TOURNAMENT HOMEPAGEHOBOKEN, N.J. (April 30, 2015) – The Stevens Institute of Technology softball is eyeing its first Empire 8 Conference crown this weekend when it travels to Alfred University for the conference championship.
The Ducks (26-7-1) are currently riding a six game win streak heading into the double elimination tournament.
THE FIELD Third-seeded Stevens will battle second seeded Ithaca College to kick things off on Friday at 10 a.m., while top-seeded No. 18 Alfred will take-on fourth-seeded St. John Fisher College in game two at noon.
The winners of each game will then play each other at 4:30 p.m., while the losers will play an elimination game at 2:30 p.m.
FAMILIAR TERRITORY The Ducks are making their fourth appearance in the championship in the last five years, and are seeking the program's first win in the championship.
DUCKS VS. THE FIELD Stevens dropped both games of a doubleheader to Ithaca earlier in the month, but split with Alfred to hand the Saxons their first conference loss of the season. The Ducks also split with Fisher on April 11.
PAIR OF ACES Senior
Kayla Berardi is in the midst of another impressive season for the Ducks, leading the team with 13 wins and 100 strikeouts in 123 innings. Freshman
Olivia Gemma has been a worthy counterpart with 12 wins and a 2.21 ERA.
POWER SUPPLY Sophomore
Jessica Rees and freshman
Lauren Shirley each set the program's single season home run record this spring, belting six home runs a-piece to lead the team.
ROOKIE RISING Shirley (.483) and freshman
Farryl Groder (.388) enter the weekend's championship as the team's top two batting average leaders. Freshman
Corinne Loncar has also been a solid contributor this season, starting 27 games with a .291 batting average.
HOT CORNER Sophomore
Emily Sellitti has followed up an impressive freshman season with a .322 batting average to go along with 25 RBIs and 22 runs scores. Defensively, Sellitti has played to an over .900 fielding percentage at third, and is the only played on the team to play in all 34 games.
TABLE SETTER Junior
Gavriella Risman-Jones has had a flawless transition to the lead-off spot this spring, batting .372 with a .424 on-base percentage.
HOW TO FOLLOW Live stats will be available for all games on stevensducks.com.
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