PSAC Softball Tournament Central

ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon softball team will make it second straight trip to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament Wednesday when the Lady Knights face off with Bloomsburg at 1 p.m. at the Drifton Softball Complex near Hazleton. Gannon is the No. 2 seed from the Western Division while the Huskies also earned the No. 2 seed out of the Central Division.

Tournament format will feature the use of two fields for the first two days of action before using just the main field for the final two days. Game times for the entire double-elimination tournament will be at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Ticket prices will run $7 for adults, $2 for students, and free for all students of PSAC member institutions with a valid ID.

Gannon enters post-season play with a 30-15 overall record and a 10-6 mark in Western Division contests. The Lady Knights closed out the regular season with a sweep of Edinboro Sunday. Gannon won the opener 3-0 behind a strong pitching performance from Megan Dragon (Ashtabula, Ohio / Edgewood). The junior was one inning shy of completing a perfect game, retiring the first 18 Fighting Scots in order. However, a lead off double to start the seventh inning ended her bid for perfection. 

Dragon enters the tournament red hot, posting a 0.62 ERA during five appearances last weekend. She recorded three wins, two complete-game shutouts and a save. She struck out 34 batters in 22 2/3 innings to earn her second PSAC Pitcher of the Week award this season.

Offensively, Gannon boasts seven batters with .300 averages or better. Kirstie Cortazzo (Jeannette, Pa. / Jeannette) leads the team with a .340 average and 32 RBIs. Ashley Petrone (Uniontown, Pa. / Albert Gallatin) is Gannon's next run producer, driving in 31 runs during her senior campaign. She is also second on the team with a .328 average. Jaleesa Sledge (Olean, N.Y. / Olean) owns a team-best six home runs while freshman Jess Rectenwald (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Hills) has nine doubles. 

Bloomsburg earned the second seed in the Central Division following a three-way tie between the Huskies, Lock Haven and Indiana (Pa.). All three schools finished with league records of 11-5, but seeding was determined due to tie breakers. 

Leading the Huskies in hitting this season is Sam Pientack. The senior is hitting .420 and leads the team and the PSAC in home runs with 16 and RBIs with 50. Pientack also has 10 doubles and four triples on the season. Second on the team in batting with a mark of .372 is Mandi Baer. The second baseman has a team-high 15 doubles and has scored 36 runs, second only to Pientack's 43. Kayla McHale is third in batting at .364 with 10 RBIs, while Erika Yanora is fourth at .336 with 19 RBIs.

In the circle the Huskies are led by junior Cait Paine. The lefthander is 21-7 with a 1.05 ERA. Paine has been dominant with a conference-leading 248 strikeouts in just 186 innings of work. Paine has 11 games this season with 10 or more strikeouts and tied a school and PSAC record earlier this month when she fanned 18 IUP players.

The full schedule for Wednesday's action includes:

Game 1 - (E3) West Chester vs. (C3) IUP, 10:00 a.m. - Field 1

Game 2 - (E1) Kutztown vs. (W3) Mercyhurst, 10:00 a.m. - Field 2

Game 3 - (W2) Gannon vs. (C2) Bloomsburg, 1:00 p.m. - Field 1

Game 4 - (C1) Lock Haven vs. (E2) Shippensburg, 1:00 p.m. - Field 2

Game 5 - (W1) California vs. Winner Game 1, 4:00 p.m. - Field 1

Game 6 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 4:00 p.m. - Field 2 (loser eliminated)