2019 NCAA D-III softball Championships Info
The No. 18-ranked Emory softball team battles Randolph-Macon College on Thursday (May 23) in its opening game of the NCAA D-III Championships. This year's Championships are being held at Suddenlink Field in Tyler, Texas, with UT-Tyler serving as the host institution. First pitch for the Emory-R-MC contest is slated for 7:30 pm (EDT).
Thursday's opening-round games in the double-elimination Championships are as follows (times listed are EDT)
Noon – St. Thomas (MN) vs. Eastern Connecticut
2:30 pm – Texas Lutheran vs. Williams
5:00 pm – Illinois Wesleyan vs. Trine
7:30 pm – Emory vs. Randolph-Macon
The Eagles of first-year Head Coach Adrianna Baggetta, are making the school's 16th trip to the NCAAs in the 21-year history of the program and check in with an overall record of 36-12. Emory advanced to the Championships after rallying to win the Lynchburg Super Regional last weekend, dropping the opener, 7-2, to the No. 17-ranked Hornets before coming away with 9-5 and 10-8 triumphs over the final two games.
This year's appearance represents the fifth time in program history and first since 2016 that Emory has advanced to the Championships. Other Championship appearances came in 2007, 2003 and 2002.
The winner of the Emory-Randolph-Macon affair will player the winner of Illinois Wesleyan vs. Trine on Friday at 5:30 pm (EDT) while the losers meet in an elimination game on Friday at 2:30 pm.
Randolph-Macon, 30-15, played its way to the Championships after emerging with the title at the Newport News Super Regional, losing to host and No. 11 Christopher Newport, 8-3, on the first day of action before bouncing back to claim a pair of 4-3 victories last Saturday. The Yellow Jackets are led by 17th-year Head Coach Kevin Proffitt.
Emory's 2019 UAA Athletes of the Week
Feb. 25 – Natalie Arreguin – UAA Hitter of the Week
Mar. 4 – Cassie Baca – UAA Hitter of the Week
Mar. 18 – Meghan Murphy – UAA Co-Hitter of the Week
Apr. 1 – Sami Feller – UAA Co-Hitter of the Week
Apr. 8 – Mattie Ryan – UAA Hitter of the Week
Apr. 22 – Sami Feller – UAA Hitter of the Week
Apr. 29 – Sami Feller – UAA Hitter of the Week
Apr. 29 – Toko Miller – UAA Pitcher of the Week
May 20- Cassie Baca – UAA Hitter of the Week
All-University Athletic Association
Cassie Baca – 1st Team
Sami Feller – 1st Team
Jenna Wilson – 1st Team
Natalie Arreguin – 2nd Team
Madison Schaefer – 2nd Team
Cassie Baca & Sami Feller - UAA Co-Position Players of the Year
Mattie Ryan – UAA Rookie of the Year
NCAA Demorest Regional Honors
Jenna Wilson – Most Outstanding Player
Mattie Ryan – All-Region Team (1B)
Sarah Katz – All-Region Team (2B)
Natalie Arreguin – All-Region Team (3B)
Madison Schaefer – All-Region Team (P)
NCAA Lynchburg Super Regional Honors
Cassie Baca – Most Outstanding Player
Madison Schaefer – Most Outstanding Pitcher
EMORY FIGHTS OFF ELIMINATION – Emory has advanced to the Championships after fighting off a total of five elimination games through the first two weekends of the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles faced down three elimination contests in the Demorest Regional, including the final two games against host Piedmont, before having to battle back after coming out on the short end of the first game of the Super Regional against Lynchburg. In the third game against the Hornets, Emory faced a 6-1 deficit through three innings before closing out the series with a 10-8 triumph.
EMORY – RANDOLPH-MACON SERIES NOTES – Emory and Randolph-Macon have met on just two occasions with the Yellow Jackets winning both games of a doubleheader played on their home field during the 2018 season. R-MC won the first game in eight innings, 2-1, before registering an eight-inning, 6-4 decision in the second contest.
EMORY – ILLINOIS WESLEYAN SERIES NOTES – IWU has won two of three meetings against Emory. The last time the two schools matched up came during the 2004 season when they split a doubleheader at Emory, with the Titans winning the opener, 2-0, before the Eagles responded a with 3-1 verdict in the second game. Emory and Ilinois Wesleyan met in the 2003 D-III Championships where IWU prevailed, 1-0, in eight innings.
EMORY – TRINE SERIES NOTES – Trine stands 2-0 against the Eagles, winning both games at the 2014 Super Regional which was hosted by Emory. The Thunder posted a 6-5 decision in 10 innings in the opener before recording a 6-2 outcome in the second contest.
