ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women's softball team, the reigning Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) champions, were chosen to repeat according to the preseason voting by the league's head coaches.
The Lions are looking to secure their second straight and 10th AMCC title. Behrend swept Mt. Aloysius 2-0 and 1-0 last year in the AMCC championships to advance to the NCAA Tournament for an eighth time in program history. Pitt-Bradford is expected to finish second while 2019 champions Mount Aloysius is expected to finish third.
Senior second-base Kylee Bundy (DuBois, PA/DuBois) repeats as the AMCC Preseason Player of the Year and senior pitcher Ashleigh Schmidt (Sarver, PA/Freeport) was named AMCC Pitcher of the Year. Last season, Bundy was a First Team All-AMCC selection along with NFCA All-American and All-Region honors. Bundy appeared in 34 games and tallied 44 hits, 40 runs, 12 doubles, and four triples. She ranked second in the conference with 34 RBIs and was fourth in batting average (.431).
Schmidt is earning preseason honors for the first time in her career. Schmidt, a Second Team All-Conference selection in 2021, made 13 appearances on the mound for the Lions last season. She started 11 games in the circle, finishing with a 10-1 record. She pitched seven complete games and three shutouts. In 65.2 inning pitched, she struck out 58 batters and finished with a 2.56 ERA. She threw a no-hitter in an 11-0 win over Medaille on April 27. Schmidt ranked first in the AMCC in wins with 10 and second in shutouts and strikeouts per game (6.18).
The AMCC Tournament kicks off on Friday, May 6 and will conclude with the conference championship game on Sunday, May 8. All games throughout the tournament will be played at the site of the #1 seed. The AMCC champion will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
