STANDISH, ME - Saint Joseph's 33-11, 18-6 GNAC) will take on Springfield College (26-18, 13-3 NEWMAC) in the opening round of the NCAA DIII Softball National Tournament on Thursday. The contest will take place at 12:00 PM on the campus of Babson College in Babson Park, Massachusetts.
The double-elimination tournament at Babson begins at 10:00 AM on Thursday when top-seeded Tufts University (38-3) takes on #8 Lesley College (24-17). Following the Saint Joseph's/Springfield game, #3 Babson (32-12) battles #6 Bridgewater State University (24-15) at 2:00 PM and #2 Rowan University (37-7) faces #7 Husson University (31-10-1) at 4:00 PM.
How they got here:
Saint Joseph's, the #4 seed in the 2013 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament, cruised through the conference playoffs with four shutout victories, beginning with a 1-0 win in extra innings over #5 Johnson & Wales University on April 24th. The Monks proceeded to post a 3-0 triumph over #8 Suffolk University and a 4-0 win against #3 University of Saint Joseph before thumping Suffolk by an 8-0 margin in the GNAC Championship on April 28th.
The conference championship is the third in as many seasons for the Monks.
Springfield College, the top seed in the 2013 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), topped Babson College, 6-2, in the conference championship on Sunday to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Pride opened NEWMAC tourney play with a 5-0 victory over #4 Wellesley College and advanced to the conference championship by defeating #6 Coast Guard Academy by a 6-2 margin on Saturday.
For Springfield, the NEWMAC crown is the Pride's fourth since the 2000 campaign and third in the last six seasons. Springfield has participated in the conference championship game in five of the last six years.
TEAM REACTS TO NCAA ANNOUNCEMENT
Common Opponents:
Saint Joseph's and Springfield share just one common opponent this spring in Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), which is a member of the NEWMAC. The Monks opened the 2013 campaign with a 7-1 victory over MCLA at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic in Fort Myers, Florida on March 10th, while the Pride swept the Trailblazers with a pair of shutout wins (3-0, 7-0) in Pittsfield, Mass. on April 9th.
Recipe for success – Saint Joseph's:
The Monks feature a well-balanced lineup with solid table-setters and thumpers in the heart of the order, but the team's strengths this spring have been pitching and defense.
Saint Joseph's has a pair of aces on the staff this spring. Senior captain Kayla Vannah (Waldoboro, Maine) and junior Rae-Marie Copan (Newton, Mass.) have both been dominant this spring. Vannah, the 2013 GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, is 11-6 with a 1.52 ERA to go with 74 strikeouts and 19 walks in 110.2 innings. Copan, a 2013 Third Team All-GNAC honoree, enters the NCAA Tournament owning a 1.73 ERA with a 12-2 record along with an outstanding 88/3 K/BB ratio in 89 frames.
Defensively, the Monks' infield is second to none with outstanding athletes at all four posts. Junior shortstop Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) has committed just five errors in 164 chances for a stellar .970 fielding percentage and her double-play partner, classmate Connie Grovo (Limington, Maine), owns a .966 fielding rate with five miscues in 145 opportunities. Sophomore Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine) mans the hot corner and is an excellent fielder and the newcomer, freshman Melissa Mayhew (Hiram, Maine), is a seasoned first baseman who moves well and has a fine glove.
Senior captain Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, Vt.) anchors the Monks' outfield in center while junior Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) plays left and sophomore Victoria Ramos (North Scituate, R.I.) roams in right field. All three can cover plenty of territory and the trio has gelled into a well-oiled machine as the last line of defense.
Senior Heather Tripp (Lovell, Maine) has caught nearly every inning for the Monks this spring and brings a calming influence to the SJC pitching staff. A heady player who has played multiple positions in her college career, Tripp is a true leader behind the dish.
Offensively, the Monks' lineup features seven batters hitting .300 or better, including three batting at least .360. Moore, a three-time First Team All-GNAC selection, drives the Saint Joseph's lineup and enters NCAA play hitting .468 (66-141) with 44 runs, 20 doubles, two homers, 39 RBI and 11 stolen bases. Shufelt, a three-time All-GNAC honoree, is one of the elite table-setters in New England and enters the tourney batting .452 (75-166) with 50 runs, five doubles, five triples, 20 RBI and 22 stolen bases.
Other top hitters include Hendrix, who is currently hitting .366 (49-134) with 33 runs, 16 doubles and 38 RBI, and Grovo, who carries a .336 (45-134) average with 26 runs, 11 doubles and 25 RBI into the tournament. Tripp sits in the heart of the lineup and is hitting .333 (45-135) with 15 runs, 16 doubles, four homers and 39 RBI while Mayhew and Jordan also carry impressive numbers into the NCAA's.
Recipe for success – Springfield:
Springfield features powerful bats in the lineup and power arms in the pitching circle. The Pride have smacked 27 homers this spring and the Springfield lineup includes four players who have hit at least four taters during the 2013 season. The NEWMAC champs also roster one of the top pitchers in the region in junior Jennifer Joseph (Stamford, Conn.).
