INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (May 9, 2022) – The Stevens Institute of Technology softball team will make its second NCAA appearance starting Friday afternoon with a neutral-site matchup against Babson College in a four-team regional hosted by SUNY Geneseo, it was announced Monday afternoon when the official 62-team bracket was unveiled.
SUNY Geneseo will oppose Mount Saint Joseph to open the double elimination regional. The regional champion will then advance to the Super Regionals on May 20.
Stevens (18-17) is returning to the national tournament for the second straight year after defeating Arcadia University 7-3 in a winner-takes-all game Sunday at Waterfront Park after weather wreaked havoc on the originally scheduled three-day tournament. Fifth-year
Siobhan Cottell connected for a three-run homer in the third inning and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Junior
Erin Kreis scattered four hits across 6 2-3 innings out of the bullpen to earn the victory. The Ducks will enter the tournament riding a four-game winning streak and have won eight of their last nine.
Babson (35-8) received one of 19 Pool 'C' bids after falling to MIT in the ninth game of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) tournament. The Beavers, ranked 17th in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, went 16-2 during the NEWMAC regular season to earn the top seed in the postseason tournament before bowing out to the Engineers. Junior Lexi Morris leads Babson with a .313 batting average and sophomore Moira O'Reilly has posted a 19-4 record with a 1.90 ERA over 144 innings.
Stevens and Babson have played each other just once, splitting a neutral-site doubleheader in Plant City, Florida on Mar. 17, 2019.
On the other side of the bracket, the hosting Knights (34-4) will take on Mount St. Joseph (31-9). SUNY Geneseo won their second straight State University of New York Athletic Conference Saturday with a 7-0 victory over SUNY Cortland. First-year Kaitlyn Schmitz was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after batting 8 for 13 with five RBI across four tournament games, while also earning the championship victory in the circle. Geneseo is one of just three programs in SUNYAC history to repeat as conference champions. The Ducks and the Knights met in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, with the Knights coming away with a narrow 6-4 victory.
Mount St. Joseph arrives at the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year after defeating top-seeded Transylvania in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) championship. The Lions fell to top-ranked DePauw University in the regional championship game in 2021. Kamryn McCool was named the HCAC Tournament's Most Valuable Player after allowing four earned runs over 21 innings with 25 strikeouts over the three-day event. Stevens and Mount St. Joseph have never met.
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