The Bald Eagles will open the season by competing at the LMU Invitational in Harrogate, Tennessee. Lock Haven will open the season on Saturday, Feb. 17 vs. Ohio Dominican and Lincoln Memorial. The Haven will wrap up the opening-weekend against No. 2 Grand Valley State and Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, Feb. 18.
 
Setting the stage:
Lock Haven is coming off an exciting season where it finished 24-24 overall and 14-18 in the PSAC East, missing the postseason by just one game.
 
The Bald Eagles featured one of the most explosive offenses in the conference and finished second in on-base-percentage (.388), fourth in team-batting average (.314) and fourth in stolen bases (85-of-95), and sixth in slugging percentage (.448).
 
Following the season, the Bald Eagles, were honored greatly on and off the field, as they had 10 NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete, five Academic All-District Athletes and a pair of All-Region and All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Athletes.
 
Year 15 for Head Coach Kelly Shannon:
Entering the season with a remarkable 334 career-coaching victories (No. 2 all-time at The Haven), head coach Kelly Shannon will look to lead the Bald Eagles to PSAC contention with a group that features one of the most feared offenses in the conference. Shannon is 13 wins shy of breaking the program's all-time coaching win record set by legendary head coach Kelly Green.
 
In her 15-year head coaching career, Shannon has led the Bald Eagles to nine 20-win seasons, including last year's 24 victories.
 
Returning to the coaching staff is longtime assistant coach Danielle Fraser. Fraser, a team captain on the Bald Eagles 2006 National Championship team, has been alongside Shannon every step of the way and returns for her 16^th season.
 
Returning for More:
On offense, the Bald Eagles return a pair of record-holders in standouts Delaney Good and Summer Peters.
 
Good is coming off an historic 2023 campaign, where she belted out 76 hits to break the Lock Haven softball all-time single-season record of 75 set by Courtney Hughes in 2006.
 
In 2023, Good ranked among the top-five in the PSAC in hits, batting average (.437) and runs scored (55).
 
Peters finished the 2023 regular season with 17 doubles, the most ever in a single-season. The previous record was 16, also set by Hughes in 2005, as well as former standout McKenna Garlock (2016). Hughes is a Lock Haven Hall of Famer (Class of 2017) and former All-American, and Garlock was an All-Region and All-PSAC honoree.
 
Peters now has 33 career doubles, which places her into a three-way tie for the No. 10 spot on the all-time career list.
 
The Bald Eagles also feature a strong group on the base paths and are led by Good and Riley Mcclellan, who both ranked inside the top-10 in the conference in stolen bases. After stealing over 20 bags the last two seasons, Mcclellan has 79 in her career and is just nine stolen bases from setting the program-record.
 
The Bald Eagles return all four pitchers from the 2023 staff in Kinley Gioglio, Madison Waltman, Kelva Middleton and Jada Schelhammer.
 
Gioglio finished 2023 with an impressive 7-1 record in the circle, while leading the club in ERA (2.98), strikeouts (47) and saves (two).
 
Waltman racked up the most wins for the staff last season, as she finished 8-10 in a team-leading 114 innings pitched.
 
Schelhammer matched Gioglio with seven wins, while finishing second in complete games (five) and innings pitched (83.0).
 
2023 Stat Leaders:
2023 Statistics
Hitting:
AVG: Delaney Good (.437)
SLG: Summer Peters (.509)
Hits: Delaney Good (76)
2B: Summer Peters (17)
3B: Summer Peters (4)
HR: Summer Peters & Sydney Arrigale (5)
RBI: Summer Peters (45)
BB: Haley Lestician (20)
SB: Delaney Good (33-of-38)

Pitching
ERA: Kinley Gioglio (7-1)
IP: Madison Waltman (114.0)
Wins: Madison Waltman (8-10)
Ks: Kinley Gioglio (47)
B/AVG: Madison Waltman (.281)
Saves: Kinley Gioglio (2)
 
Newcomers:
The Bald Eagles welcomed seven new athletes to its roster in 2024 as part of an exciting recruiting class that will look to make an immediate impact on the program.
 
"We are so excited to welcome in the Class of 2027 for LHU Softball," head coach Kelly Shannon said. "This is a dynamic, athletic and versatile class of athletes with big game experience at the high school and travel-ball level. We have multiple athletes who can pitch, hit and play other positions with skill. We will add depth to our infield, outfield and offensive lineup with these seven athletes. We cannot wait to see them in the crimson and white!"
 
To learn more and view the Bald Eagles class of 2027, click here.
 
PSAC Preseason Rankings:
The PSAC released the 2024 Preseason Softball Coaches' Poll on Jan. 24 and the Bald Eagles were picked sixth of nine in the highly competitive Eastern Division.
 
Nationally-ranked East Stroudsburg received five of nine first-place votes and was picked as the favorite by the coaches in the PSAC Eastern Division. West Chester and Shippensburg picked up two first-place votes each, and are slated at second and third, respectively. Kutztown and Bloomsburg were slated at fourth and fifth - with Lock Haven coming in behind them at No. 6. Shepherd, Millersville and Mansfield round out the top-nine in the East.
 
In the Western Division, Mercyhurst led the way with four first-place votes, while Seton Hill was picked second with three first-place votes. Gannon and Slippery Rock rounded out the top-four with one first-place vote each. Cal (Pa.), IUP, Clarion, Pitt-Johnstown and Edinboro round out the back half of teams in the Western Division.
 
The Road Ahead:
The early-season slate will continue in Wilson, North Carolina on March 1 vs. a doubleheader vs. Barton. The Bald Eagles will also play four games in Mount Olive, North Carolina March 2-3.
 
The final tune-up before opening conference play will be against Holy Family (March 12) and Goldey-Beacom (March 13).
 
The Bald Eagles open PSAC Eastern Division play on Tuesday, March 19 when they welcome Mansfield to Lawrence Field for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.
 
In all, nine doubleheaders will be played in front of the home crowd of Lawrence Field, where The Haven featured a .500 (9-9) record in 2023.
 
Up Next:
Lock Haven's spring training schedule resumes on Friday, March 1 when Lock Haven travels to Wilson, N.C. for a non-conference doubleheader. Game-one will begin at 1 p.m. with the nightcap to follow.