Senior shortstop Kelly Blake (Watertown, Conn.), the 2013 NEWMAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, ranks as Springfield's top hitter with a .404 (61-151) batting average and 47 runs, 18 doubles six home runs, 26 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Freshman Jenna Webb (Harrison, N.Y.) has been a key contributor for the Pride this spring and enters the tourney hitting .399 (57-143) with 32 runs, 16 two-baggers, seven jacks and 46 RBI.
Other top bats for the Pride include junior outfielder Christina Leader (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), who is currently batting .379 (50-132) with 38 runs, and senior first baseman Breann Joyce (Trumbull, Conn.), who begins NCAA play with a .368 (49-133) average along with seven doubles, six taters and 33 RBI.
Joseph appears to be Springfield's workhorse in the circle, as the junior heads into the NCAA's with a 1.75 ERA and a 15-7 record along with a solid 143/44 K/BB ratio in 131.2 innings this season. Junior Ashley Marino (Harrison, N.Y.), the 2012 NEWMAC Pitcher of the Year, has also posted strong numbers this spring with a 2.59 ERA and an 86/36 K/BB ratio over 113.2 frames.
The Pride are also outstanding defensively and enter the tournament with a sparkling .978 team fielding percentage. Blake leads Springfield's defensive efforts and has not made an error in 146 chances while manning the shortstop post this spring. Also of note: opponents have stolen just 24 bases in 33 chances against the Pride during the 2013 campaign.
Attitude reflects leadership:
Saint Joseph's Head Coach Jamie Smyth '92, now in his 16th season, is the program's winningest skipper with a 388-256 (.603) career record. He has guided the Monks to seven conference championships during his tenure and earned seven yearly coaching accolades. Co-Head Coach Dick Bailey, who served as the Monks' leader for 11 seasons (1985-95) and returned to the SJC coaching staff prior to the 2011 campaign, is a pitching guru and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table.
Coach Smyth has led the Monks to unprecedented success in GNAC play, as the team has posted an extraordinary 120-28 (.811) record versus conference opponents since joining the league in 2008.
Julie Perrelli is in her fourth season as the head coach of the Pride and owns a 100-67-2 (.599) record while at Springfield. The 2012 NEWMAC Coach of the Year, Perrelli previously served as a graduate assistant for the Pride for four seasons and was the Smith College skipper for three years.
NCAA DIII SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP RELEASE
The last time we met:
Saint Joseph's and Springfield College have met just four times since the 1990 season with the last meeting occurring on April 10th, 1998 when the clubs split a doubleheader in Springfield. The Monks and Pride also split a twinbill on April 6th, 1996 in Standish.
2013 season synopsis:
Saint Joseph's, ranked seventh in the Northeast Region in the latest NCAA Regional Rankings, has lost consecutive games just once all season, as the Royal Blue dropped both games to Husson University on Sunday – in part due to a decimated roster during finals week. Interestingly, all six of the Monks' conference setbacks came in the first game of GNAC doubleheaders. In fact, St. Joe's is 12-8 and has outscored opponents by a 95-72 margin in twinbill openers overall and owns a 17-3 record with a 146-34 combined score in closing contests. Seven of the Monks' losses have come by two or fewer runs and the team has been shut out just twice all season long.
Springfield College, the #10 team in New England according to the latest NCAA Regional Rankings, has played a difficult schedule this spring with 14 contests versus eventual NCAA Tournament qualifiers. Following a very challenging Spring Trip slate and a handful of tough opponents up north, the Pride held a 6-12 record in early April. The early strength of schedule paid off however, as Springfield rebounded by winning 17 of 22 heading into the NEWMAC Tournament. Two of the losses during the successful stretch came at the hands of Tufts University, the top seed in the Babson Park Regional and a team that is currently ranked seventh in the nation.
NCAA STATISTICS: Saint Joseph's --- Springfield
NCAA Tournament history:
The Monks will be making their third NCAA Tournament appearance in as many years, as the Royal Blue advanced to the "Big Dance" after winning the GNAC Championship in both 2011 and 2012. As the fifth seed in the 2012 NCAA Amherst Regional Tournament, Saint Joseph's opened play with a hard-fought 4-2 loss at the hands of #4 Keene State College, which advanced all the way to the regional championship several days later. The Monks' season ended the next day when #8 Keuka College tipped the Royal Blue by a 5-4 margin in nine innings.
In 2011, Saint Joseph's enjoyed a strong run in what was the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. As the #6 seed in the Providence Regional, the Monks defeated #3 Endicott and #2 Coast Guard before bowing out of the tourney with hard-fought losses to Eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island College.
Springfield College will be making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance when the regional begins on Thursday. The Pride advanced to the NCAA's in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2008 and 2009 campaigns. Springfield made the program's furthest NCAA tourney advancement when the Pride won three games in the 2009 NCAA Regional at Endicott College.
Miscellaneous Information:
For those unable to attend the NCAA Regional, Babson College will be providing both live stats and video streaming for all tournament games.
Live stats: http://fusionmx.babson.edu/livestats/softball/main.html
Video: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/babson.portal#
