BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian University finishes its look back at its 2022-23 athletic campaign today with the final entry in our second countdown of the summer – the Top 10 Stories of the Year selected by the athletic administration – our No. 1 story – the softball team making a postseason run all the way to the 2023 NCAA Division III Championship Finals in Texas.
The Greyhounds began the year with a number of challenges facing the program including a new head coach for the first time in 30 years as Josh Baltz '08 took over guiding the Greyhounds and a roster that had 18 freshmen and sophomores among 23 total players.
While the squad went 7-3 in Florida to begin the season, the questions would remain with the squad committing 18 errors in the 10 games, nearly two per contest, for a .939 fielding percentage. However, once the squad returned north and worked to prepare for the Landmark Conference regular season, the defense would turn around, ultimately finishing the year with .963 fielding percentage, and the team committed just 38 errors over the last 40 games.
The Hounds also played a strong schedule throughout the year with a game in Florida versus nationally-ranked Wartburg (Iowa) College, a split of a doubleheaders with Lebanon Valley College and Misericordia University that both made the 2023 NCAA Division III Tournament and a single game against Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whom Moravian would play again during its postseason run.
The Blue & Grey ran through the Landmark Conference regular season with a 10-2 mark to earn top seed and the right to host the 2023 Landmark Conference Tournament at Blue & Grey Field for the ninth time. The conference schedule also saw the Greyhounds record two victories in walk-off fashion with sophomore third baseman Holly Walter hitting a solo homer to defeat The Catholic University of America, 7-6, and Walter also connecting on a walk-off RBI single to top Drew University, 6-5 in 11 innings.
Moravian entered its 28th straight postseason appearance with a 29-8 record, and the Hounds rolled over The University of Scranton, 11-2 in five innings, to open the Landmark Conference Tournament. The Greyhounds topped Catholic, 3-1, in the winner's bracket game, and the squad earned a 2-1, eight-inning walk-off victory over Susquehanna University on an RBI single by sophomore first baseman Lindsey Gawrys to capture the 2023 Landmark Conference title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Landmark Conference Championship was the tenth for the Greyhounds in 15 Landmark Conference Tournaments since the conference began in 2007-08, and it was Moravian's 18th conference title since 2000. Sophomore pitcher Madi Cunningham was selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
The Hounds began their 19th NCAA Division III Tournament berth by travelling to Massachusetts for the Medford (Mass.) Regional hosted by No. 7 Tufts University from May 18-21. The Blue & Grey started the regional with an 8-4 victory over Cabrini University that saw freshman catcher Marcie Silberman hit a grand slam to put the Hounds in the lead for good. Moravian then defeated host Tufts, 1-0, in the winner's bracket game as sophomore center fielder Jessica Forder stole home as the Jumbos attempted to throw out Walter stealing second base. In the regional championship round, Tufts defeated the Greyhounds, 3-0, to force the if necessary game of the double-elimination tournament.
That final contest would end up being played over two days due to rain. Gawrys had given the Hounds an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, and the contest was still the same score in the top of the seventh when it was delayed until the next day as an all-day rain moved into the area. When play resumed, the Jumbos tied the contest at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings where Moravian scored three times in the eighth with Gawrys putting the Hounds ahead for good with an RBI double. Freshman pitcher/outfielder Sarah DeStefano was honored as the Most Outstanding Player of the regional, and she was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Gawrys, Cunningham and Silberman. The regional championship was the sixth for the program, joining the 2004, 2007, 2010, 2015 and 2018 teams.
By winning the regional title, the Greyhounds earned another trip to the Boston area for the Cambridge (Mass.) Super Regional hosted by No. 16 MIT on May 26-27. The Engineers posted a 5-1 win over the Hounds in the opening game of the best-of-three series. The next day, Moravian bounced back with a 5-2 victory keyed by a two-run homer and a two-RBI single both from sophomore outfielder Sage Snyder to force the final game of the series. The Blue & Grey jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning in the final contest and went on to post an 8-0, five-inning victory for the first Super Regional title in program history and earn a berth in the championship finals in Texas. Snyder was honored as the Most Outstanding Player of the Super Regional while Cunningham was named the Most Outstanding Pitcher.
Moravian, which also made the finals in 2004, 2007 and 2010, had a 16-and-a-half-hour travel day to get to Marshall, Texas, and East Texas Baptist University with flight delays for the Championship Finals. After a practice day and championship banquet, the Greyhounds, the only non-ranked team in the final eight schools, began the tournament by defeating No. 1 Salisbury (Md.) University, 4-1. Cunningham was the winning pitcher, and she also drove in the winning run with a two-RBI double. The game was on June 1 as the team became the first-ever in school history to compete in the month of June, and the win also guaranteed the squad would be the first in softball program history to play 50 games in a season.
The second day saw the Hounds fall to No. 2 Berry (Ga.) College in a winner's bracket game. Day three had Moravian sit through a six-and-a-half hour weather delay before competition began against No. 5 Trine (Ind.) University at 9:00 p.m. CDT. The Blue & Grey fell to the Thunder, the eventual national champion, 12-4 in five innings, to end the season with a 38-12 record and tied for fifth in the tournament.
Coach Baltz, who has 21 players set to return in 2024 along with his next recruiting class, led the squad to the program's 22nd 30-win season in the last 29 years, and the Hounds finished the year ranked No. 6 in the final 2023 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll. Baltz coached eight Greyhounds to 2023 Landmark All-Conference honors with Cunningham, Walter, Snyder, Silberman, junior utility player Mya Zettlemoyer and junior designated player Emily Silberman earning First Team accolades and junior shortstop Ajala Elmore and DeStefano making the Second Team with DeStefano also garnering Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year honors. Additionally, Cunningham was selected to the 2023 NFCA Division III All-Region V First Team while DeStefano and Marcie Silberman were named to the All-Region Second Team.
