Softball earns second seed in MASCAC playoff, will host game Friday
2015 MASCAC Softball Championship Bracket
WESTFIELD, Mass. - The Worcester State Lancers have earned the top seed in the 2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Softball Tournament which starts with the first round on Thursday, April 30, then quarterfinals on Friday, May 1, then semifinals on Saturday, May 2 and then concludes on Sunday, May 3 with the championship game.
Starting off the MASCAC Tournament on Thursday, third seed Bridgewater State hosts sixth seed Framingham State in the opening round game at 3 pm while fourth seed Salem State will entertain fifth seed Westfield State at 4:30 pm. First seed Worcester State will host the winner of Salem State/Westfield State Friday at 4 pm and second seed MCLA will play host to the winner of Bridgewater State/Framingham State which then becomes a double elimination tournament.
The tournament continues on Saturday at top-seeded Worcester State with the first game at 11 a.m. followed Sunday by the championship game which is set to start at 11 am on Worcester State's campus with the winner earning the MASCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament.
Landing the top seed and a first round bye, Worcester State closed out the regular season with an 11-3 conference record. Meaghan Rich finished the regular season first in the MASCAC in ERA (1.53) and wins (15) while teammate Hayley Terry led the Lancers in batting average at .361 while adding 21 RBI, six doubles and two triples.
Earning the other bye into the semifinals and the second seed in the tournament, MCLA finished the league schedule with a 9-5 mark. Rachel Quackenbush was strong for the Trailblazers in the circle with league best 130 strikeouts, second in ERA at 1.60 while hitting .319 with nine doubles, two home runs and 18 RBI.
Last year's MASCAC Tournament champions Bridgewater State landed the third seed with a 9-5 conference record. Courtney Leddy led the Bears with a .415 batting average, seven doubles, three triples and 22 RBI. Teammate Kelly McCarthy tallied a .378 batting average with 37 hits, including six doubles, four triples and one home run while adding 28 RBI.
Salem State is the fourth seed with an 8-6 MASCAC record. The duo of Jess Toussaint and Marisa Sanchez had a solid year for the Vikings. Toussaint finished the regular season second in the league in batting average (.430), first in RBI (33) and home runs (6) while Sanchez was first in batting average (.433) and fourth in stolen bases (8).
Closing out this year's tournament field is Westfield State with the fifth seed and Framingham State in the sixth seed, respectively. The Owls ended league play with seven wins. Emma Dunbar was solid for the team with a. 394 batting average with three doubles, two triples and 16 RBI. The Rams closed out the regular season with seven wins as well. In the pitcher's circle, Natalie Arseneau finished the regular season third in wins (7) and fourth in strikeouts (70).
Last season, Bridgewater State won their second straight MASCAC Tournament Championship with an 8-1 win over fifth seeded Framingham State to advance to the NCAA Tournament.