BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The No. 4 Moravian College softball squad has earned the top seed in the 2021 Landmark Conference Tournament and will host a three-team pod during the first weekend of the tournament at Blue & Grey Field on Saturday and Sunday, May 8-9.
The Greyhounds, who enter the postseason with a 26-0 overall record and a 22-0 mark in the Landmark Conference regular season, are slated to play the second game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m., and Moravian will face the winner of fourth seed Susquehanna University and sixth seed Juniata College, who play at 11:00 a.m. The Eagles advanced to the weekend on Thursday with a 4-1 victory over seventh seed Elizabethtown College. There is an elimination game slated for 3:00 p.m. Saturday with the winner's bracket contest slated for 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.
The winner of the weekend will advance to the Landmark Conference Championship series scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, May 15-16. Should Moravian advance, the series will be at Blue & Grey Field. This weekend's other first round pod is at second seed The University of Scranton and includes third seed The Catholic University of America and fifth seed Drew University. You can follow the tournament at https://landmark.prestosports.com/sports/sball/2020-21/championships.
Moravian enters the Landmark Tournament as the top seed for the ninth time in the 13-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 13 seasons.
The Greyhounds, led by 28-year head coach John Byrne, who has a career slate of 889-249, have won at least 23 games for the 27th time, only missing the mark in 2020 when the season was cancelled after 10 games due to the pandemic. The Blue & Grey, who have won a program-record 30 consecutive games dating back to 2020, are also ranked No. 4 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 21st consecutive season and the 25th time in 27 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 .382 entering the tournament with 282 hits including 72 extra-base hits with 50 doubles and 12 home runs for a .525 slugging percentage. Moravian has outscored its opponents, 183-52, for an average of 7.03 runs per game, and the Greyhounds have a .976 fielding percentage. Moravian has posted four shutouts in 26 wins for a 1.77 ERA, and the Hounds' pitchers have recorded 107 strikeouts and just 28 walks this spring.
Senior catcher Brooke Wehr leads Moravian with a .523 batting average to go with 45 hits, 29 runs, 12 doubles, five triples, four homers and 37 RBIs while freshman designated player Emily Silberman is hitting .576 with 19 hits, a run, two doubles and 12 RBIs. Junior outfielder Victoria Smith has a .421 average with 32 hits, 18 runs, two doubles and 11 RBIs while sophomore shortstop Alexis Agrapides is hitting .411 with 37 hits, 26 runs, seven doubles, a triple, five home runs and 26 RBIs.
Senior second baseman Shannon Brogan is hitting .402 with 33 hits, 19 runs, three doubles, a homer and 19 RBIs while senior outfielder Maura Kane has a .370 average with 27 hits, 11 runs, three doubles, a triple and 10 RBIs. Junior first baseman/pitcher Alexandria Scheeler has contributed 25 hits, 19 runs, nine doubles and 14 RBIs while senior third baseman Maddisen Bieber has 23 hits, 27 runs, four doubles, a homer and 14 RBIs. Junior outfielder Cameron Cassidy has added 20 hits, 13 runs, four doubles, a triple and eight RBIs while freshman utility player Ajala Elmore has 13 hits, 12 runs, two doubles, two triples, a homer and 14 RBIs.
Freshman outfielder Bri Lefkoski has scored two runs while junior outfielder Nicole Cassano has one run. Junior catcher Chloe Tice and freshman Paige Parisi each have one hit in the year with Parisi scoring one run.
In the circle, sophomore Madison Hummel is 12-0 with a 0.97 ERA, four shutouts, 37 strikeouts and 10 walks allowed in 79 innings of action. Scheeler is 7-0 with 33 strikeouts and five walks in 53.1 innings while junior Meghan Bauer is 7-0 with 37 strikeouts in 41.2 innings of work.
