Six Softball Programs Set For GNAC Championship Tournament Hosted by Emmanuel

BOSTON – Six softball programs start their journey to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Softball Championship, in the coming days, with each program vying for the opportunity to claim the GNAC Title and an automatic qualifying bid in the 2022 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament.

Emmanuel College and Clemente Field will host the Softball Championship this weekend. Joining the host Saints are Simmons, Saint Joseph's College of Maine, Albertus Magnus, Johnson & Wales, and the University of St. Joseph of Connecticut.

OVERVIEW

The GNAC Tournament began on Tuesday night with a pair of play-in games to determine who advanced into Thursday's Second Round play. In the North Division, St. Joe's of Maine advanced in extra innings, 4-3, over Rivier. In the South Division, St. Joesph of Conn. moved on with an 8-1 win over Regis.

The rest of the double-elimination, GNAC Tournament play, looks as follows (Updated May 6 - 10:00 AM):

Second Round - Thursday, May 5 (double-elimination begins)
Game 1: #3N Saint Joseph's College at #2N Simmons (hosted by Emmanuel) 6-0, SIM
Game 2: #3S Univ. of St. Joseph (Conn.) at #2S JWU (hosted by Albertus) 1-0, JWU (FInal/8)
Game 3: #2N Simmons at #1N Emmanuel 2-1, EMM (Final/10)
Game 4: #2S JWU at #1S Albertus 10-2, JWU

Semifinals- Saturday, May 7 (hosted by #1N Emmanuel)
Game 5: Albertus Magnus vs. Saint Joseph's College - 9:30 AM (elimination game)
Game 6: Simmons vs. Univ. of Saint Joseph (Conn.) - 12:00 PM (elimination game)
Game 7: Emmanuel vs. JWU - 2:30 PM
Game 8: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 - 5:00 PM (elimination game)  

Championship - Sunday, May 8 (hosted by #1N Emmanuel)
Game 9: Winner of Game 8 vs. Loser Game 7 - 10:00 AM (elimination game) 
Game 10: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9 - 12:30 PM
Game 11: If necessary - 3:00 PM 

TEAM SUMMARIES

Emmanuel:

• Coming in at 24-10, including a conference-best 15-1 in the GNAC, the Saints earned the No. 1 seed in the North Division. With the GNACs annual rotation of division winners hosting and the North taking hosting duties for 2022, the Saints take the tournament's top overall spot.
• Emmanuel set a new program record for consecutive wins, a mark that reached 20-in-a-row while the 22-2 overall record in April has EC coming in with positive momentum.

Simmons:

• The Sharks enter the GNAC Tournament as the North's No. 2 seed, following a 24-11-1 record, including 14-2 in the conference. The only losses in the GNAC this season come from the No. 1 Saints on April 13.
• Simmons comes in as winners in 11 of their last 12, a record that included a season-high nine-game winning streak.

Saint Joseph's College:

• A play-in game victory in nine innings for the North No. 3 Monks has them into the tournament at 18-16 (11-5 GNAC) this season.
• SJC has won their last four, outscoring opponents 28-8, including a pair of shutouts, over that span.

Albertus Magnus:

• The South Division's No. 1 seed, the Falcons enter play with a 29-9 record, including 15-3 against GNAC opponents this season. AMC had the conference's longest winning streak, a mark that reached 24 straight games.
• Along with their conference-best 24-game winning streak, the Falcons were the only team in the GNAC this season to hand a defeat to Emmanuel. The final-day, final-game victory over the Saints broke up their 20-game winning streak.

Johnson & Wales:

• The Wildcats come to the GNAC Tournament with the most wins among conference teams this season, gathering a 32-6 record along the way. JWUs 13-3 conference mark has them as the No. 2 seed in the South.
• Johnson & Wales started the season on a tear, opening the year at 14-1 through their March schedule. JWU is 7-1 in their last eight, including five games that triggered the run rule.

University of Saint Joseph:

• The Blue Jays have the South Division No. 3 seed after a 21-18 (10-8 GNAC) season. USJ won their play-in game on Tuesday night against Regis to earn a spot in the Second Round.
• Despite a 10-game losing skid in early April, the Blue Jays recovered and come into the GNAC Tournament with a 10-2 record in their last 12.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Emmanuel:

• Saints sophomore Olivia Conti (Cranston, R.I.) finished the season batting .470, third-best in the GNAC. Conti is one of four players in the conference to have at least 50 hits this season while the shortstop's 11 home runs are tied for second in the GNAC.
• Senior Grace Orcutt (Lexington, Mass.) batted .396 on the year, including 38 hits, both second on the Saints. Junior Jaydnne Hill (Haverhill, Mass.) and first-year Madison Marks (Edgewater Park, N.J.) each had 26 RBI, tied for second-most on EC while batting .348 and .338, respectively.
• The pitching combo of junior Tianna Dawe (Lynn, Mass.) and first-year Brenna Whittaker (Cranston, R.I.) are one of the conference's best duos. Dawe's 2.60 ERA is fourth-best among pitchers with at least 15 appearances while Whittaker's 3.39 ERA is ninth-best among pitchers with 15 or more appearances.

