G-MAC Championship Digital Program (PDF)
G-MAC Softball Championship Page
XENIA, Ohio – Premier pitching versus power hitting could be a developing theme as the 2016 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Softball Championship warms up for a Thursday morning start later this week.
Six of the league’s eight teams qualified for the postseason with Trevecca Nazarene again clinching the top seed and regular-season title.
Kentucky Wesleyan secured the second seed, Davis & Elkins is the third seed and Cedarville will head to the tournament as the No. 4 seed. Ursuline is set in the bracket as the No. 5 seed while Salem International qualified as the No. 6 seed.
Teams will likely turn to their respective aces like Haley Fagan (Trevecca Nazarene), Allie Lapallo (Davis & Elkins) and Morgan Arbogast (Cedarville), among others.
Talented sluggers like Katie Chryssofos (Salem International), Brigitte Snow (Ursuline) and Ansley Brantley (Trevecca Nazarene) will also be looking to add to their already-impressive season batting totals.
And adding an extra element of intrigue is the G-MAC’s first automatic qualifier selection to the NCAA DII Softball Championship Midwest Regional for the winner.
The 2016 G-MAC Softball All-Conference Team will officially be announced on Wednesday evening following the banquet at the Athletes in Action Complex.
Weather permitting, all scheduled games on Field 1 will feature live video/audio on Thursday. All games on Field 2 will include live stats only.
A total of six games are scheduled for Thursday with simultaneous contests set to get tournament action underway at 10:30 a.m. EST.
Trevecca Nazarene (39-15, 23-3 G-MAC) and Salem International (23-25, 10-18 G-MAC) will meet while Kentucky Wesleyan (23-21, 16-6 G-MAC) and Ursuline (15-25, 9-15 G-MAC) square off for the first games. Davis & Elkins (33-19, 15-11 G-MAC) and Cedarville (25-29, 16-12 G-MAC) will start at 1 p.m. EST.
The Trojans have won three consecutive conference tournament titles and enter as the favorite to make it four straight. TNU lost just three times in the conference schedule this spring – once to D&E, KWC and Ursuline.
TNU and the Panthers of Kentucky Wesleyan both come into the tournament as winners in nine of their last 10 games.
The Trojans are as deep as anyone in the region and the lineup can put up runs in a hurry. Even with the early-season injury to middle infielder Bailey Alexander -- Andrews, Brantley, Griner and co., have stepped it up as needed. Brantley led the league in runs scored, stolen bases and was second in home runs. Players like Kat Burbrink, Caitlyn Hudgins and Mary Collins, fly under the radar, but their production matches up against just about everyone in the league.
KWC overcome a sluggish start to the year that included a 12-game skid to finish several games over .500. The Panthers are balanced – Maci Brown and Casey Smith have orchestrated no-hitters – and the hitting can provide ample run support. Senior Mackenzie Weedman was the most recent conference offensive player of the week.
Davis & Elkins has been leaning heavily again on Lapallo, who shoulders most of the workload in the circle. Some dangerous hitters set the table at the top of the order and the return of Danielle Norton/addition of Alyssa Cairns has given the offense a jolt. Norton led the league this season in hits with 71.
Cedarville’s Arbogast has emerged a frontline starter and racked up 11 wins in over 140 innings pitched. Brianne O’Dell ranks in the top five in conference history in batting average and stolen base machine Logan Eppich is a threat to score from anywhere when she reaches.
For Ursuline, Brigitte Snow is the G-MAC batting champion with a healthy average of .420 in 40 games. The Arrows sported the best fielding percentage in the G-MAC as a team at .970 and pitcher Gina Rosshirt and Brittany Humbel combined for 13 wins in the circle. Humbel also does it with the bat after hitting .333 during the regular season.
Salem International senior slugger Katie Chryssofos was a three-time G-MAC Player of the Week and slugged a single-season conference record 19 home runs. But she also hits well above average (.405) and drew a league-leading 28 walks. She will go down as the conference’s all-time home run leader after this spring. Kayla Lynch was fourth in the conference in ERA at 2.91; her 14 wins and stabilization of the pitching staff is a big reason why the Tigers are in the postseason.