KUTZTOWN, PA (April 21, 2010) – The 19th-ranked Kutztown University softball team will head to Bloomsburg this weekend to compete in one of the three first round tournaments of the 2010 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoffs. 2010 PSAC Tournament info

Kutztown enters as the No. 2 seed from the East and will take on Edinboro, the third seed from the West, beginning Friday at 11 a.m. on Jan Hutchinson Field. Central No. 1 seed and host Bloomsburg will then play the loser between KU and Edinboro Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. and then play the game one winner at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

All three teams in this pod are ranked in this week's NCAA Division II Atlantic Region poll. Bloomsburg is first, Kutztown is second and Edinboro is 10th.

The Golden Bears (37-14, 12-4 PSAC East) roll into the postseason winning 10 of their last 12 games, with the help of an offense in the middle of a hot streak. Maria Schiavo and Nicole Colineri, KU's top two hitters in the batting order, each are riding 11 game hit streaks. Maria Isgro and Katie Lynch have each hit safely in the past eight contests. As a team, the Golden Bears have reached double digit hits in six of their last eight games.

Colineri leads the team in hitting at .363 followed by Schiavo at .349. The two have been spark plugs and have provided numerous RBI opportunities for team leaders Nicole Henninger (Reading, PA./Muhlenberg) (43) and Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) (34). Lynch had 11 runs batted in last week for the Golden Bears.

Katlin Arbogast (Ambler, PA/Wissahickon) and Monica Glomb (Mars, PA/Mars) have dominated out of the pitcher's circle. Arbogast has a team-best 1.95 earned run average and has compiled a 23-8 record with 25 complete games. In 217.1 innings, Arbogast has struck out 228 batters and limited to hitters to just a .205 average. Glomb has started 18 games and appeared in 24, sporting a 12-5 record. She has pitched 109.1 innings and has a 2.88 ERA with 85 batters fanned.

The Fighting Scots (19-16, 7-9 PSAC West) enter the postseason with a number of winning and losing streaks to complete the season. Since March 26, Edinboro had two seven game winning streaks and also a three and four game losing streaks. Speedster Marissa Pullo leads the offense with a .500 batting average and is 18-of-19 on stolen base attempts. She leads the PSAC in batting average. Pullo has scored a team-high 18 runs. Beth Mullins is the top pitcher with a 2.52 ERA and a 15-10 record. She has struck out 126 batters in 163.2 innings of work.

Bloomsburg breezed through the conference with a 14-0 PSAC Central record and compiled a 38-4 overall record. The Huskies had a 22 game win streak snapped by the Golden Bears on April 17. Bloomsburg, ranked sixth in the latest NFCA Top 25 poll, is in pursuit of its first PSAC title since 2002.

They are led by Danielle Lazorka's .422 batting average and 27 RBIs. Lacy Mauro follows with a .387 average and a team-best 37 RBIs. Shavaun Fisher is 23-3 with a 0.98 ERA and 10 shutouts. Fisher leads the Huskies in strikeouts with 212 and has issued just 37 walks in 177 innings of work.  

The Huskies fell to Lock Haven, 8-1, in last year's PSAC championship contest. Bloomsburg eliminated Kutztown, 8-1, in last year's playoff matchup.

West Chester (East No. 1) will host Lock Haven (Central No. 3) and Mercyhurst (West No. 2), while California (West No. 1) will host East Stroudsburg (East No. 3) and Indian (Central No. 2).

On Saturday, if all three teams remain after Friday, lots will be drawn to determine which teams play in Game 4 and which is byed to Game 5. If two teams remain after Day 1, the two teams will play 1 or 2 games to determine champion, depending on need in the double-elimination format. Game times for Saturday are schedule for 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. (if necessary).

The winner of the first round will advance to next weekend's championship round at a site to be determined.

Eastern Division                    Central Division                    Western Division
1. West Chester                       1. Bloomsburg                         1. California
2. Kutztown                            2. Indiana                                 2. Mercyhurst
3. East Stroudsburg                3. Lock Haven                          3. Edinboro

First round pairings - Friday, April 23

(at West Chester)
Game 1 - Lock Haven vs. Mercyhurst, 11:00 a.m.
Game 2 - West Chester vs. Game 1 loser, 1:00 p.m.
Game 3 - West Chester vs. Game 1 winner, 3:00 p.m.

(at Bloomsburg)
Game 1 - Edinboro vs. Kutztown, 11:00 a.m.
Game 2 - Bloomsburg vs. Game 1 loser, 1:00 p.m.
Game 3 - Bloomsburg vs. Game 1 winner, 3:00 p.m.

(at California)
Game 1 - East Stroudsburg vs. IUP, 11:00 a.m.
Game 2 - California vs. Game 1 loser, 1:00 p.m.
Game 3 - California vs. Game 1 winner, 3:00 p.m.