Softball | 5/24/2017 11:21:00 AM

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – For the second consecutive season, the nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College softball team will compete for a national championship as the Cardinals take on nationally-ranked Williams College at 7:30 p.m. (6:30 CDT) in the opening round of play at the Division III Softball World Series at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex. 

Unable to make the trip?  You can still follow all of the action pitch-by-pitch using live stats and live video.  You can also stay up-to-date by following Fisher on Twitter - @FisherAthletics.

WELCOME BACK: Fisher makes its return to the Division III World Series this week after finishing third overall last season.  In 2016, the Cardinals lost their opening round game to eventual national champion, UT-Texas Tyler, before winning three straight elimination games.  This season, the team cruised through the Regional and Super Regional rounds and enters play with 41 wins, which tied the program record for wins in a season after going 41-12 in 2016.  Check out a full bracket along with game times HERE.  Aside from Fisher, Texas-Tyler and Illinois Wesleyan return to the World Series after qualifying last season.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Fisher has consistently been ranked among the nation's best this season.  The National Fastpitch Coaches Association had the Cardinals ranked second overall to begin the season.  Since that point, Fisher has been ranked sixth and currently holds the No. 8 national ranking.  The team is making its seventh NCAA appearance in the last 10 years and won its fifth Empire 8 Championship this season with a 2-1 win over Ithaca in the conference championship tilt.  From there, Fisher defeated Penn State Behrend along with Manhattanville twice to win a Regional title and dispatched of Cortland in a best-of-three series to win a Super Regional crown.

FISHER AT A GLANCE: The Cardinals led the Empire 8 Conference in several categories including batting average (.349), hits (439), runs (299), doubles (73), triples (11), home runs (23), RBI (264), slugging percentage (.479), earned run average (0.79) strikeouts (506) and….the list goes on and on.  Offensively, the team is led by Katie Mazierski's .462 batting average, 40 runs scored and 61 base hits.  Emma Savas is hitting .444 on the season with 52 hits and 25 RBI while Ashley Prince owns a .402 average with 51 hits including a team-leading seven home runs and 43 RBI.  Julia Sortisio (.378), Sarah Kubik (.373) and Kristina Balsano (.330) have combined for 142 hits and 99 RBI.

Inside the circle, the Cardinals boast arguably the best pitcher in the country as Lindsey Thayer leads the nation in earned run average (0.42), strikeouts per seven innings (14.4) and strikeouts (417) while her 28 wins this season ranks second among all Division III pitchers.  Thayer has surrendered just 73 hits in over 202 innings of work and has 23 complete games and 13 shutouts under her belt.  Earlier this season, Thayer pitched a no-hitter, a perfect game and tied the NCAA Division III record for most strikeouts in a single game (21) – all in the same week.  She is among the 10 finalists for the NFCA/Shutt Sports Division III Player of the Year for the second straight season.

POSTSEASON PRAISE: Entering NCAA competition, Fisher had 10 student-athletes honored by the Empire 8 including Mazierski who was named the conference's Player of the Year and Thayer – its Pitcher of the Year.  Karlie Neale, Genevieve Paeglow and Prince were each named First-Team All-Conference while Savas, Sortisio, Kubik, and pitcher Monica Moses were named Second-Team All-Empire 8.  Megan Keib was named the College's Sportswoman of the Year.  Furthermore, Prince, Thayer, Mazierski, Savas and Kubik were each named First-Team All-Region by the NFCA.
        
SCOUTING WILLIAMS:  The Ephs enter play as the nation's No. 19-ranked team with a 36-11 mark.  Williams, which is making its third overall appearance in the World Series and first in 11 years, held on to defeat Babson College in the Super Regional round courtesy of a sixth-run sixth inning to earn a 6-1 win.  The Ephs boast one of the most potent offenses in the country and rank third entering play with 48 home runs.  Four players on the roster have accounted for at least eight home runs led by Lexi Curt who has mashed 10 on the season in 150 at-bats.  Additionally, Curt leads the team with a .380 average and 36 RBI to go along with 57 total hits (16 doubles) and 34 runs scored.  Jessica Kim leads the team with 60 hits and 43 runs scored while her .375 batting average is the fourth-highest among her teammates.  Mackenzie Murphy has hit .378 this season with 54 hits while Rebecca Duncan has 43 hits in 114 at-bats for a .377 average.

Murphy and Duncan have carried the pitching load for Williams this season with Duncan leading the way at 16-4 overall.  She has a 1.55 ERA and has tallied 122 strikeouts in 126.1 innings.  Murphy is 12-4 this season with a 2.47 earned run average along with 42 strikeouts in just under 100 innings in the circle.  
 
SCOUTING ST. CATHERINE: At 38-12, St. Catherine punched its ticket to Oklahoma City after downing St. Thomas in the Super Regional round after breaking a 4-4 tie with four runs in the top of the seventh inning of the deciding game.  The Wildcats will be making their first-ever appearance in the World Series and are led by Krista Flugstad in the circle.  Her 28 wins (28-5) ranks second in the nation and she owns a 1.26 ERA in 205.2 innings this season.  Flugstad has retired 145 via strikes and has notched five shutouts in all.  Maddie Greer has pitched well with a 4-3 record and a 2.64 earned run average while Hannah Johnson is 4-3 with a 2.66 ERA.

