PSAC Tournament Central

INDIANA, PA – IUP is headed back to the postseason for the third year in a row and the sixth time in the last eight years as the Crimson Hawks travel to Drifton, Pennsylvania for the 2012 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Softball Tournament this week.

The Crimson Hawks are one of nine teams to make the conference tournament, as the top three teams from each of the PSAC's three divisions qualify.

This will also be the first year that the PSAC softball tournament will be conducted entirely at a neutral site, as it will be played at the ASA of PA Jake Kislan Softball Complex in Drifton starting on Wednesday, April 25 through Saturday, April 28.

The Crimson Hawks tied with Lock Haven and Bloomsburg for the top mark in the Central Division with an 11-5 record, but lost out on the head-to-head-to-head tiebreaker and are seeded third. Lock Haven earned the No. 1 seed by going a combined 5-3 against the Crimson Hawks and Bloomsburg, while the Huskies are seeded second due to their even 4-4 record against IUP and the Bald Eagles. The Crimson Hawks finished a combined 3-5 against their two divisional rivals.

Joining IUP, Lock Haven and Bloomsburg in the tournament are Kutztown, Shippensburg, and West Chester from the East and Cal, Gannon and Mercyhurst from the West.

IUP will start off the double-elimination tournament on Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m. against West Chester, the third seed from the East. Kutztown (East No. 1) and Mercyhurst (West No. 3) will face each other at the same time on a separate field. The other two first round games include Gannon (West No. 2) against Bloomsburg and Lock Haven against Shippensburg (East No. 2).

Cal gets bye in the opening round this year, a spot that will go on a rotational basis from year-to-year, and will play the winner of the IUP-West Chester matchup on Wednesday. The loser of the IUP-West Chester game will drop to the consolation bracket to play the loser of Kutztown and Mercyhurst, also on Wednesday.

The Crimson Hawks finished the regular season with a 24-12-1 record as they look to repeat as conference champions after winning the first in program history a season ago. Also, IUP enters the tournament ranked eighth in the NCAA Atlantic Regional rankings, which determine the teams that advance to the NCAA tournament. Three conference champs for the region receive automatic bids while five teams will receive at-large bids.

Leading the way for IUP is Megan McCormick (Evans City/Seneca Valley), a two-time All-American and three-time first team All-PSAC Central selection. McCormick leads the team with a .365 batting average, a .519 slugging percentage and a .477 on-base percentage. Her 34 RBI, 54 total bases and 19 walks also leads the team as she's started at first base in all 37 of IUP's games this season.

Ashley Strack (Johnstown/Westmont Hilltop) has come into her own this season behind the plate, second on the team in batting with a .328 average with 23 starts. Jasa Mitchell (Snow Shoe/Bald Eagle Area) and Tara Waldo (Pittsburgh/Baldwin) have added pop to the Crimson Hawks lineup this season with four and three homeruns, respectively, while each have eight doubles and are batting over .270 on the year.

The speed for the Crimson Hawks sits in the top two spots in the order, as Marissa Leslie (Claysburg/Claysburg-Kimmel) has stolen 12 bases while Monica Iachini (Claysburg/Claysburg-Kimmel) has 11. Both left handed hitters, Leslie leads the conference with four triples and is batting .303 while Iachini leads the team with 25 runs scored and is batting .304.

The leader in the circle for most of the year has been Kelly King (Nazareth/Bethlehem Catholic), who is fourth in the conference with 16 wins and a 1.95 ERA. A two-time PSAC Central pitcher of the week, King has 19 complete games in 22 starts along with nine shutouts, including a perfect game and a no-hitter.

Also looking to make a difference in the circle is Alexa Campbell (Manheim/Manheim Central ), who had a 1.01 ERA and nine complete games in 12 starts for the Crimson Hawks this year.

Games will continue on Thursday and Friday at 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., with the championship game scheduled for noon on Saturday. If the team which advances from the loser's bracket wins that game title game on Saturday, another will be played to crown the champion.