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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Lock Haven University softball team is ready to enter the national stage as the team begins the NCAA Tournament Thursday afternoon when they open play against West Liberty May 9 at 12:00 noon. The Bald Eagles enter the tournament having lost just one of their last 11 games as LHU has hit their stride at the perfect time. Lock Haven enters the regional as the No. 8 seed and will take on the top seeded Hilltoppers of West Liberty to open things up.
West Liberty University (36-17) is enjoying their best season on the softball field in quite some time as the Hilltoppers sit at 36-17 overall and posted a 24-8 record in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. WLU entered the MEC Tournament as the top seed in the conference and did not disappoint as they won four straight games on their way to claiming the title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The other teams in the Atlantic I regional are Shepherd, the No. 4 seed, and Concord, the No. 5 seed.
The winner of Lock Haven's first game against West Liberty will move on to the next round in the winner's bracket while the loser falls to the consolation bracket in the double-elimination regional.
2019 PSAC Champions:
The Bald Eagles continue to click at the right time as the team soared in the biggest moments on the way to winning the 2019 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship last week at Quakertown. Lock Haven entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed from the Central Division and knocked off the likes of Shippensburg, Gannon, Kutztown and Gannon again as the team went 4-1 in the tournament on their way to the team's sixth ever PSAC title.
Bekah Slattery pushed her game to another level at the PSAC tournament. She showed why she is one of the best pitchers in the country and helped will Lock Haven to the title. For the tournament, Slattery went 3-1 in the circle with a 1.97 ERA while striking out 55 batters and recording a save. She also batted .454 with three home runs and four RBI's as she rose to the occasion when LHU needed her most. Her three home runs were her first three of the season and her all-around stellar play led her to being named the 2019 PSAC tournament Most Valuable Player.
Slattery, Gricoski, Carpenter named All-Conference:
Bekah Slattery,
Rachel Gricoski and
Casey Carpenter were all named to the 2019 PSAC All-Conference team for the Central Division. Slattery was named to the first team as a pitcher while Gricoski and Carpenter both joined her on the first team. Gricoski was named to the first team as the Designated Player while Carpenter joined them as an At-Large selection.
Slattery was also named the PSAC Central Division Pitcher for the Year as she led the PSAC in almost every pitching statistical category and led LHU to the PSAC Championship.
Regular season:
During the regular season, LHU went 27-16-1 overall, including a 13-6-1 record in the PSAC Central division. The Bald Eagles were a force both on the road and at home this season. LHU went 10-4 at Lawrence Field and went 9-4-1 on the road.
Slattery continues to dominate:
Preseason All-American
Bekah Slattery leads the Bald Eagles from the circle with a record-breaking season. She sits at 20-9 on the season and became one of eight pitchers in PSAC history to eclipse the 700 strikeouts mark. Currently, Slattery sits at 830 K's, good for No. 6 on the all-time PSAC list. She leads the PSAC in ERA (1.45), opponents' batting average (.174), strikeouts (292). She is also first in wins (20) and saves (6). Her numbers continue to impress on the national stage as well. Currently, Slattery sits at the top in the country in strikeouts as well as top 10 in the nation in saves, strikeout/walk ratio, strikeouts/seven innings and hits allowed/seven innings. She is also top 20 in the country in ERA and in shutouts.
In the championship game against Gannon, Slattery recorded her 12
th career save, which puts her alone in the record books. Her 12
th save of her career put her atop the career saves in conference history as she broke the tie at the top and now sits alone atop the record books.
She was recently named to the 2019 PSAC All-Conference team for the fourth time and was named the PSAC Central Pitcher of the Year for the third time in her storied career.
Ceely, Carpenter, Gricoski lead LHU offense:
Faith Ceely,
Casey Carpenter and
Rachel Gricoski lead the LHU offense on the season. For the season, Ceely is hitting a team-high .336 as she's tallied 47 hits so far this year. She leads the team with 30 runs scored and is a model of consistency at the top of the Lock Haven order. Carpenter leads the team with 10 home runs this season, good for second in the PSAC. She is also hitting .321 for the season with 33 RBI's, both good for second on the team. Gricoski is hitting .305 for the year as the 1-2 punch of her and Carpenter helps power the Bald Eagles.
Becca Caputo leads the team in RBI's with 36, tied for 10th in the conference.
PSAC Athlete of the Week Awards:
The Bald Eagles have won six PSAC weekly awards this year. Slattery has won PSAC Pitcher of the Week four times and Athlete of the Week once. Slattery pulled a rare sweep of both awards on April 22.
Kayla Gee also brought home Pitcher of the Week honors once for the Bald Eagles.
Twitter:
For breaking news and updates all tournament long, follow us on Twitter @HavenAthletics.
