QUAKERTOWN, Pa. -- A year removed from the program's first conference tournament title since 2013, the Kutztown University softball team is looking to defend its crown at this year's edition of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament, hosted at Veterans Park in Quakertown, Pa.
The Golden Bears (28-22, 22-10 PSAC East) earned the third seed out of the PSAC East on Monday after a doubleheader sweep over Shippensburg and will face off against No. 2 Mercyhurst (21-11, 31-19 PSAC West) in the first round of the tournament. The matchup between the Golden Bears and Lakers will be a rematch of last year's PSAC Championship Game, which KU won 7-4.
First pitch between the Golden Bears and Lakers is slated for 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3 from Veterans Park. Tickets can only be purchased via TicketLeap as it is a cashless event. Day passes on Wednesday/Thursday will be $15, while Friday/Saturday will be $10. Children under 12 and students from member institutions with valid I.D. will be free.
Mercyhurst boasts the best lineup in the PSAC this season. The Lakers lead the conference in batting average (.345), hits (502), and total bases (701). Alison Dejidas is hitting .442 at the dish this season with 14 home runs and 65 RBI, all of which led the conference. Morgan Hilty is the ace of the Lakers' staff with a 17-8 record, a 3.19 ERA, and 18 complete games.
KU is entering the postseason playing its best softball of the season under 36th-year head coach Judy Lawes. Ever since dropping back-to-back doubleheaders against Millersville and West Chester early in April, the Golden Bears are 15-5 in their last 20 PSAC East games. All-PSAC first-teamer Sarah Harvey (Swanton, Vt./Missisquoi Valley Union), and second-teamers Brianna Stocklin (Deptford, N.J./Deptford Township) and Haley Gravish (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg) highlight a young roster with a ton of postseason experience.
Harvey has been a consistent two-way player in the KU lineup all season. The senior from Swanton, Vt. leads the Golden Bears in batting average (.392), RBI (36), and home runs (8). Her batting average is ninth in the PSAC. Along with her production at the plate, Harvey has tossed 87.2 innings in the circle, recording a 3.67 ERA, which is second on KU.
Gravish is the ace of the Golden Bears staff. The sophomore from Hamburg, Pa. has a 17-6 record on the season with a 1.94 ERA over 144.2 innings pitched. Her ERA is the fifth-best in the PSAC, while her innings pitched are the sixth-most in the conference. Stocklin leads KU in hits (61) and has a .357 average at the dish. She's the only Golden Bear to have appeared in and started all 50 games so far this season.
Brianna Hughes (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) and Kristin Geesey (Bainbridge, Pa./Elizabethtown) are two other Golden Bears to have found their groove towards the latter half of the season. In her last six PSAC East games, Hughes has a hit in five of those games with six RBIs. Geesey is second on KU with seven multi-RBI games, only one behind Harvey, and is 11-for-16 in the final five games of the season.
With a double elimination format, the Golden Bears would face the winner of No. 1 West Chester vs. No. 4 California (Pa.) / No. 5 Bloomsburg on Thursday, May 4 at 10 a.m. if they won. If KU were to lose, it would face the winner of game eight in what would be an elimination game on May 4 at 12:30 p.m.
