The No. 7-ranked Emory softball team will pack its bags and head to Tyler, Texas for this weekend's Super Regional Round of the NCAA D-III Championships. The Eagles will battle the No. 2-ranked Patriots of UT-Tyler in the best-of-three series with the first contest slated for 5:00 pm (CDT) on Friday (May 15). The second game is slated for 1:00 pm start on Saturday with the third and deciding battle, if necessary, later that day at approximately 3:30 pm.
The Eagles of head coach Penny Siqueiros, 34-7 on the year, advanced to Super Regional action after hosting and finishing with a 3-0 record at the Atlanta Regional last weekend. Emory opened with a 2-0 victory over LaGrange College on Friday before edging No. 21 Averett University, 1-0, on Saturday. On Sunday, the Eagles topped Berry College, 4-2, in eight innings to nail down the title. It is the second straight year that Emory will be playing in the Super Regional.
The Eagles were well represented on the Atlanta Regional All-Tournament Team, headlined by senior Micah Scharff's selection as the Most Outstanding Player. Other Emory representatives included sophomore pitcher Brittany File, junior Hannah Sendel and sophomore Tara Fallahee.
Guided by 12th-year head coach Mike Reed, UT-Tyler starts the weekend with a 45-3 record. The Patriots hosted a regional over the weekend and staved off three elimination games, topping No. 3-ranked East Texas Baptist twice on Sunday during that run to advance to the Super Regional. UT-Tyler has won 25 of 26 home games this year.
NOTES: Penny Siqueiros is in her 17th year as the head coach at Emory and owns a school and career record of 560-163-1 … This weekend will mark the first-ever meetings in softball between Emory and UT-Tyler … Emory's 34 wins represents 13th time in program history that is has reached or surpassed the 30-win plateau … The Eagles have launched a total of 39 home runs this year, good for second place on the program's seasonal chart, behind only the 47 round trippers that the 2014 squad socked … Emory has 85 doubles this year, tying the third-highest seasonal standard in school annals … The Eagles hold down the No. 13 slot among D-III programs in doubles per game (2.07 dpg) … Emory is 0-2 in Super Regional contests, having lost both decisions to Trine last season … Emory has collected 10 or more hits on 19 occasions this year … Emory is No. 2 in the University Athletic Association and 16th on the national scene in slugging percentage (.526) … Emory has an all-time record of 37-25 in NCAA Tournament play … Emory played a total of 10 regular-season games against six teams in this year's NCAA Field field – Berry (1-1), Fontbonne (2-0), Rochester (2-0), Washington Univ., (1-1), DePauw (1-0) and Thomas More (1-0), fashioning an 8-2 won-lost slate in those contests … Hannah Sendel (Greenwood Village, CO), a first-team honoree on both the All-University Athletic Association and NFCA All-Atlantic Region squads, member has hit a team-high 14 homers during the 2015 campaign, eighth nationally and good for a second-place tie on the school's seasonal list, while her 36 career round trippers ranks second all-time at Emory (Megan Light holds the record with 47) … Sendel paces the squad with 12 multi-RBI games while Tara Fallahee (San Francisco, CA) has produced a team-high 15 multi-hit performances … Fallahee enters the Super Regional with team's longest current hitting streak at nine games (.466, 14-for-30) … Micah Scharff (St. Louis, MO), a First Team All-UAA honoree and Third Team All-Atlantic Region selection is tied for 11th on the program's all-time list with 169 hits … Scharff has hit safely in her last seven straight contests (.409, 9-for-22) … Brittany File (Carmel, CA) has fanned 308 opposing batters during her Emory career, good for seventh place all-time at Emory, while junior Sydney Carpenter's (Orlando, FL) 201 Ks stands 10th … File is No. 2 in the UAA and 29th nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (8.2) … File's 17 wins in the circle ties the 11th-highest seasonal mark in school history.