Softball Makes Trip to Medford For NCAA Tournament

The #25 Middlebury softball team makes the trip to Massachusetts for the regional round of the NCAA Tournament, opening action against Muhlenberg on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. The regional also includes #18 Tufts, the weekend's host, and Alfred.

ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• The Panthers appear on the national stage for the second time and the first since 2011.

• Middlebury earned the NESCAC's automatic bid after sweeping Sunday's conference contests, besting Colby 6-4 in 11 innings before claiming the crown with a 7-5 triumph over Williams.

• Touting a program-best 33-8 record entering the tournament, the Panthers have claimed seven consecutive battles and nine of their previous 10. The squad's 33 wins are the most by a Middlebury team in a single season across all sports.

• The navy and white slot in the top-20 spots nationally in fielding percentage (.974 - eighth), triples (19 - 11th) and winning percentage (.805 - 20th).

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• Emily Dowd has enjoyed a stellar campaign in the circle. The rookie touts a 2.34 earned run average (ERA) and 101 strikeouts across 104.2 innings, leading the team in all three categories. Dowd comes off a NESCAC Tournament that included 14 strikeouts and four earned runs over 16 frames of action.

• The duo of McKenna Lont and Emily Ye strengthens the staff. Lont is 9-4 with a 3.92 ERA in 75 innings, including six complete games. Ye has pitched 43 innings and fanned 34 hitters. She closed out the Panthers' 7-5 victory over the Ephs in the conference title game, allowing just two hits and striking out five in five innings.

• Offensively, Kristyn Carroll has continued to reset the bar. The senior enters the national tournament as the team leader in a host of categories, including batting average (.519), slugging percentage (.748), total bases (107), hits (73) and runs scored (48). Carroll recently reset her single-season record for runs scored and has swiped 34 bags in 35 attempts.

• The pairing of Reagan Adiletta and Sarah LaFond has helped power the squad. Adiletta has 40 hits alongside 25 runs batted in (RBI) and 24 runs scored compared to just four strikeouts. LaFond is second with a .388 batting average and has tallied a hit in seven of the last 10 games.

• Jen Westphal looks to continue a career season that includes 42 hits and 40 RBI. The senior was the hero for the Panthers in the conference semifinals, sending a walk-off homer over the fence to cap a 6-4 victory in 11 innings en route to the second NESCAC title in program history.

ABOUT MUHLENBERG

• Muhlenberg earned an at-large selection after falling in the Centennial Conference Tournament. The top-seeded Mules bested Gettysburg in the opening round before losing to Swarthmore and Haverford in the double-elimination bracket.

• The squad appears in the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time and has 11 victories on the national stage.

• Muhlenberg enters the weekend 32-11 and is victorious in seven of its last 10 contests.

• The Mules rank in the top 20 nationally in two categories. They sit 12th in Division III with 5.48 hits allowed per seven innings and have stolen 133 bases, which slots 14th.

• Muhlenberg leads their conference in at-bats (1,207), hits (415) and strikeouts (249). The pitching staff's 2.31 ERA is second in the Centennial.

MULES TO WATCH

• Ava Storlazzi paces the team with a .440 batting average over 39 appearances. She has 13 multi-hit efforts and is a perfect 25-for-25 on stolen base attempts.

• Leading the squad in total bases (71) and hits (58) is Sofia Gallahue. The rookie slots second with 32 runs batted in and had a 15-game hitting streak snapped in the team's 1-0 loss to Haverford in the conference playoffs. Classmate Hailey Godin has posted 53 hits alongside 27 RBI.

• Lillie Teague is one base knock away from 50 this season with team-bests in both RBI (37) and doubles (12).

• In the circle, Centennial Rookie of the Year Edin Clark has quieted opposing offenses. The right-hander is sixth nationally in strikeouts per seven innings pitched (9.0) and sports a 14-5 record entering the tournament. Clark has thrown 103 frames and logged 133 strikeouts with four shutouts.

• Morgan Bobrowski (1.37) and Josie Krieman (2.31) help pace a pitching staff that has combined for a 2.31 ERA and struck out 249 batters.

ABOUT TUFTS

• The Jumbos tallied an at-large selection after falling to Williams in the NESCAC Semifinals.

• Tufts makes its 23rd appearance in the national tournament. The brown and blue search for a fourth NCAA title after winning three consecutive crowns from 2013 to 2015.

• The Jumbos are 30-10 entering the weekend and have won seven of their last 10 games.

• Rookie Paige Murphy has had an outstanding campaign. She sits atop the team chart with 63 hits, 38 runs scored, a .450 batting average and a .503 on-base percentage.

• Heaven Oliva paces the Jumbos with 103 total bases, 46 runs batted in and an impressive .763 slugging percentage.

• Leading the Tufts pitching staff is Avery Kanouse. She enters the weekend at 12-3 with a 2.70 ERA over 106.1 innings pitched.

ABOUT ALFRED

• Alfred won the Empire 8's automatic bid after running the table in the conference tournament. Entering as the third seed, the Saxons downed fourth-seeded Nazareth before beating top-ranked SUNY Geneseo and second-seeded St. John Fisher twice on championship weekend.

• The purple and gold appear in the national bracket for the sixth time and third in the last six campaigns. Alfred commences NCAA action with a 29-13 record and a six-game unbeaten streak.

• Kendall Stewart leads a Saxons offense that slots in the top-10 spots nationally in home runs (39 - seventh), doubles (89 - ninth) and slugging percentage (.549 - 10th). She has a .449 batting average and an .833 slugging percentage. Of her 62 hits, 30 are for extra bases.

• The other player batting north of .400 is Molly Whitmeyer. She sports 51 hits and a team-best 53 runs batted in over 40 games. Samantha Vidal is 49-of-51 on stolen base attempts this season.

• Steward also leads the Alfred pitching staff with a 14-7 record in the circle, while teammate Ava Galvan is 10-2 with a team-best 4.04 ERA over 97 innings of work.

SERIES HISTORY

• Middlebury has not played Alfred or Muhlenberg in softball.

• The Panthers and Jumbos have met 26 times. Tufts has won 21 of those battles, including a regular-season doubleheader sweep on April 18 in Massachusetts.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

The winner of the Medford Regional advances to the Super Regional round on Thursday, May 21.