Simmons:

• Sophomore Jordyn Rubin (Lewiston, Maine) led the Sharks with a .426 batting average; 11^th-best in the GNAC. Rubin also led Simmons with 36 RBI in 36 games.
• Senior Allie Mulhern (Westford, Mass.) finished the season batting .413, ranking second on the Sharks. The threat of a stolen base is in play for Mulhern as her 29 stolen bags this season are second-most in the conference.
• Senior pitcher Maddie Castigliego (Bristol, R.I.) is the Sharks ace, appearing in 35 of 36 games for Simmons, going 23-11 with a conference-high 213.2 innings pitched and 165 strikeouts to go with a 2.85 ERA.

Saint Joseph's College:

• Senior Ashley Emery (Madison, Maine) batted .405 this season with 45 hits, both leading the Monks program. Emery's 25 runs scored and 13 stolen bases also led SJC in 2022.
• Junior Olivia Howe (Arundel, Maine) was second on the team with 40 hits and a .388 batting average. Sophomore Lydia Goodnough (Kennebunkport, Maine) batted .343 while leading the Monks with 13 extra-base hits and 28 RBI.
• SJC junior Meredith Pence (Remington, Va.) is one of five pitchers available for the Monks. Pence is the only Monks pitcher to go over 100 innings, finishing the year with a 2.36 ERA. With a K/7 rate of 7.09, Pence ranks second in the GNAC in the stat among pitchers with at least 15 appearances.

Albertus Magnus:

• Senior Ivy Geloso (Beacon Falls, Conn.) is one of the GNACs best after leading the conference with a .514 batting average and 57 total hits. Geloso is the only GNAC player to bat over .500 this season, among qualified players.
• Another GNAC top-10 bat in terms of batting average, Falcons junior Janelle Franklin (Middletown, Conn.) finished the season ranked sixth in the conference with a .452 batting average. Juniors Ava Gladwin (Guilford, Conn.) and Angelina Ramada (North Branford, Conn.) also finished the year batting above .400 with averages of .423 and .403, respectively.
• Senior Erin Dighello (Wallingford, Conn.), and first-years Skylar Arent (New Fairfield, Conn.) and Ema Signore (Guilford, Conn.) all come in with ERAs under 3.00. Signore leads the trio with a 2.45 ERA in 34.1 innings, Arent holds a 2.92 ERA in 105.1 innings, and Dighello enters play with a 2.95 ERA in 97.1 innings.

Johnson & Wales:

• First-year Mackenzie Clee (Warminster, Penn.) sits behind Geloso in conference rankings, coming in second with a .478 batting average and 55 hits.
• Senior Jill Pulek (Cheshire, Conn.) comes in right behind Clee, batting .458 on the year, third in the GNAC. Sophomore Julia Huzi (Trumbull, Conn.) batted .407 and joins Clee and Pulek as Wildcats with at least 50 hits this season.
• Six Wildcats have been in the pitching circle this season. Clee is among the best that pitch for JWU after a 9-0 record in 10 appearances to go with a 1.19 ERA.

University of Saint Joseph:

• Blue Jays senior Frankie Ferrante (Southington, Conn.) leads the team with a .383 batting average and a team-best 14 doubles.
• First-year Jenna Zup (Berlin, Conn.) finished the season batting .314 with 38 hits and a team-high three triples.
• First-year Amanda Savinelli (New Haven, Conn.) made 26 appearances for USJ this season, finishing with a 9-12 record to go with a 4.56 ERA and 112 innings pitched. In 12 appearances, senior Natalie Amato (Cheshire, Conn.) went 6-2 with a 1.67 ERA.

2022 REGULAR SEASON RECORDS VS. REMAINING TOURNAMENT TEAMS

• Emmanuel: 7-1
• Simmons: 2-3
• Saint Joseph's: 1-5
• Albertus Magnus: 3-3
• Johnson & Wales: 5-1
• Univ. of Saint Joseph: 0-6

POSTSEASON HISTORY

Emmanuel comes in as the defending champions of the GNAC Softball Tournament. The 2021 title was the first in program history for Saints softball.

Dating back to 2007, the Saint Joseph's Monks and Johnson & Wales Wildcats come in tied for the most GNAC Softball Tournament Championships, each claiming four. SJC won four consecutive championships from 2011 to 2014 while JWU took four straight GNAC Titles from 2015 to 2018.

The University of Saint Joseph has one title since 2007, claiming the GNAC Title in 2019. Albertus Magnus and Simmons are seeking their first GNAC Softball Championships.

COVERAGE

Use the "Live Video Stream" Link below for coverage of the 2022 GNAC Softball Championships.

THURSDAY'S LIVE VIDEO STREAM – EMMANUEL HOSTED GAMES

THURSDAY'S LIVE VIDEO STREAM – ALBERTUS MAGNUS HOSTED GAMES

SATURDAY'S LIVE VIDEO STREAM – SEMIFINALS/ELIMINATION GAMES AT EMMANUEL

SUNDAY'S LIVE VIDEO STREAM – CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES AT EMMANUEL