Among the nation's elite: Wildcats softball

Among the nation’s elite. From one of more than 400 women’s softball teams competing this season in NCAA Division III and now in a field of 62 in tournaments at 16 regional sites Thursday-Saturday. That is the rare company where coach Angela Stackhouse’s Pennsylvania College of Technology Wildcats find themselves.

During Monday morning’s selection show, several members of the team and coaching staff gathered to watch online, where the announcement was met with screams and cheers of joy.

“We were very excited. We had to wait until the last bracket to hear our name, so we were on edge,” coach Angela Stackhouse said of the show. “We were curious as to where we’d be heading. I’m happy about that (staying in Pennsylvania).”

Seeded fourth in the Moravian Regional in Bethlehem, Penn College (30-10) opens play at noon Thursday against host and top seed Moravian University (30-8). Second-seeded Roanoke College (30-14) and third-seeded Muskingum University (28-13) will meet at 2:30 p.m. in Thursday’s second game.

Thursday’s winners will square off at 11 a.m. on Friday, and Thursday’s losers will play at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. Action will continue with elimination games at 4 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday, with an “if necessary” game to decide the champion at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

“We were really happy with the draw that we got. This regional bracket is probably the best suited for where we are coming from,” Stackhouse said. “We think we can go down there and compete and give everybody a good game. It was nice to not get matched up immediately with a national powerhouse. It gives us an opportunity to get right in the mix with everybody."

The key to her team’s regular-season success, including winning the United East Championship, has been pitching.

“The major contributor is pitching. It’s just such a huge part of the game of softball, and if you don’t have good pitching, it’s really difficult to win games. My pitching staff definitely has been a huge part of our success,” Stackhouse said.

“All-in-all, I think our general athleticism and making great adjustments in the batter’s box this season have made a big difference. We’ve come from behind in several games, we’ve won a lot of very close games, and I think those things, and just keeping a good mentality, have really helped. I’ve seen a lot of growth in my team in those areas,” Stackhouse said.

The fifth-year coach explained the batter’s box improvements: “We’re making adjustments quicker, learning from the batter ahead of us instead of waiting until your second or third at-bat yourself. As a team, we’re paying more attention to what pitches are being thrown and at what counts and having a better game plan when we step into the box for the first time.”

Penn College previously captured a conference championship and competed in the D-III Regional in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 2021. Despite going winless in two games, including an opening loss to Virginia Wesleyan, which claimed the national championship that year, Stackhouse termed it “a building block for the future.”

Three Wildcats — seniors Shaffer, Maggie Mangene and Ivvy Morder — return from that experience, and Stackhouse said, “They’ll be my leaders, and I think them just being exposed to that before will help everyone else on the team.”

Among the lessons learned in 2021, Stackhouse said, were the importance of staying “in control of our emotions and staying within ourselves.

“A big thing we’ve worked on and talked about this year, specifically, is emotional intelligence and using that as a tool to help get through some pressure moments. After Game 1 of the United East Championship series (1-0 defeat), we really showed that we were able to fix our mentality and get after it after taking a tough loss in extra innings.”

The team rebounded with 2-0 and 13-3 wins to win the conference title.

“I told the team Monday, ‘Let’s enjoy the moment. These moments can be few and far between,’ and the fact that some of them get to do it twice in their careers is a pretty incredible thing. I expect them to go down and truly enjoy the experience.”

Regional winners — with four teams competing in double-elimination tourneys at 15 sites and two teams playing a best-of-five series at another site — will battle in eight super regionals on May 23-24. The finals are set for May 30- June 5 at Bell Park at Taylor Field in Marshall, Texas.

Trine University of Indiana is the defending national champion.

BY THE NUMBERS
PENN COLLEGE, Williamsport (30-10, fourth seed)
United East Champion
Team batting average: .326
Team fielding %: .953
Pitching staff ERA: 1.91
Hitting leaders: Batting Average — senior Madison Shaffer .412, Runs — junior Grace Lorson 42, Hits — junior Madison Herriman 52, RBIs — sophomore Lexi Snyder 34, Home Runs — Lorson 2.
Pitching leaders: Junior Mackenzie Weaver W-L—16-8, ERA—1.69, Strikeouts—149, Bases on balls—27; freshman Fayth Anderson W-L—13-2, ERA—2.24, K—94, BB—27.

MORAVIAN UNIVERSITY, Bethlehem (30-8, first seed)
Landmark Conference Champion
Team batting average: .338
Team fielding %: .972
Pitching staff ERA: 2.15
Hitting leaders: BA—senior Ajala Elmore .444, R—junior Sage Snyder 36, junior Holly Walter 36, H—sophomore Marcie Silberman 46, RBIs—Silberman 51, HRs—Silberman 15.
Pitching leaders: Senior Madi Cunningham W-L—17-2, ERA—1.83, K—72, BB—16; sophomore Natalie Otto W-L—11-3, ERA—2.09, K—78, BB—16.

ROANOKE COLLEGE, Salem, Virginia (30-14, second seed)
At-large entry, Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Team batting average: .302
Team fielding %: .966
Pitching staff ERA: 2.55
Hitting leaders: BA—senior Kate Houle .406, R—freshman Heather McQueeney 31, H—McQueeney 44, RBIs—junior Madison Courts 30, HRs—Houle, Courts 6.
Pitching leaders: Junior Maggie McCray W-L—11-4, ERA—1.09, K—120, BB—30; junior Lindsay Gedro W-L—12-6, ERA—2.39, K—70, BB—26.

MUSKINGUM UNIVERSITY, Concord, Ohio (28-13, third seed)
At-large entry, Ohio Athletic Conference
Team batting average: .291
Team fielding %: .969
Pitching staff ERA: 2.71
Hitting leaders: BA—sophomore Cara Taylor .418, R—Taylor 37, H—Taylor 59, RBIs—sophomore Sadie Smith 34, HRs—senior Kalie Eshelman 3.
Pitching leaders: Senior Madelyn Thomas W-L—13-4, ERA—1.89, K—110, BB—56; freshman Tareyn Born W-L—9-5, ERA—2.68, K—58, BB—22.

SCHEDULE
NCAA D-III Moravian Regional at Bethlehem
Thursday, May 17 — Penn College vs. Moravian University, noon
Friday, May 16 — elimination games at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 18 — elimination games at 11 a.m. and “if necessary” 1:30 p.m.
Thursday-Friday, May 23-24 — NCAA D-III Super Regionals, TBA
Thursday, May 30-Wednesday, June 5 — NCAA D-III Championship at Bell Park at Taylor Field in Marshall, Texas, TBA

For more about the United East, visit the conference website.
For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website.
Visit NCAA softball for more information.