INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- The Moravian University softball team will travel to No. 16 Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the 2023 NCAA Division III Super Regional as the Greyhounds make their third appearance in Super Regional after winning their sixth NCAA Division III Regional title last weekend at No. 7 Tufts University.
The best-of-three series between the Hounds and the Engineers begins on Friday, May 26 at 2:00 p.m. The squads will meet again at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 27 with the if necessary game slated for 3:30 p.m. The winner of the weekend will advance to the 2023 NCAA Division III Softball Championship Series being hosted by East Texas Baptist University that runs from June 1-7. Moravian and MIT met during the regular season, playing a single game at Blue & Grey Field with the Engineers winning 7-5 on March 27.
Moravian is in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the 19th time, and the Hounds are 49-40 all-time in NCAA Tournament action. The Blue & Grey have won six NCAA Regionals and reached the Championship Round three times including playing in the National Championship game in 2004. This season marks the third trip to the Super Regionals since the NCAA switched formats.
The Greyhounds are led by first-year head coach Josh Baltz, who has guided the Blue & Grey to a 35-9 overall record in his debut season including a 10-2 mark to earn the top seed in the tournament in the 2023 Landmark Conference Tournament, where the Hounds won their tenth Landmark Conference title and 18th overall conference championship since 2000.
Moravian has a .313 batting average entering the NCAA Super Regional with 372 hits including 82 extra-base hits with 52 doubles and 21 home runs for a .425 slugging percentage. Moravian has outscored its opponents, 243-111, for an average of 5.52 runs per game, and the Greyhounds have a .961 fielding percentage. Moravian has posted nine shutouts in 35 wins for a 2.01 ERA, and the Hounds' pitchers have recorded 184 strikeouts and just 52 walks in 296.2 innings this spring.
Sophomore third baseman Holly Walter leads the Greyhounds with a .379 batting average to go with 55 hits, 42 runs, seven doubles, two triples, five home runs, 18 stolen bases, 19 walks and 19 RBIs while sophomore outfielder Sage Snyder has a .348 average to go with 40 hits, 28 runs, six doubles, two triples, two homers, 20 walks, 15 stolen bases and 23 RBIs. Freshman catcher Marcie Silberman has a .347 average to go along with 33 hits, 16 runs, six doubles, a triple, six homers and 28 RBIs while freshman outfielder/pitcher Sarah DeStefano has recorded 42 hits, 20 runs, 10 stolen bases, three doubles and 19 RBIs at the plate.
Junior designated player Emily Silberman has 39 hits, four runs, four home runs and 33 RBIs while sophomore first baseman Lindsey Gawrys has added 38 hits, 30 runs, seven doubles, two triples, a homer, 21 walks and 26 RBIs. Junior shortstop Ajala Elmore has posted 35 hits, 18 runs, four doubles, a homer and 16 RBIs while sophomore center fielder Jessica Forder has contributed 30 hits, 17 runs, seven doubles, a homer, five stolen bases and 17 RBIs.
Junior catcher/outfielder Mya Zettlemoyer has 29 hits, 17 runs, five doubles, a triple and nine RBIs while sophomore pitcher Madi Cunningham has recorded 11 hits, 13 runs, a double, a homer and four RBIs while batting. Freshman second baseman Hailey Tanner has five hits, 15 runs, a double, a triple, five stolen bases and five RBIs while freshman first baseman Angelina Marino has added five hits, four runs, a pair of doubles and five RBIs.
Freshman outfielder Madison Berning has five hits, seven runs, a double and four RBIs while sophomore infielder Ren Herschman has two hits, four runs, a double and three RBIs. Freshman infielder Emma Wariwanchik has a hit, a run and an RBI while senior utility player Hailey Kortman has a hit and a double. Freshman third baseman Alexa Fernandez has posted one hit and an RBI while freshman second baseman Kendall Szor has scored five runs and freshman infielder Brenna Beshock has a pair of runs.
DeStefano is 16-2 in the circle with 82 strikeouts, four shutouts and a 1.75 ERA in 120.1 innings of action while Cunningham is 16-6 to go with five shutouts, 92 strikeouts and a 2.07 ERA in 152.1 innings. Senior Madison Hummel has nine strikeouts and an 1-1 mark in 15.1 innings while freshman Natalie Otto is 2-0 with 11 strikeouts and a 1.62 ERA in 8.2 innings.
