SMU Fastpitch Softball

How TheyGot Here

Wheaton earned the NEWMAC's automatic regional bid by winning the conference crown for the third straight year. The Lyons captured their second NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament title with a 3-0 shutout over Bridgewater State College. The Lyons opened regional play with 5-4 and 3-1 wins over Tufts and Bridgewater, then dropped a 2-1 decision to Bridgewater to force Sunday's if-necessary game.

Pre-TournamentNotes

The Lyons finished the regular season as conference champions for the third consecutive year and tournament winners for the second season. Wheaton shut out MIT and Coast Guard, 8-0 and downed Clark, 10-3, before knocking off Springfield, 1-0 in the conference-tournament title game. … The Lyons are 43-5 in regular-season conference play during their three year-reign as NEWMAC champs. … Wheaton enters the tournament with a 39-7 record, including wins in 27 of its final 29 games. … Wheaton’s offensive attack features all-conference selections sophomores Maren Schrader and Rachael Powers, freshman Brianna Shawah, and junior Lucy Campbell. … Schrader, who was the NEWMAC Rookie of the Year last season, broke the school’s single-season stolen base record this year with 54 total, as she is currently ranked top five in the country with a 1.17 average. She also is tops in the conference for batting average at .453, while leading the team in hits (78) and runs (51) through 46 games as a starter in center field. Playing third base for the Lyons, Powers is second on the squad in RBI’s (28), second in hits (55) and runs scored (38) and fourth in batting average (.379). … At shortstop, Shawah has added a consistent bat to the lineup, averaging .390 on the year, a mark good enough for third on the squad, while recording solid offensive numbers through 40 games. A two-time All-NEWMAC selection and a 2001 Verizon Academic All-America Softball District I Team selection, Campbell is one of three players to start in all 46 games, as she has been a force at the first base position. Campbell is among the team leaders in RBI’s (30), runs scored (24), hits (52), total bases (66) and batting average (.359). Freshman designated player Carmella Ranieri has posted an outstanding first year thus far, starting in 37 games while finishing second on the team with a .402 batting average, third in stolen bases (27) and fourth in hits (51) and runs scored (25). … Wheaton boasts a potent 1-2 punch on the mound with freshmen Jackie Demling and Christie Hineline. Appearing in 31 games with a mark of 24-4, Demling ranks among the nation’s best for most victories and strikeouts per seven innings, while posting an ERA of 1.35. Breaking the school single-season strikeout record with a total of 203 in only 197 IP, Demling pitched all four games of the regional tournament. Following the same success path, Hineline is currently 15-3 overall with an ERA of 1.32. As a team, the Lyons finished in the first or second slots in every major statistical category in the league, including first in total offense (.346) and second in fielding percentage (.950), pitching (1.34 ERA) and scoring (5.74).