SMU Fastpitch Softball

How TheyGot Here

Champions of the New Jersey Athletic Conference, William Patterson earned an improbable trip to the national finals, as the Pioneers opened regional play with a 2-1 loss to second-seeded Cabrini. From there, however, the Pioneers strung together five straight wins — including a 5-1 triumph over top-seeded Rowan and back-to-back 1-0 wins over Cabrini — to earn the regional crown.

Pre-TournamentNotes

Diane Naugle pitched 35 of the Pioneers' 41 regional-tournament innings, giving up just five runs, including only one run in tossing back-to-back-to-back complete games to ice the regional win. … Offensively, the Pioneers (31-3 overall) have four regulars hitting over .400, led by Lauren Hertzberg (.489) and Naugle (.486). … The duo also lead the team in virtually every other offensive category, with Naugle boasting team highs in hits (52), doubles (17), RBIs (42), total bases (93) and slugging percentage (.869), while Hertzberg leads the team in runs (35), triples (4) and stolen bases. … William Patterson has stolen a whopping 60 bases, and has only been caught seven times all season. Opponents, meanwhile, have only attempted 14 stolen bases off senior catcher Morgan Dunlap. … The Pioneer pitching staff — Diane Catalano, Sam Kszepka, Naugle and Julie Frisco have combined to post a 0.95 ERA. Naugle leads the foursome with a 13-2 record and team-highs in innings pitched (94) and strikeouts (74). Catalano, meanwhile, is 6-0 with a 0.50 ERA in 41.2 innings, while Kszepka (7-1, 0.56 ERA, 50 IP) and Frisco (5-0, 1.39 ERA, 35.1 IP) also see plenty of time on the mound. … Pioneer coach Hallie Cohen is coaching her second NCAA national tournament team in the past six months, having guided the William Patterson field hockey team to its first-ever tournament appearance in November. … Cohen has earned conference coach of the year honors in both softball and field hockey this season.