AMCC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

CHAMPIONSHIP HOMEPAGE
Please note that all tickets MUST be purchased in ADVANCE! There will be no cash ticket sales at the gate. Click on the Championship Homepage link above for the ticketing link and additional tournament information. 

The AMCC will be debuting its first softball neutral site championship this week, which will take place at Rose & Dennis Heindl Field in DuBois, PA, May 6-9. The tournament will kick off on Wednesday, May 6 at 2:00pm between #4 Pitt-Bradford and #5 Pitt-Greensburg. Game two on Wednesday will feature #3 Alfred State College and #6 Mount Aloysius. #1 Penn State Behrend and #2 Penn State Altoona each receive first round byes and will begin play on Thursday. 

Penn State Behrend has earned the #1 seed with a 15-1 record in conference play. Leading the Lion offense are junior Julia Jones with a .440 batting average and 27 RBI and senior utility player Meghan Swain with a .392 average. Swain has registered five home runs on the year to go along with 32 RBI and 27 runs score. In the circle, senior Abby Tingley carries a 1.76 ERA in conference play, giving up just 12 earned runs in 47.2 innings pitched. She's recorded 33 strikeouts and has an 8-0 record against AMCC teams. 

Entering the tournament as the #2 seed is Penn State Altoona with a 12-4 record. Junior outfielder Riley Best leads the conference with a .486 batting average, 53 RBI and nine home runs on the season. Sophomore outfielder Madison Kennedy has a .435 batting average while senior infielder Karli Storm is hitting .408 with seven home runs, 43 runs scored, 33 RBI and five stolen bases. Junior pitcher Josselyn Nau is 8-1 on the season, including a 2-1 record in AMCC play. Nau has registered 41 strikeouts this year, with 12 of those coming against conference teams. 

Alfred State College has earned the #3 seed with a 9-7 mark in conference play. Sophomore infielder Liana Dion tops the Pioneer offense with a .400 batting average, 30 RBI, and 23 runs scored. Nicole Youngberg is second on the team with a .370 batting average, 21 RBI and one home run. Abbie Millard adds 21 RBI and 11 extra base hits with a .352 batting average. Freshman pitcher Sophia Petrie carries a 4-1 record in the circle vs AMCC teams, with a 5.66 ERA and 29 strikeouts. 

Also with a 9-7 AMCC regular season record is #4 seed Pitt-Bradford. The Panthers have three players who rank in the top six batting averages in the conference, including Sasha Ginsberg (.474), Miranda Groll (.460), and Krislyn Clement (.435). Groll has 20 stolen bases on the year and has scored an AMCC-leading 48 runs, including 26 in conference play. Clement is tied for second in the AMCC with seven home runs and is second with 40 RBI. Freshman pitcher Hannah Schnetzer has a 3-2 conference record in the circle with a 1.75 ERA.

#5 seed Pitt-Greensburg comes into the tournament with an 8-8 record. The Bobcats are led offensively by sophomore infielder Shelby Cloak who is hitting .479 on the season overall, and .519 in conference play, ranking second in the conference. Cloak has four home runs on the season with 37 runs scored and 27 RBI to go along with six stolen bases. Junior catcher Jessica Dunn has a .415 average with 15 RBI and a home run. Senior pitcher Autumn Powell is 6-4 in league play, registering an AMCC-best 52 strikeouts vs conference teams.

Rounding out the tournament field is #6 Mount Aloysius also with an 8-8 conference mark. Senior P/1B Alysha Cutri is hitting a team-leading .421 in league play, while collecting 27 RBI overall, including 17 against AMCC teams. Senior infielder Sarah Henninger carries a .389 batting average with 20 runs scored and 11 RBI, while also smacking an AMCC-best four triples in conference play. Mountie pitcher Jessica Koptcho has four conference wins in the circle, including 46 strikeouts vs AMCC teams while carrying a 3.48 ERA.