Royals To Face Moravian In Opening Round of Landmark Tournament Friday Afternoon at Susquehanna University
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| Caitlin McHenry | Jamie Shackles |
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| Christine Capalbo | Kaitlyn Frazza |
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| Ashley Vosilla | Kelly Zaccheo |
The University of Scranton softball team (26-8) will have its
hands full in the opening round of the 2012 Landmark Conference
tournament Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. against second-seeded
Moravian College (29-9) to be played at Sassafras Field on the
campus of Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
The double-elimination tournament begins at 11 a.m., with
top-seeded Susquehanna University (24-12) hosting Catholic
University (22-14). A winner’s bracket game will also
be played at 3:00 p.m.
Action will continue Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m., with games also
scheduled at 11 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and, if necessary, 3:00 p.m.
Single-day tickets are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for senior
citizens and non-Landmark Conference students and children.
All children under 10 accompanied by an adult and Landmark
Conference students with valid identification will be admitted
free. Two-day ticket packages are available at
$8.00 for adults and $6.00 for senior citizens.
Live stats will be provided at
susqu.edu/athletics/livestats/xlive.htm and audio of games
involving Susquehanna can be found at the following web
address: http://www.susqu.edu/wqsu-fm/index.html. A
tournament page with other relevant information can be found at
http://gosusqu.com/sports/sball/2011-12/releases/champ_info_page.
The Royals enter Friday’s game against the four-time
defending champion Lady Greyhounds one win shy of tying the school
record for most wins in a season, which, coincidentally, was set in
2008 when current first-year head coach Mia
Collarini was a freshman and a starting
outfielder.
Scranton has gotten a big boost in its lineup this year from
sophomore Caitlin
McHenry (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas), who is
ranked in the top 50 in four categories in the latest NCAA Division
III statistics. She is 19th in RBI (1.25 per game), 30th in
slugging percentage (.798), 43rd in on-base percentage (.525), and
48th in batting average (.478). Junior outfielder Jamie Shackles (Philadelphia, Pa./Little
Flower) is also among the nation’s leader, in 40th
place in sacrifice flies (3).
Besides McHenry and Shackles, four other starters are batting well
over .300 for the Royals, who are now 26th in the latest NCAA
rankings in scoring (6.84 runs per game) and win-loss percentage
(.781) and 44th in triples per game (0.38).
After McHenry, junior outfielder Kaitlyn Frazza (West Caldwell, NJ/James
Caldwell) is next in the lineup with .400 batting average,
followed by senior shortstop Kelly Zaccheo (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) at
.393, senior catcher Ashley Vosilla (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills
West) at .376, and freshman outfielder Gabby Santarelli (Peckville, Pa./Valley View)
at .312.
Senior Christine Capalbo (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck)
is the Royals’ number one starter on the pitching staff and
her 14 wins to date is one shy of tying Isabel Mendez’s
University of Scranton single-season record of 15 victories during
the 2008 season. Like McHenry and Shackles, Capalbo is ranked
among the nation’s leaders; she is 70th in victories (14) and
83rd in shutouts (4).
Under the guidance of 19th-year head coach John Byrne, Moravian
College has advanced to the NCAA World Series three times in 13
NCAA Division III tournament appearances and has won 14 conference
titles, including 10 in its previous affiliation with the
Commonwealth Conference of the Middle Atlantic States Collegiate
Athletic Corporation, more commonly known as the Middle Atlantic
Conference. He also recorded the 600th victory of his
distinguished career on April 9 in the second game of a
non-conference doubleheader against Delaware Valley College, 4-1,
in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Earlier this year, Scranton and Moravian split their Landmark
Conference regular-season games played at the Jessup Youth Sports
Complex in Jessup, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, April 14. The
Lady Greyhounds won the opener, 15-0 in five innings, behind a
two-hitter by senior pitcher Jenna Carmon (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon
Central).
The Royals came back to win the nightcap in dramatic fashion,
pulling out a 6-5 victory on a walk-off two-run single by Shackles
in the bottom of the seventh inning. Scranton also overcame a
3-1 deficit in the bottom of the sixth when pinch-hitter Megan Reilly (Huntington Station, NY/St.
Anthony’s) drilled a three-run home run to left
center field to give the Royals a 4-3 lead.
--ROYALS--
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