KUTZTOWN, Pa. – For the third season in-a-row and fourth in the last five, Kutztown softball earned a spot in the NCAA Atlantic Super Regional round. Third-seeded KU advanced out of the East Stroudsburg regional pod last week and will welcome fourth-seeded Glenville State, the Mountain East Conference champions, to North Campus Field Thursday and Friday this week for a best-of-three round for a trip to NCAA Championships.
 
Game one is set for 2 p.m., this Thursday, May 21, with game two on Friday, May 22, at 1 p.m. An if necessary game three would start 30 minutes following the conclusion of game two if the teams each won a game. The winner will earn a trip to Chattanooga, Tenn., and the championship tournament at Frost Stadium at Warner Park from May 28 through June 3.
 
It will be the fourth time ever that these two teams have played each other, with Kutztown winning all three games, the last one, an 8-0 victory in Salem, Va., back on March 16, 2012.
 
The Golden Bears (38-20 overall) got here by going 3-0 at regionals, first defeating West Chester 8-4 in the opening game and then took down the host Warriors on back-to-back days to advance. The Pioneers (49-15) took a harder path, losing their first game in the Shippensburg regional pod to fellow MEC foe Charleston, but then rattled off four consecutive victories over Claflin, the Raiders and then back-to-back against the Golden Eagles to move on. They also double dipped UC in the MEC Tournament to win the title.
 
Tickets will be sold online at the link above and will be sold at the field the day of the games. Cash and card is accepted.
Adults = $10
Students/Seniors/Children = $5
- Children under the age of 2 shall be admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult
- Gates open 1 hour before the first game each day
- No complimentary passes are accepted
 
Head coach Judy Lawes is three wins away from setting the new PSAC career coaching victories, currently held by Jan Hutchinson of Bloomsburg (1978-2010), who has 1,215 career wins. Lawes sits at 1,213.
 
The Maroon and Gold are led by their center fielder and leadoff hitter, junior Emily Henn (Matamoras, Pa./Delaware Valley), the PSAC East's Athlete of the Year. She is also a First Team All-Region selection by both the D2CCA and NFCA. Henn currently ranks fifth in the conference with a .418 batting average, is at the top in hits with 89 and second with 60 runs scored. She also ranks in the top 10 in slugging percentage (.681), doubles (17) and triples (6). Henn holds the program record for career triples with 15 so far.
 
All-PSAC East Second Teamers in Morgan Slomkowski (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) and Alexa Stevens (Jefferson Township, Pa./North Pocono) have been lethal in the middle of the lineup as the duo rank in the top three on the team in home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage. Haley Gravish (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg), a PSAC East Second Team honoree, holds down the circle, along with Amanda Slabicki (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy), giving KU one of, if not the best, one-two punch in starting pitchers in the Atlantic Region. Gravish ranks third in the conference in wins (23) and fourth in ERA (2.65), and is five victories shy of the program record for career wins (100). Slabicki had a breakout regional as she was the winning pitcher in all three of KU's games.
 
Kutztown is looking to reach the NCAA Championships for the third time in program history and first since 2013.