At the dish, the Wildcats boast a .319 overall average and have scored 295 runs this season (5.9 runs per game).  Jenna George leads the team with a .460 average and is among the national leaders in slugging percentage at .810.  George has 58 total base hits including 11 doubles and 11 home runs while her 54 RBI leads the team and ranks eighth among all Division III players.  Kylie Macziekski hits .400 while Amber Montero and Anna Hinderaker lead the team with 64 and 60 hits, respectively. 
  
SCOUTING ILLINOIS WESLEYAN:  The Titans won their Super Regional round after taking a winner-take-all game against Transylvania, 6-2, after scoring four runs in the 11th inning to crack a 2-2 tie.  At 36-13, Illinois Wesleyan owns a team batting average of .310.  Jillian Runyon leads the way with a .395 batting average in 49 games with 68 base hits, which is tied for the ninth-most in Division III.  Runyon is a nightmare on base for opposing backstops as she ranks second in the country with 56 stolen bases in 62 attempts.  Sam Berghoff ranks second on the squad with a .366 average along with 53 hits while Sydney Alery is third with a .358 average. 

The Titans' offense will need to produce this week as their pitching staff is prone to giving up runs with a 3.22 earned run average.  Brea Walker is the ace with a 17-4 mark and a 2.78 earned run average while Mackenzie Marquis is 13-7 with a 2.69 ERA. 

SCOUTING VIRGINIA WESLEYAN:  Perhaps this year's favorite, Virginia Wesleyan, the nation's top-ranked team, enters with just two losses on its docket at 48-2, however, has the distinction of playing the reigning national champion, Texas-Tyler, in its opening round game.  As a team, the Marlins are hitting .333 this season led by Cassetty Howerin's .441 batting average.  Howerin has authored 63 base hits this season including 12 doubles and 11 home runs and leads the team with 48 runs batted in.  Kiersten Richardson leads the team with 64 hits and 62 runs and leads the country with 60 stolen bases. 

In the circle, the Marlins, who lead the country in earned run average, boast one of Division III's best in Hanna Hull who ranks just behind Thayer in several categories.  She leads the country with 29 wins (29-2) while her 0.44 earned run average is second in the country.  Hull has pitched 189.1 innings this season and has allowed just 75 hits while notching 326 strikeouts overall – did we mention she's just a freshman? 

SCOUTING TEXAS-TYLER:  The Patriots won the national championship in 2016 and enter the World Series holding a 44-4 mark.  Hanna Hull will have her hands full in this first round pairing as the Patriots lead the nation with a .389 team batting average.  Additionally, Texas-Tyler leads the nation in slugging percentage (.577) and is second with a .462 on-base percentage.  The Patriots have smacked 500 base hits and crossed home plate 374 times – good for 7.8 runs per game.  At the plate, Kaylee Prather leads the team and ranks among the nation's best with a .503 batting average.  Her 83 base hits leads the nation while her 63 runs scored is tops on the roster.  Prather is an all-around player, too with 38 stolen bases, 11 doubles, five triples and two homers.  Andrea Gonzales owns a .426 average with 58 hits and 41 RBI while Cheyenne Thompson is hitting .426 with 69 hits, 18 doubles and a team-leading 52 RBI.  In all, 12 players on the roster are hitting better than .350.

The Patriots' pitching is solid as well with a team earned run average of 1.84.  Alaina Kissinger leads the way at 24-2 with a 1.56 earned run average in 157 innings of work.  Whitney Romero is 14-1 with a 1.26 ERA.  As a team, Texas-Tyler has struck out 201 total batters.   

SCOUTING AMHERST:  At 33-10, Amherst swept Ramapo to punch its first-ever ticket to the World Series.  The Mammoths are strong at the plate with a team average of .328 while in the circle, Amherst owns a very respectable 2.39 ERA.  Sophomore Kyra Naftel leads the team with 61 base hits and is hitting .412 overall.  Lauren Tuiskula leads the team with a .431 batting average and has produced 59 hits and a team-leading 39 runs scored.  Sammy Salustri has authored 42 base hits in 43 games with a .336 average while Andrea Sanders has come up with 39 total hits on the season. 

Gina Pagan leads the Mammoths in the circle with a 22-4 overall record along with a 1.30 earned run average in 28 appearances.  She has 170 strikeouts to date and has a fresh arm with just 156 innings of work.   

SCOUTING TRINE:  The Thunder brings a 37-8 overall record to the 2017 World Series.  Trine boasts a .314 team batting average, however, has some power in its lineup with a team slugging percentage of .520.  The Thunder paced the country with 59 home runs this season led by Kaylee Fox's 16 dingers.  Fox is hitting .358 on the season and leads the team with 48 runs batted in.  Furthermore, Carly Bachna has collected a team-high 55 base hits to go along with 36 runs scored, 40 RBI and 12 homers while Makenna Hartline owns a .299 average with 41 hits and a team-best 45 runs scored.

In the circle, freshman Danielle Ray leads the team with an 18-3 record to go along with a 1.99 ERA in 29 appearances.  Hannah Kampmann has also had a strong freshman season and enters play with a 14-4 overall mark.  The duo has combined for 201 strikeouts in over 245 innings.