Scranton, Pa.- Top-seeded Marywood University will host No. 2 Cabrini University on Sunday in a best-of-three game series for the 2022 Atlantic East Conference Softball Championship. The first pitch of the first game is set for noon on Sunday. The second game is tentatively slated for a 2 p.m. start, and a winner-takes-all third game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start if necessary.
Scouting the Pacers
The Pacers (26-7, 11-1 AEC) clinched the top seed in the Atlantic East Conference tournament.
From the offensive side, Nina Kozar leads the Pacers with a .451 batting average and 30 RBIs. Junior outfielder Samantha Baltrusaitis has a team-leading four home runs this season. In the circle, sophomore Mara Hamm has been dominant during the 2022 campaign with a 1.25 ERA with 78 strikeouts,14 complete games and 14-2 record. Senior Gianna Marsico has also been a key arm for the Pacers pitching staff, holding an 11-5 record with a 2.61 ERA in 17 appearances (16 starts) in the circle.
To reach the championship game, Marywood ousted No. 4 Neumann and No. 6 Centenary in a three-team pod action tournament where two teams in the pod would have to lose twice in order to be eliminated from the conference tournament. In day one, Marywood defeated Centenary 13-0 in five innings thanks to an 11-run fourth inning. Baltrusaitis went 3-for-3 with one RBI, and Brooke McKay hit a pinch hit three-run home run to right field.
The Pacers downed Neumann with an 11-3 win. Kozar had a four-RBI day with three hits. To conclude pod action play, the Pacers eliminated the Cyclones, securing their spot in the Atlantic East Conference Championship with a 9-3 victory.
From a team standpoint, Marywood leads the conference in overall team batting average (.351) as well as ERA (2.17). They are currently ranked 23rd in Division III in team batting average.
Scouting the Cavaliers
Cabrini University clinched the second seed in the AEC Tournament with a 21-10 record with an 8-4 mark in conference play. Last week, the Cavaliers defeated No. 3 Immaculata and No. 5 Marymount to punch their ticket to the conference championship.
Sophomore Ariana Mirenda has been a force at the plate. She holds a team-best .450 batting average and 45 hits. From the pitching side, Avery Byrnes boasts an ERA of 1.95 in 21 appearances with 16 starts. Byrnes has struck out an Atlantic East-leading 127 batters this season.
In the first game against Marymount, the Cavaliers defeated the Saints 8-0 in five innings. Cabrini tallied five runs in the second inning, capped by a three-run home run to centerfield by Madison Gugel. Byrnes tossed a no-hitter with seven strikeouts. In the matchup with Immaculata, Mirenda recorded four hits and four RBIs as part of a 12-0 win over the Mighty Macs in five innings. Abby Tobelmann led Cabrini in the pod finale versus the Saints by Abby Tobelmann with two hits. The freshman contributed with a two-RBI single in the second inning en route to a 5-0 win.
Previous Meeting
Marywood and Cabrini previously met on April 4. The Cavaliers took game one of the regular season series, 5-3; however, the Pacers bounced back to win game two in walk-off fashion by a 5-4 decision in eight innings. In game one, the Cavaliers used a three-run seventh inning, thanks to a throwing error, to help secure game one. In the second game, Kristie Epler reached base on an infield single that advanced Jessica Hanley to third before a throwing error brought in the winning run to split the doubleheader.
Dating back to 2008, the Cavaliers lead the series 19-11. The two teams faced in the Colonial States Athletic Conference in 2014 when the Pacers defeated Cabrini 3-2 in the championship game. Cabrini is looking to play for its first conference championship since 2004.
For the first time, the Atlantic East winner will receive an automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The conference's previous champions were Immaculata University (2019) and Wesley College (2021).
