Transy Faces Wash U. in NCAA Softball Regional Opener

Release courtesy of Transylvania University

DePauw Regional Website (click here)

LEXINGTON, KY – Fresh off its Heartland Conference tournament championship, Transylvania was assigned to the DePauw softball NCAA Division III regional tournament Monday and will take on Washington (Mo.) University in first-round action on Thursday.

Washington (34-9) is ranked 18th in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll while Transy, checking in at 34-9 after winning three games to capture the HCAC tourney championship on Saturday, is unranked.

The Pioneers are in the NCAA Division III Championship for the first time since the 2006 season while the Bears are in post-season play for the ninth year in a row.

Six of the eight teams in the regional have won at least 30 games while Ohio Northern (No. 4), DePauw (No. 13), Washington (No. 18), and North Central (No. 21) are all ranked in the national top 20.

Transy is listed as the sixth seed in the eight-team regional. Ohio Northern is the top seed, followed by No. 2 DePauw, No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Trine, No. 5 North Central, No. 7 Denison, and No. 8 Thomas More.

Transy plays Washington in the third game of the day on Thursday, which begins at 2 p.m. in Greencastle, Ind. Ohio Northern plays Thomas More in Game 1 at 10 a.m. with Trine taking on North Central at noon. DePauw meets Denison in the final game of the day at 4 p.m.

Play resumes on Friday at 10 a.m.

If Transy wins, it would play the winner of the DePauw-Denison contest on Friday at 4 p.m. If the Pioneers lose to Washington, they would meet the loser of the DePauw-Denison matchup at noon on Friday in the double-elimination event.

The tournament continues through Sunday with the regional winner advancing to the national championships May 21-24 in Eau Claire, Wis.

Transy is led by pitcher Kendra DeArk (21-4), who won three games in the HCAC tourney and is the first Pioneer to win 20 games in a season. She was the HCAC Pitcher of the Year last season as a sophomore. She led the HCAC in wins and earned run average (1.53) this season.

On offense, Transy is paced by two freshmen, third baseman Megan Mitchell and shortstop Michelle Ladanyi.

Mitchell set school records with 17 home runs and 60 runs batted in. She also led the HCAC in both categories as well as in batting average with a mark of .500. Ladanyi was fourth in batting average at .423 and was second in RBI with 52.

Mitchell leads the nation in both home runs and slugging percentage (1.034).

Ladanyi was the HCAC leader in hits with 63, one more than Mitchell.