EMORY POST SEASON NOTES – During their eight-game run during the NCAA Tournament, the Eagles are hitting .321 (81-of-252) as a team vs. .271 (65-of-240) for the opposition … Emory has outscored its eight foes by a 45-37 margin … Emory has collected 10 or more hits in five postseason games, all coming over its last six contests … Heading into the Championships, the Eagles have a fielding percentage of .976 during postseason action … Emory has three players hitting over .400 thus far in NCAA contests, led by freshman Mattie Ryan who checks in at .480 with 12 hits in 25 trips to the plate … Ryan is second on the team with seven RBIs and has the squad's lone homer in the postseason, that being a solo shot in the top of the seventh that gave the Eagles a 10-6 lead in last Saturday's winner-take-all Super Regional game vs. Lynchburg … Ryan has also drawn a team-high seven base-on-balls … Senior shortstop Cassie Baca stands at .441 in NCAA Tourney play with a team-best 15 safeties in 34 plate appearances … Baca has totaled a club-best 11 RBIs to go along with a .559 slugging percentage … Senior center fielder Jenna Wilson is hitting .400 (12-of-30) and has scored a team-high 10 runs … Wilson has stolen four of the team's five bases … Junior second baseman Sarah Katz has produced a solid postseason, hitting .357 (10-of-28) with six ribbies … Katz has been solid in the field, handling all 36 of her fielding chances flawlessly … Junior Greta Wilker (.290) has amassed nine hits in 31 at-bats, five of which have been doubles … Sophomore pitcher Madison Schaefer has gone 5-0 in the circle with an ERA of 3.82 over 22 innings of work … Senior hurler Toko Miller has drawn four starts and posts an ERA of 2.75, throwing a team-leading 28 innings and fanning 15.
LYNCHBURG SUPER REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS – Cassie Baca was named the Lynchburg Super Regional Most Outstanding Player after hitting a blistering .583, picking up a team-high seven hits in 12 plate appearances. Baca compiled two or more hits in all three contests and ended the three games with a squad-best seven RBIs … Sarah Katz came through with a .500 hitting effort (5-for-10), scoring and driving in three runs, while Mattie Ryan went 5-for-11 in the batter's box for an average of .458.
EMORY NOTES -- Emory has an all-time record of 50-35 in NCAA Tournament play … During the UAA portion of the schedule, the Eagles outscored their opponents by a 139-64 margin … Emory recorded six run-rule victories during UAA action and has a total of nine such wins this season … Emory has collected 10 or more hits on 19 occasions this year vs. 11 times for the opposition … The Eagles totaled 13 safeties vs. Lynchburg in the opener of the Super Regional and closed out the three-game series with a .358 effort (34-of-95) at the plate … 107 of Emory's 425 hits this year are of the extra-base variety with the team coming through with 70 doubles, 24 triples (school seasonal record) and 13 home runs … The Eagles head into the Championships tops in the UAA and 33rd in the Division III ranks in scoring with an average of 6.42 runs per game … The Eagles have generated 10 or more runs in nine games … Emory's average of 0.50 three-baggers per game leads the UAA and ranks eighth nationally … Cassie Baca has socked seven triples this year, tying for third place on the school's seasonal ladder … Baca leads the squad and is 11th among UAA players in batting at .386 (61-of-158) with her hit total first on the team, as are her 42 RBIs … Baca has produced a team-leading 18 multi-hit games this year and ranks as the squad leader with 12 games with two or more RBIs … Junior outfielder Sami Feller is second on the squad in hitting with a .376 effort (53-of-141) at the plate, good for the No. 12 slot on the UAA ladder … Feller, who led all UAA players in hitting (.471) for conference games, holds down the No. 2 spot on the Eagles' scoresheet with 16 multi-hit contests … Jenna Wilson, a starter in all 45 games she has appeared in this year, is hitting at a .373 clip (59-of-158) which ranks third on the team 14th in the league … Wilson's 59 hits are second-most on the club and she scored a team-leading 44 runs … Wilson has stolen a school-record 33 bases this season … Career-wise, Wilson ranks as the Eagles' all-time leader with 76 stolen bases and is No. 2 on the school's career list in stolen-base percentage (.938, 76-of-81) … Wilson's career batting average of .403 (151-of-375) stands fifth on the school's all-time ladder … Wilson claims the team's longest hitting streak of the year at 12 games (Mar. 21- Apr. 7) and enters the NCAA Championships action having hit safely in her last nine contests … Emory checks into the weekend second among conference squads with a fielding percentage of .961 … Mattie Ryan has drawn 31 base-on-balls this year, second most in school history and four shy of tying Megan Light's first-place standard of 35 (2013) … Ryan has clubbed a team-best 13 doubles and her four homers leads the squad as well … Ryan is tied for third with 14 multi-hit performances while ranking second to Baca with 10 games with two or more RBIs … Sophomore third baseman Natalie Arreguin has driven in two or more runs nine times (third on team) while her 10 doubles and 18 walks, are tied for second and third, respectively, on the squad … Junior Greta Wilker hit .352 in UAA contests, drawing starting assignments in 17 of her 20 games … Wilker's 17 ribbies in league play was fourth on the squad while her five doubles tied for second … In overall contests, Wilker's eight games of two or more RBIs is fourth on the team … Mattie Ryan, Natalie Arreguin and junior second baseman Sarah Katz are the three Eagles who have started all 48 games this season … Pitcher Madison Schaefer has produced a conference-high 18 wins this season (tied for 9th on the school's yearly list) to go along with a team-leading 63 strikeouts over 116 2/3 innings of action … Schaefer's season-high in Ks is 7 vs. Washington University (Apr. 6) … Toko Miller has crafted a won-lost ledger of 9-3 (2.85 ERA) and registered a league-high tying four saves with that total tying for the No. 1 position on the Eagles' seasonal chart … Career-wise, Miller posts a 20-10 with her win total tying for 12th place all-time at Emory … Over her four years at Emory, Miller has seven saves to her credit, tying for first place at the school's career ladder … Emory had the highest strength of schedule rating in all of D-III this year … The Eagles are 4-0 in extra-inning games this year.