Salem Kicks Into Gear for 51st Time
Eight Teams Vie for 2008 NCAA D-III Title
May 15, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- The field is set, their bags are packed, and Virginia’s “Championship City” is ready to co-host its 51^st national championship with the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) this weekend as the NCAA Division III Softball Championship kicks off at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex.  Eight of the nation’s most talented teams bring their acts to Salem, Virginia, with games beginning on Friday, May 16, and continuing through a possible second championship game on Tuesday in the tournament’s double-elimination format.  With seven of the eight teams ranked within the nation’s top 25, play promises to be nothing short of exciting!

All but one of this year’s qualifiers are familiar with the Roanoke Valley, but none moreso than the ODAC’s own Lynchburg College.  Rhode Island College and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire fell short of the 2007 crown, but both are back for another crack at an elusive national trophy.  Cortland State University and Muskingum College each visited Salem in 1998, 2003 and 2004, and Ithaca College made its way from New York in both 1996 and 2000.  While new to the softball championship, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater certainly is no stranger to Salem following its 2007 Stagg Bowl win and two previous trips to the D-III football title game.

 

That leaves Louisiana College as the only true newcomer to Salem.  The Wildcats (42-5) made their way to the D-III finals by winning the Texas-Tyler Regional in Tyler, Texas.  Louisiana won all three of its regional contests as the top seed to punch its ticket to Salem.  McCaslin Carson (American Southwest Conference East Pitcher of the Year), Erica Harwell (Co-Player of the Year) and Rene’ Schwartzenburg (Freshman of the Year) lead the Wildcats in a tournament-opening showdown with Rhode Island on Friday morning.   The Anchorwomen (36-7), seeded #1 in their region tourney, also needed just three wins to make it back to the valley, a trip they hope lasts a little longer than in 2007.  RIC saw its title hopes dashed after two days with a pair of early losses.  With a year of championship experience under their belts, expect the Anchorwomen to make a deeper run in this year’s show with tourney vet and three-time Little Easter Player of the Year, Christine Lotti, leading the charge.

 

Cortland State and UW-Whitewater matchup in Friday’s second game.  Cortland State (38-11) looks for its fourth trip to Salem to bring the program its first softball crown.  The Red Dragons made it through the Plattsburgh Regional as the fourth seed, winning four straight games including a pair against second seeded Endicott College.  SUNYAC Pitcher of the Year, Katie Finch, and conference Rookie of the Year, Donnalyn Cross, lead Cortland State into its contest with the Warhawks.  UW-Whitewater (34-9), which won five regional games as the three seed, upset nationally top-ranked DePauw University twice to earn the Rock Island Regional’s bid to the finals.  UW-Whitewater put four players on the All-WIAC first team including Co-Pitcher of the Year, Jessica Stang.  She won four of UW-W’s five games in regional play.

 

Ithaca and UW-Eau Claire setup the first day’s third matchup.  Ithaca (34-10), the 2002 national champions, made quick work of its own eight-team regional with four straight wins including three shutout victories.  The Bombers surrendered only two total runs, both in the regional finale against the University of Rochester.  Empire-8 Player of the Year, Erica Cutspec, and conference Pitcher of the Year, Carly Myers, lead the Bombers into a clash with the back-to-back qualifying Blugolds.  UW-Eau Claire (36-11) enters the tournament as the lowest seeded qualifier after winning four straight games and its own regional as the sixth seed.  The Blugolds finished third in the 2007 finals, but a quartet of All-WIAC first team selections, including 2007 NCAA D-III finals all-tournament team choice Casey Leisgang, look to lead UWEC to this season’s title game.

 

Lynchburg (39-6) returns to the site of its back-to-back ODAC championships in search of the school’s first national softball crown.  The top-seeded Hornets won their first two games in regional play, but dropped the first of two chances to qualify for the finals with a loss to Ursinus College.  Lynchburg regained its composure to shutout the Bears in the regional “if” game to pave its way to Salem.  ODAC Player of the Year, Elizabeth Perkins, and league Rookie of the Year, Katie Bruce, lead a potent squad against 2001 national champion, Muskingum, in the day’s fourth and final pairing.  Head coach Donna Newberry’s Muskies (40-10) have won 40 games with four coming in its regional fixtures.  A loss in its second game set Muskingum back a rung, but it wasn’t enough to derail MC from its course to the south.  Ohio Athletic Conference first teamers Kari Hoying, Amy Mattin and Mary Margaret Boda, the OAC Rookie of the Year, head the Muskies’ attack.

Make your way to the James I. Moyer Sports Complex for any or all of the 2008 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.  Games begin Friday, May 16, at 11:00 a.m.  For more information on the tournament, its teams, and game specifics, please visit the online home of the 2008 NCAA Division III Softball Championship at www.odaconline.com/08div3soft.