Penn State Behrend Softball Earns Third Trip to NCAA Tournament

After claiming the AMCC Championship on Sunday, the Penn State Behrend softball team has earned its third bid in the last four years to the NCAA Tournament and will face Buffalo State in the first round on Thursday, May 7 in Ithaca, NY.

Behrend (33-6) received the #5 seed and will face the #4 Bengals in the seven-team double-elimination regional at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday.  The regional is hosted by Ithaca College and will also feature the following teams: #1 Cortland State, #2 Rochester, #3 St. John Fisher, #6 Keuka, and #7 King's.

Behrend made it back-to-back championships when the squad captured the 2009 AMCC Softball Championship with a 2-0 win over Frostburg on Sunday, May 3 at the Behrend softball field.

Behrend took the title with its third tournament win in as many days, going 3-0 in the double-elimination tournament with wins over Pitt-Greensburg, Mt. Aloysius, and Frostburg State.  #6 seed Frostburg lost its first game of the tournament on Friday, but rebounded with four straight elimination game wins to reach the championship round.

Behrend softball also competed in the 2006 and 2008 NCAA Tournaments, both times competing at regionals held at Ithaca College.

Behrend enters the tournament with a veteran lineup featuring eight seniors who will be making their third NCAA Tournament appearance.  Senior pitcher Julie Koman (McKees Rocks/Montour) enters with a 1.18 season E.R.A., a 16-1 record, and 107 strikeouts in 113 innings pitched.  The blue and white also have four regular starters each batting over .400 on the season including Amy Greene (Erie/Strong Vincent), Rachelle Lawrence (Warren Center/Northeast Bradford), Katie Whitby (Tyrone/Tyrone), and Nikki Kaschauer (South Park/South Park).

Thursday, May 7
Game 1:  10:00 am:     #4 Buffalo State vs. #5 Penn State Behrend
Game 2:  12:00 pm:     #3 St. John Fisher vs. #6 Keuka
Game 3:  2:00 pm:       #2 Rochester vs. #7 King's
Game 4:  4:00 pm:       #1 Cortland vs. Loser Game 1