PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College softball team will continue its season beginning Friday as the No. 8 Cardinals host the NCAA Division III Softball Regional Championship over the weekend at the Softball Complex.  Fisher, which earned the region's top overall seed, will take on Penn St.-Behrend at 3:30 p.m. on Friday while William Paterson faces Manhattanville at 1 p.m. on the other side of the bracket.  The four-team pod, which is a double elimination format, will continue play on Saturday with three more games before the winner is crowned on Sunday.

Tickets are $6 for general admission, $4 for students with a valid ID card, senior citizens and veterans.  Children 12 and under are $3 while anyone under two years of age is free.

There really isn't a legitimate reason to miss this, but if you should think of one, you can still follow the games using the links below:
  HOW THEY EACH MADE IT HERE: Fisher gained entry into the NCAA Division III Softball Championship for the second consecutive year after defeating Ithaca College, 2-1, on Sunday to earn the Empire 8 Conference's automatic berth.  It was Fisher's first time winning the conference crown since 2013 and the fifth time overall.  William Paterson earned one of 19 at-large bids into the field of 64 after falling in the New Jersey Athletic Conference's third round.  Third-seeded Manhattanville returns to Rochester after playing Fisher in the Super Regional round in 2016 courtesy of its third MAC Freedom Conference Championship in the last four years as the Valiants bested King's (Pa.), 10-5, in the title game.  Fourth-seeded Penn State Behrend reached the Dance after the AMCC Championship was cancelled last weekend.  As the top seed, the Lions received the conference's automatic qualifying bid despite not having won the conference tournament. 

NCAA HISTORY: Between the four teams that make up the Rochester Regional, they have played in an NCAA Championship 36 times.  William Paterson leads the field with its 14th appearance while Fisher has made eight trips to the NCAA Softball Championship including seven in the last 10 years.  Last season saw the Cardinals won both Regional and Super Regional Championships en route to the program's first-ever appearance in the Division III World Series.  Both Penn State Behrend and Manhattanville will be making their seventh trip to NCAAs.

THAT WAS THEN. THIS IS NOW: One would think that after going 41-12 last season and finishing third overall in the Division III World Series that there wouldn't be a whole lot to improve on, but that's not the case this season.  Fisher has not only lowered its earned run average from 1.63 to 0.77, but has significantly upgraded at the plate.  In 2016, Fisher finished with a .301 team batting average, 235 runs scored, 438 total hits, 73 doubles, nine triples, 17 home runs and 203 RBI in 53 games.  In just 41 games this season, the Cardinals have amassed a .359 batting average, which ranks 11th among all Division III programs, 282 runs (47 more runs in 12 fewer games), 406 hits, 72 doubles, 10 triples, 20 home runs and 247 RBI.

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF: Sometimes that can be a bad thing, but in this case… Last season, Fisher made the most of its selection as a Regional site as the Cardinals won a three-team pod before going on to win a Super Regional title.  This season, the Cardinals will face some familiar competition as both Penn State Behrend and Manhattanville made their way to Rochester in 2016.  Fisher defeated the Lions, 3-0, in Regional competition before taking both games against the Valiants in Super Regionals.

FOLLOW THE LEADER: Entering NCAAs, Fisher boasts two players with a batting average of at least .400 led by Katie Mazierski's .483 average.  Mazierski, whose average ranks 19th in the country, leads the team with 56 hits and is tied for the team lead with 14 stolen bases.  Emma Savas owns a .462 average at the plate with 49 total hits including nine doubles and a team-best four triples while Sarah Kubik has 43 hits in 112 at-bats (.384) to go along with a team-high seven homers.  Sophomore Julia Sortisio is batting .387 on the year with 53 hits including 17 doubles and 28 RBI.  Ashley Prince is hitting .396 with 44 hits and a team-high 39 RBI.  Senior Kristina Balsano can also rake as she has 14 extra base hits including five home runs.     

PITCHING, PITCHING, PITCHING: The Cardinals boast perhaps the two best pitchers in the Empire 8 and maybe the best overall pitcher in the country led by All-American Lindsey Thayer.  This season, Thayer is 23-5 and leads the country in earned run average (0.42), strikeouts (346) and strikeouts per seven innings (14.4).  Thayer, who was named the Empire 8 Championship's Most Valuable Player, has been named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Pitcher of the Week twice this season and the Empire 8 Pitcher of the Week five times. She had a week for the ages in April after notching a perfect game and a no-hitter while also tying an NCAA Division III record with 21 strikeouts in seven innings.  She isn't Fisher's only stud though, as Monica Moses has had a breakout sophomore season with a 13-1 overall record and a 1.32 earned run average.   

SCOUTING WILLIAM PATERSON: The Pioneers bring a 28-11 overall record into the weekend, however, they've suffered three losses in their last five games including two straight.  As a team, William Paterson ranked third in the New Jersey Athletic Conference with a .321 batting average while its 1.53 team earned run average was the second-lowest of any team in its conference.  At the plate, the Pioneers are led by Christine Griffith's .443 batting average along with her 32 runs driven in.  Rachel Wasilak is hitting .359 in 34 games this season with 37 hits along with 17 RBI while Vanessa Archibold owns a .359 average.  Nicole Fryer leads the team with 42 hits and is tied for the team-lead with nine doubles.
 
In the circle, the Pioneers feature two strong arms led by Gabrielle Castelli's 15-4 overall record.  Castelli has pitched to a 1.43 ERA and has notched 75 strikeouts over 112.2 innings of work.  Allison Podmajersky went 11-7 on the season to this point with a 1.51 earned run average and led the team with 93 strikeouts.    
   
SCOUTING MANHATTANVILLE:  The Valiants aren't the same team they were last season when they went 41-5, but that doesn't mean much as they enter the weekend with a 31-13 overall record and can still rake.  As a team, Manhattanville owns a .350 batting average, which ranks 19th in the nation.  Brittany Deieso leads the team with a .440 average and 51 hits.  Sam Jedrey sits just below the .400 mark at .397 with 29 hits in 73 at-bats this season while Melina Strano and Desiree Buboi are hitting .389 and .382, respectively.  Alicia Marino leads the team with 43 RBI to go along 51 hits while her 12 home runs ranks ninth in the country. 

As a team, the Valiants have surrendered 89 earned runs this season en route to a team ERA of 2.31.  Alycia Feeney will likely take the ball this weekend with a 17-5 overall record and a 2.01 ERA.  She leads Manhattanville with 100 strikeouts while her 33 walks were the most given up by anyone on the staff.  Aarin Hartenstein has made 17 appearances in the circle this season with a 9-5 record.  In 80.2 innings of work, she has tallied 46 outs via strikes.     
    
SCOUTING PENN STATE BEHREND: The Lions enter the weekend as the hottest of the four teams having won their last seven straight games.  Penn State Behrend went 26-12 in 38 games this season and carries a .330 average into this weekend's competition.  AJ Nichols leads the team and is among the nation's leaders with a .432 batting average.  Her 57 hits, 34 runs scored and 34 RBI led the team.  Alexa Bupp hit .388 as a junior along with 45 hits and 23 runs scored while Allania Banta batted .391 at the dish.  Carson Hauser had a strong sophomore season going 37-for-101 with 30 runs scored and 11 stolen bases.

Of the four teams in this Regional, the Lions boast the highest earned run average at 2.69.  Rachel Miller and Nichols each won 11 games while the latter led the team with 66 strikeouts in 98.2 innings and a 2.20 earned run average.  Miller led the team in innings pitched (100.1) and pitched to a 2.72 ERA.