GLENSIDE, Pa. - The Arcadia University softball program bids for a chance to return to the conference championship series in Saturday's MAC Freedom Semifinals at second-seeded Stevens in the first two games of the best-of-three series. The third-seeded Knights swept sixth-seed DeSales in last weekend's quarterfinal round to advance to the semifinals.
MAC FREEDOM SOFTBALL SEMIFINALS (BEST-OF-THREE)
#3 ARCADIA (20-10) at #2 STEVENS (18-6)
Games 1 & 2: May 8 | 1 p.m. | Weehawken Waterfront Park (Weehawken, N.J.)
Game 3 (If Necessary): May 9 | 1 p.m. | Blankley Field (Glenside, Pa.)
*Per Stevens' spectator policy, fans from visiting institutions will not be permitted to attend*
Related: 2021 MAC Freedom Softball Championship Central
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
-Arcadia swept DeSales in last weekend's quarterfinal series to open the MAC Freedom Tournament with a pair of shutout wins, 1-0 and 9-0.
Shannon Shea plated the game-winning run in the opener, while the Knights' offense exploded for nine runs in the finale as
Morgan Marchesani,
Brooke Ward and
Alexis Burge all tallied two RBI to lead the Knights past the Bulldogs.
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Kylee Schwind,
Brenna Dolan and
Juliana Presto combined for 12 scoreless innings on the afternoon. Schwind and Dolan were both stellar in their respective starts, while Presto struck out five batters in three innings of relief. The first-year pitcher also eclipsed the 100 single-season strikeout milestone to expand her conference-leading total to 102 strikeouts. The trio has combined to post a 1.72 team ERA this season, good for 19th in all of NCAA Division III.
-The Knights' .343 team batting average continues to lead the MAC Freedom with
Megan Sooy's .453 average ranking fourth and
Alex DeStefano's .416 mark coming in at eighth.
Alexis Burge still holds the top spot in the conference in home runs with six while Sooy is right behind her in second with five.
-Stevens won the regular season series with Arcadia by taking three-of-four games. Two of the four games were decided by two runs or less, including a nine-inning, 6-4 Stevens win in the series finale.
ABOUT STEVENS
-Stevens advanced to this weekend's semifinal round with a sweep of seventh-seeded Wilkes last Saturday, both of which were shutout victories. Jessie Masur and Erin Kreis both turned in complete-game shutouts in the circle to lead the Ducks.
-Samantha Schatin comes into the weekend leading the MAC Freedom with a .569 (41-for-72) batting average, which also ranks fifth in all of NCAA Division III. Schattin paced the Ducks on Saturday with a 4-for-4 day at the plate across both games.
-Stevens ranks one spot below Arcadia in the conference in team ERA (2.72) and strikeouts (139). Masur's 1.00 ERA and .162 batting average against this season are currently the top marks in the MAC Freedom.
