Rose-Hulman Set to Host 2008 Softball Tournament
May 1, 2008
TERRE HAUTE , IN - The 2008 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference softball tournament will take place this weekend at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. The host Engineers shared the regular season championship with Bluffton University and earned the tiebreaker over the Beavers due to a sweep on March 29. Defiance and Mount St. Joseph will join Rose and Bluffton in Terre Haute this weekend.
The host Engineers (24-10, 13-3 HCAC) will look to capture their first trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament this weekend after claiming the school’s first HCAC Softball title this spring. Rose held a 5-1 record against the competition they will face this weekend. RHIT led the HCAC in batting average, pitching ERA, and defensive fielding percentage this season and will look to continue that strong play against the top talent in the conference. Among the season highlights, the Engineers reeled off a school-record 10-game winning streak and posted a school record 24 wins this season.
The pitching staff has been the anchor for Rose-Hulman this season and has been led by the efforts of sophomore Jordan Goslee (St. Joseph, Mich./H.S.). The sophomore holds a 12-2 record and a 1.05 ERA to lead the staff and also ranks among the national top 20 in strikeouts (140). Senior Katie Maggard (Floyds Knobs, Ind./Floyd Central) has tallied an 8-3 mark with nine complete games and 66 strikeouts to join Goslee in the circle. Offensively for Rose-Hulman, sophomore Brittany Bernthold (Fisherville, Ky./Eastern) leads the team with 48 hits, 27 runs scored, and a .393 average. Senior Ashley Montgomery (Plainfield, Ind./H.S.) ranks second on the squad with a .374 average at the dish.
Bluffton (25-15, 13-3 HCAC) earned a share of its third HCAC title and first since 2004 this spring. After dropping their first two conference games to Rose-Hulman on March 29, the Beavers rolled off 13 conference wins in 14 tries. Bluffton has posted some solid offensive numbers all season long and has been led by junior Lindsey Miller (Wapakoneta, Ohio/H.S.) at the plate. The junior was named HCAC Hitter of the Week three times this season and currently leads the conference with 10 home runs. She ranks among the league leaders in batting average (.460), RBI (44), runs scored (30), slugging percentage (.814), and on-base percentage (.500). The top three RBI leaders in the HCAC all belong to the Beavers’ squad. Miller, Jayme Marbaugh (Ohio City, Ohio/Parkway), and Brooke Babcock (Findlay, Ohio/H.S.) have driven in 44, 32, and 30 runs each.
Defiance (19-16, 10-6 HCAC) enters the 2008 tournament as the defending conference champions from a year ago. The Jackets will look to notch their 20 th win for the fifth consecutive year as the tournament opens up on Friday. DC earned a split with all three teams in the tournament field. Freshman Marah Robinson (New Philadelphia, Ohio/H.S.) leads the team at the plate, batting .347 with 24 RBI this spring. Freshman Mallory Faling (Clark Lake, Mich./ Columbia Central) has been the hot bat as of late, hitting .417 with one home run and seven RBI in her last four series. The Defiance pitching staff has been led by junior Justine Johnston (Wauseon, Ohio/H.S.) who has been named HCAC Pitcher of the Week three times this season. The ace has posted a 13-6 record with a 1.96 ERA this season and has won eight of her last ten starts.
The College of Mount St. Joseph (15-21, 10-6 HCAC) will look to improve upon their 1-5 record against the HCAC tournament field when the tournament gets underway this weekend. The Lions offense has been led by Megan McCullough (Middletown, Ohio/H.S.) and Ashleigh Stallkamp (Paulding, Ohio/H.S.) this spring. McCullough leads the team with a .340 average at the plate and has a team-high 32 hits. Stallkamp ranks among the leaders with five home runs and has a team-high 19 RBI. The Mount pitching staff has two solid arms. Freshman Katie Cohill (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) has a 5-3 record with three saves and a 2.14 ERA. Freshman Casey Brookbank (Cincinnati, Ohio/ Deer Park) holds a 7-4 mark with 37 strikeouts and a 2.93 ERA.
Action will get underway from Rose-Hulman at 1:00 PM Friday afternoon as the host Engineers face the No. 4 seed Mount St. Joseph. Bluffton and Defiance will tangle at 3:00 PM in the second opening round game.