Softball | 5/15/2016 8:13:00 PM

St. John Fisher College will host Manhattanville College in an NCAA Division III Softball Championship Super-Regional this weekend.   The winner of the best-of-three series will advanced to the eight-team, double-elimination World Series in Salem, Va. the following week.

Fisher (36-10) won all three of its games over the weekend in the Rochester Regional.  The Cardinals shut out Penn-State Behrend College 3-0 on Friday before eliminating visiting University of Rochester in back-to-back, extra-inning games.

The Valiants (41-3) won the Ewing Regional, hosted by The College of New Jersey.  Manhattanville went 3-1 on the weekend, including two wins over host TCNJ on Sunday in must-win games.

Fisher and Manhattanville will play at 1 p.m. on Friday and again at 1 p.m. Saturday.  If both teams are 1-1, the two teams will play a third and final game at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The Super-Regional figures to be a matchup of strength vs. strength.   The Valiants lead all of NCAA in several offensive categories, including: batting average (.400), runs per game (8.82) and home runs (64).  Four different players have hit nine or more home runs for Manhattanville. 

While the Cardinals can score, Fisher's key to success lies in the circle with sophomore pitcher Lindsey Thayer.  Thayer, who was named as the Rochester Regional's Most Outstanding Player, has struck out 405 batters this season, the fifth-highest single-season total in the history of Division III softball.   She owns a 26-5 overall record on the year and a 0.99 earned run average.

Ticket information and links to live stats can be found on the Super Regional Home Page.