Pace Softball Begins NCAA Regional on Thursday at Adelphi - Pace University Athletics (2024)

Softball 5/11/2022 5:12:00 PM

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.– The Pace University softball team is back in the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2018 and will enter the tournament as the No. 8 seed against East Region hosts and top-seeded Adelphi. The two NE10 squads will partake in a double-elimination bracket, starting on Thursday on Long Island.

PACE'S ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAMERS

A pair of west coast transplants were named to the Northeast-10 All-Conference First Team for both their brilliant production with a bat in their hands offensively, and their clutch execution with a glove in their hand defensively.

Senior Zoie Iverson (Oregon City, Ore./Alliance Charter Academy/ Oregon City High School), who switched from catcher to third base prior to this season, was deemed the best player at her new position in 2022 by the NE10 and rightly so.

The Oregonian was able to eye incoming pitches and react magnificently, leading the Setters in batting average (.372), hits (45), RBIs (28), slugging percentage (.537), walks (15), and finished second in home runs (3).

Iverson was joined on the First Team by junior Gwen Pederson (Sylmar, Calif./Granada Hills Charter), who was a wizard in centerfield, routinely making fantastic grabs and throws from the outfield.

One of only two Setters to start in and play all 46 games this season, Pederson's reliability was felt not only in the lineup, but at the plate where she hit safely in 34 of those games and had two distinct eight-game hitting streaks in a remarkable all-around season.

The Californian has a .311 batting average, 41 hits, and 25 RBIs, both second best marks on the team. She also led Pace in doubles (10).

THE FRESHMEN

A trio of Setter freshmen made a lasting impression in 2022 and gave a great deal of hope for what is in store in the coming years.

Pitcher Gisselle Garcia (Lemon Grove, Calif. /Mater Dei Catholic) was the story of the season, erupting in volcanic fashion for 15 wins on a 1.41 ERA, and striking out 207 batters, both top-three ranks in the conference, the latter a Pace program record.

Garcia, who is from Lemon Grove, California, near San Diego, notched nine complete-game shutouts, but none were more impressive than the first Pace seven inning no-hitter in 20 years on April 20 versus New Haven. Garcia also had two additional one-hit-only performances.

Brianna Shea (Oceanside, Calif./El Camino ), yet another west coaster, was utterly explosive with the bat in her palms in her inaugural campaign. Shea boasts a .315 batting average, second best on the team, for 34 hits and 24 RBIs.

A uniquely powerful hitter, Shea led Pace in home runs (5), triples (2), and slugging percentage (.574). Her batting was well complimented by a multifaceted defensive presence. Throughout the season, Shea was a utility dream, performing at both corners, at second and in short.

Alexa Borino (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) was given the unenviable task of being the team's leadoff hitter as a freshman, and the New Jerseyite more than rose to the pressure.

The only Setter other than Pederson to start and play in all 46 games, Borino did so in the lead-off position, and has 39 hits and 17 RBIs to her credit, while leading the team in runs (20), doubles (10), triples (2), and stolen bases (7).

SCOUTING ADELPHI

The Panthers won both the Northeast-10 regular-season and conference championships in 2022, the latter in dramatic fashion. After 10½ scoreless innings, senior Ashley Lombardi crushed a walk-off, two-run homer to defeat the reigning back-to-back champions, Saint Anselm, and give Adelphi their fourth NE10 tournament crown.

Pitching was Adelphi's main attribute this season, as junior Claire Fon and sophomore Lindsey Hibbs were the best one-two punch in the conference in 2022.

Fon was named the Pitcher of the Year, winning 21 games on a microscopic 0.79 ERA. Hibbs meanwhile led the conference in strikeouts with 268. Both pitchers were named to the All-Conference First Team.

Redshirt freshman second-baseman Courtney Wengryn also earned a First Team selection, hitting .364, for 59 hits, 36 RBIs, and five home runs.

Catcher Angela Lignelli was named the Defensive Player of the Year as she caught 10 runners stealing, and has an NE10-best 348 putouts, with just three errors and a near-perfect .992 fielding percentage.

The Panthers are in the NCAA tournament for the 15^thtime in their history and are hosts of the East Region for the first time since 2018.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Pace and Adelphi split their pair of games on April 23 this season, both shutouts featuring complete-game pitching gems.

Garcia ended an Adelphi nine-game winning streak in the opener, confounding the Panther bats for only two hits on 10 strikeouts.

Adelphi's ace, Fon, was chased after just three and one third innings, giving up five hits and two runs. Shea was responsible for two hits, two RBIs, and scored one run, while a Pederson double scored three runners, and she subsequently score a run herself. The Setters won the game, 7-0.

Hibbs then shut the Setters out in the second contest, allowing just three hits, two from Iverson and one from Pederson, and striking 13 batters out en route to a 4-0 Adelphi win.

THE COACHES

In her fourth season at the helm of Adelphi's softball program, Carla Campagna was named the NE10 Coach of the Year after leading the team to a 41-11 overall record, 22-4 in the conference, the regular-season and conference championships.

Claudia Stabile is the longest tenured active Head Coach across all NCAA divisions. With 782 career wins, four NCAA tournament appearances in the last seven full seasons, two NE10 regular-season and one conference tournament championship (2016), she has been a model of excellence, consistency, and leadership.

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