NEC Tournament Central | SFU Schedule (Watch and Live Stats Links)

LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball is set to host the Northeast Conference Tournament for the third consecutive season from May 11-13. The tournament is a three-day, double-elimination format and features No. 1 Saint Francis, No. 2 LIU, No. 3 Central Connecticut and No. 4 Merrimack.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Grace Vesco enters the tournament 27th in the NCAA Division I with 183 strikeouts and leads the NEC by 46 over teammate Rachel Marsden (137). Her strikeouts are 13 away from tying the single-season program record. She also leads the conference with a .177 batting average against and is top-five with a 2.60 ERA and 156.1 innings pitched.
» Jordan Pietrzykoski finished top-three in the conference with a .376 batting average, .429 on-base percentage and 14 stolen bases. She led the NEC with a .507 batting average during conference play, which was 47 points higher than any other player.
» Marsden finished the regular season third in the conference with a 2.44 ERA and her strikeouts were second. She also carried a fifth-best .221 batting average against. At the plate she was second with seven home runs and fifth with 27 RBIs. She is two hits shy of 100 in her career.

NEC Tournament Notes
Saint Francis is set to host the NEC Tournament for the fifth time in the last six conference seasons (LIU hosted the tournament in 2019). The Red Flash have won a conference-record five straight NEC titles, which broke the previous record of four set by LIU (1987-90) and Robert Morris (1991-94). LIU has an NEC record of 14 titles, with its last in 2016, while Central Connecticut has two titles in 2013 and 2015. Merrimack has qualified for its first NEC Tournament in program history. Due to NCAA reclassification rules, the Warriors are ineligible to advance to the NCAA Regionals if they win the conference title. If Merrimack wins the NEC, the tournament runner-up will advance to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Scouting No. 2 LIU
The Sharks finished tied for second in the conference with a 14-7 record. Camryn Lyman finished with a team-high .300 batting average and LIU totaled six players over .250 this season. Alexia Castro added a team-high seven home runs and 23 RBIs. Lindsay Cowans led the team with a 2.30 ERA, 134 strikeouts and a .197 batting average against in 150 innings pitched, which were all top-five in the NEC.
 
Scouting No. 3 Central Connecticut
The Blue Devils finished tied for second in the conference with a 14-7 record after they went 4-20 in the 2022 season. Paige Stringer led the team with a conference second-ranked .380 batting average and added 19 runs, six home runs and 22 RBIs. Kaylee Whittaker led the NEC with 196.2 innings pitched, 20 wins and added a 2.56 ERA and 106 strikeouts. She pitched 196.2 out of Central Connecticut's 235.1 innings (84 percent) this season.
 
Scouting No. 4 Merrimack
The Warriors finished fourth in the NEC with an 11-10 record, which marked its first season above .500 since joining the NEC. Merrimack held a 3-6 record against NEC Tournament teams during the regular season. Ellen Hubbard led the conference with a .411 batting average, 34 runs scored and was second with 31 walks to carry a .535 on-base percentage. Courtney Lanpher was fifth in the conference with a .355 batting average and led the conference with 13 doubles. She also added 32 runs scored, six home runs and 21 RBIs. Bry Mitchitson led the pitching staff with a 2.68 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 138.2 innings pitched.
 
First Matchup: Saint Francis vs. Merrimack
The Red Flash swept Merrimack in the final series of the season to earn the outright NEC Regular Season title and home field for the postseason tournament. All-three games were decided by one or two runs and the first game was a 10-inning Red Flash win. Saint Francis holds a 10-0 record over Merrimack since its reclassification to Division I, but seven of the games were decided by three or fewer runs.

Next
The winner of the NEC Tournament will advance to the NCAA Regionals. The destination of the NEC winner will be determined during the NCAA Softball Championship Selection Show on Sunday, May 14 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.