Lady Lions Take on Akron
Akron, OH -- Lady Lions practice at Firestone Stadium in preparation for the start of the 2016 USCAA Softball Small College World Series.
Coming off of a 10-4 season in the PSUAC, with a second place finish in the conference tournament, Beaver returns to Akron after a two year hiatus. Coming in as the #8 seed, Beaver will face off against Cleary University, who are making their first tournament appearance, at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, May 16th.
The Lady Lions are led by senior, Rachael Charlier, who was named 1st Team All-Conference in the PSUAC as a catcher. She is one of the offensive leaders, batting .375 with 26 RBI's. Behind the plate, she calls a clean game for the four pitchers on the squad (Vanessa Jackson, Sarah Foose, Emily Dietrich and Carly Schroeder).
Jackson, who is the team leader from the circle, is also a leader while at the plate batting .409 on the season which earned her a 1st Team All-Conference as well as the Newcomer of the Year in the PSUAC. Behind her she has a strong defense that is fielding .901 this season.
At third base, Brenna Cepull makes the bulk of the starts while sharing the action with Taylor Myers. Quarterbacking the infield is freshman, Dina Cable who has been one of two short stops this season, sharing the action with Sunnie Liggett. Playing the middle infield on the right side have been Jenna Petrucci, who earned a 2nd Team All-Conference award, and Brittany Zahn, working well with the short stops to keep the defense solid. Finally, at first base, Haley Paul, Zahn and Foose, when she isn't in the circle have been sharing the action. Despite their youth, the infield group has learned to work well together and rally behind their pitchers.
Leading the outfielders are junior, Asia Borders and freshman, Brittany Garza. Garza in center field, covers a lot of ground with her speed and communicates well with her outfielders. Also seeing time in the outfield are Searra Thumm, Emily Dietrich and Lauren Hudnall.
With a group that features 11 freshmen, 2 sophomores, 2 juniors and 1 senior, Coach Andy Kirschner is anxious to see what his young team can accomplish this week with just one player who has played in the tournament in their last appearance in 2013.
To follow the team throughout the week, visit: http://softball.theuscaa.com/sports/sball/2016/schedule for live stats. Photos and game recaps will be available at www.beaverathletics.com