KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Coming off its first conference championship in program history, the Kutztown University softball team takes on West Virginia State in the first round of the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament on Friday, May 10 at 12 p.m. at Robb Field at Shippensburg University.
 
The Golden Bears (29-21) are the No. 6 seed in the tournament as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Champions. The Yellow Jackets (41-12) are the No. 3 seed in the region and the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) Champions.

Ticket prices will be $6 for adults, $4 for students/seniors/children, and $15 for all-session passes.
 
Shippensburg (31-11) is the host for one of the two Atlantic Region tournaments and the No. 2 seed. It will play the No. 7 seed Bloomsburg (30-17) at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.
 
California (PA) is the top seed in the region and hosts the other regional tournament this weekend.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Kutztown completed a dramatic and exciting week with a classic 10-7 victory over seventh-ranked California last Saturday to win the program's first PSAC Championship. KU won three of its four games in the last team at bat, but none came with more celebration than the three-run home run from senior Brianna Knipe (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) to walk off the Golden Bears to victory. KU overcame a three-run deficit on two different occasions in the triumph.
 
NCAA ATLANTIC REGIONALS: After going a perfect 4-0 in the PSAC Championships, the Golden Bears earned the Atlantic region's six seed to play in the second half of the Atlantic 2 bracket. Kutztown comprises the quartet of teams with Shippensburg (two seed), West Virginia State (three seed) and Bloomsburg (seven seed). Ship swept KU in four games, while the KU defeated Bloom in the lone meeting. The winner of the Atlantic 2 bracket faces the winner of the Atlantic 1 bracket in the Super Regionals next weekend, with the highest remaining seed hosting.
 
STRONG TOURNEY PLAY: The Golden Bears slugged powerfully to their conference triumph with 11 total home runs. Nicole Henninger (Reading, PA./Muhlenberg) hit four home runs and nine RBI, including a go-ahead grand slam against Mercyhurst. She slugged 1.462 in the tournament. Meanwhile, both Brianna Knipe (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) and Colleen Smith (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip (Hofstra)) two home runs in the tourney. As a team, KU slugged .629 in the PSAC Tournament.
 
PSAC EAST HONORS: Just as everything comes together for the Golden Bears in postseason play, seven players were honored for their outstanding play in the PSAC East. Kutztown players comprise the entire all-PSAC East infield: junior Colleen Smith (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip (Hofstra)) (first base), junior Morgan Booth (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) (second base), senior Brianna Knipe (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) (shortstop), senior Nicole Henninger (Reading, PA./Muhlenberg) (third base) and senior Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) (catcher). Meanwhile, two outfielders in junior Jackie Hetzler (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) (centerfield) and senior Maria Isgro (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) (at-large) earned all-division honors as well. With seven KU players on the All-East team, the club holds the most all-division distinctions of any school in the PSAC this year.
 
BRI-NGING HER BEST: Senior shortstop Brianna Knipe (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) may be playing her best softball as of late. In addition to her late-game heroics to win Kutztown its first conference crown in school history, Knipe stood out with her production and leadership to win the PSAC East Athlete of the Year. Knipe owns a .371 batting average, which ranks second on the team. Her 53 hits, nine doubles, 18 walks, five home runs and 29 RBI all rank in the top three on the team. Meanwhile, her .940 fielding percentage ranks very well among PSAC shortstops.
 
PRIDE IN THE CLEANUP SPOT: A transfer from Hofstra University, junior first baseman Colleen Smith (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip (Hofstra)) (Islip Terrace, NY/East Islip) immediately made her presence known in the KU starting lineup. Smith leads the Golden Bears with a .401 batting average, 13 home runs, 48 RBI and a .766 slugging percentage. Furthermore, she can squeeze out the count, with her 37 walks leading her to a .534 on-base percentage. This leads the PSAC, and her walks per game ranks 15th in Division II as of May 5. Smith twice earned honors of PSAC East Athlete of the Week. Smith hit 11 of her 13 home runs in the team's first 29 games of the season.
 
BOOST FROM BOOTH: Junior second baseman Morgan Booth (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) can get the job done on both sides of the ball. As a hitter, her .354 batting average ranks third on the Golden Bears. With 17 multiple-hit games, Booth leads Kutztown in that stat. Also, her 20 stolen bases and 12 sacrifice hits lead the team. She works either first or second in the Kutztown line up. Meanwhile, her .931 fielding percentage greatly undersells her ability to range in the infield with diving stops on ground balls and leaping catches on liners.
 
TAKING MANY FOR THE TEAM: En route to a single-season school record, senior catcher Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) has taken a hit by pitch 13 times this season. She broke the record set by Jackie Hetzler (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) last year, with 10. Hetzler owns the career record with 20 times being hit by pitch, while Lynch ranks second. On another interesting note, Lynch struck out only nine times this season, a team low for hitters with at least 20 at-bats. Lynch bats .301 this season with three home runs and 21 RBI.