designated player Alexandria Scheeler is hitting .456 with 47 hits, 19 runs, 12 doubles, a triple, a homer and 32 RBIs. Sophomore designated player/infielder Shannon Brogan has a .418 average with 46 hits, 29 runs, 10 doubles, four triples, a homer and 26 RBIs while sophomore catcher Brooke Wehr is hitting .385 with 52 hits, 44 runs, seven doubles, three triples, seven homers and 30 RBIs. Senior left fielder Kat Spilman is contributing a .374 average with 46 hits, 38 runs, three doubles, a triple, four homers and 31 RBIs while junior right fielder Emily Stanilious is hitting .394 with 41 hits, 33 runs, seven doubles, a triple, 16 walks, 10 stolen bases and 21 RBIs.
Freshman center fielder Cameron Cassisdy has 31 hits, 20 runs, three doubles, two triples, seven stolen bases and 18 RBIs while junior first baseman Lauren Goetz has added 29 hits, 22 runs, eight doubles, 10 homers and 40 RBIs. Senior third baseman Madison Shaneberger has 27 hits, 22 runs, six doubles, a triple, two homers, 17 walks and 20 RBIs while senior second baseman Kaela Kane has nine hits, nine runs, a triple and five RBIs. Freshman infielder Briana DiCandeloro has added five hits, three runs and four RBIs while freshman first baseman Taylor Sanders has five hits, two runs, a homer and four RBIs. Senior infielder/outfielder Julia DeMarco has three hits, four runs, a triple and an RBI while freshman outfielder Victoria Smith has scored four times. Senior outfielder Ashley Gindle has crossed the plate three times while junior outfielder Samantha O'Keefe has scored a pair of runs with one hit. Freshmen Emily Groarke, Aly Hine and Morgan Dwyer all have one hit.
In the circle, junior Paige Lesher is 16-1 with a 1.43 ERA, three shutouts and 34 strikeouts in 102.2 innings while Scheeler has a 12-2 mark, two shutouts and 38 strikeouts in 95.2 innings. Sophomore Meghan Bauer has 36 strikeouts, a 3-1 mark, three saves and a 0.71 ERA in 29.2 innings of work while freshmen Nicole Cassano and Robin McCabe each have pitched 1.1 innings.
