MCLA Softball earns second seed in upcoming MASCAC championships

2014 MASCAC Softball Championship Bracket

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Bridgewater State Bears have earned the top seed in the 2014 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Softball Tournament which begins with first round action on Thursday, May 1 then the quarterfinals Friday, May 2, followed by the semifinals on Saturday May 3 and concludes with the championship on Sunday, May 4.

Earning themselves a first round bye in the tournament, Bridgewater State and MCLA will find out their fate after the first round of competition on Thursday where fourth-seeded Salem State will entertain fifth-seeded Framingham State at 4:30 p.m. and third-seeded Worcester State will play host to sixth-seeded Fitchburg State at 7 p.m.

Bridgewater State will face off with the winner of Salem State/Framingham State while MCLA will take on the winner of Worcester State/Fitchburg State in the quarterfinals which then becomes a double elimination tournament. The tournament continues on Saturday at top-seeded Bridgewater State with the first game at 11 a.m. followed Sunday by the championship game which is set to start at Noon in Alumni Park on the Bridgewater State campus with the winner earning the MASCAC's  automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament.

The Bears grabbed home field advantage and the top spot in the MASCAC tournament on a 13-1 conference record to close out the 2014 regular season. Amber White was dominant for Bridgewater State in the circle this season, finishing the year with the conference's best ERA (0.43) and total wins (19) while having the third best strikeout total in the league (123). Helping White offensively, teammate Jessica Laudati led the Bears with 12 doubles, 24 RBI and a .325 batting average.

Landing the other first round bye, MCLA closed out the 2014 regular season with a 9-5 record. Pitcher Rachel Quakenbush was lights out for the Trailblazers with a conference best 174 strikeouts and the third best ERA at 1.89. Amanda Meczywor led MCLA with 14 RBI, 20 hits and three stolen bases to finish out the regular season.

Worcester State claims the third seed with a 9-5 mark in league play. Meghan Rich was solid for the Lancers not only as a pitcher, but in the batter's box as well. She finished the year with six wins and an ERA of 3.64 while helping herself offensively with six doubles and 16 RBI. Freshman Courtney Salisbury closed out her freshman campaign with a .349 batting average with eight doubles, 11 RBI and seven stolen bases.

Finishing the season at 8-6 in conference competition, Salem State earned themselves the fourth seed in the upcoming tournament. The Vikings' Cara Crowley ended the regular season second in batting average in the conference (.403) and third in RBI (26) while adding 14 doubles, two triples and a home run.

Rounding out the tournament field are fifth-seeded Framingham State and sixth-seeded Fitchburg State. The Rams completed the conference schedule with an 8-6 mark. Freshman Tiffanie Marsh led the Rams with a. 456 batting average for the best in the league. She also added 11 doubles, three triples, seven RBI and seven stolen bases. The Falcons also finished the regular season with an 8-6 record to land the sixth seed. Pitcher Kerry Alcott ended the year second in the conference in both ERA (1.61) and total strikeouts (139). Marissa Gemma led Fitchburg State with a .347 batting average and 12 RBI while hitting six doubles and three triples.

During the 2013 season, Bridgewater State took home the MASCAC Softball Championship after taking two from second-seeded MCLA, 2-0 and 2-1, getting the automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament.