ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 21 nationally ranked Ithaca College softball team will officially make its NCAA postseason appearance at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday against Springfield College as part of the Ithaca Regional at Kostrinsky Field. The Bombers are also welcoming UMass Boston who will be taking on No. 9 ranked Texas Lutheran in the first game of the regional slated for 11 a.m. on Thursday.
TICKETS
Only single session tickets (valid for all games played on a single day) will be available at the entrance of Kostrinsky Field each day of competition. Prices were set by the NCAA.
Adults- $10
Senior Citizen- $7
Students- $7
EVENT LINKS
NCAA.com
NCAA Tournament Bracket
NCAA.com Regional Rankings
NFCA Top 25 Poll
NCAA Championship Digital Program
NCAA Ithaca Regional Championship Program
REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 15
Game 1: UMass Boston vs. No. 9 Texas Lutheran | 11 a.m. |
Live Stats |
Video
Game 2: Springfield vs. No. 21 Ithaca | 1:30 p.m. |
Live Stats |
Video
Friday, May 16
Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner | 11 a.m. |
Live Stats |
Video
Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser | 1:30 p.m. |
Live Stats |
Video
Game 5: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser | 4:00 p.m. |
Live Stats |
Video
Saturday, May 17
Game 6: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner | 11 a.m. |
Live Stats |
Video
Game 7: (If necessary) | 1:30 p.m. |
Live Stats |
Video
ITHACA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT:
Ithaca will be making its 31
st all-time appearance to the NCAA Division III Championship and first since the 2019 season. IC has posted an 86-64 all-time record and have made 11 trips to the NCAA Championship, while being crowned National Champions in 2002.
BREAKING DOWN THE REGIONAL FIELD (BY SEED):
#9 Texas Lutheran Bulldogs (39-3)
At-Large Bid – Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
The Bulldogs are making their 11
th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and posted a regular season record of 37-1 but went 2-2 during the SCAC Championship tournament falling to the University of St. Thomas in the championship game. In recent years they've posted a 21-14 record in NCAA regional play, claiming three regional championships, while earning a National Championship in 2019.
Texas Lutheran lead the country in stolen bases, having totaled 223, leading the NCAA across all three divisions in total stolen bases and stolen bases per game (5.31). They're led by both Caelee Clark (59) and Annie Kay (59), while Linzee Leal (36), Harleigh Russell (21) and Taylor Vannett (10) have also swiped 10 plus bags on the season.
As a team the Bulldogs are batting .362 and have scored 297 runs across 42 games. Annie Kay (.482) is nearly hitting .500 as she has proved to be a tough out collecting a team-high 64 hits entering the weekend, while also adding in 34 RBI. TLU has outhit its opponents in 35 of 42 games this season, and in the seven games they didn't outhit the opposition, the Bulldogs are 4-3.
In the circle, expect the Bulldogs to ride the right arm of senior Amanda White, the 2025 SCAC Pitcher of the Year. She leads the pitching staff with her 0.77 ERA, ranking fourth in the country while collecting a team-best 88 strikeouts and five saves.
#21 Ithaca College Bombers (28-6)
Automatic Bid – Liberty League Conference
The Bombers were crowned the Liberty League Champions this past weekend, run-ruling RPI 8-0 in six innings, and are riding a seven game winning streak. Offensively, Ithaca was the top-hitting team in the Liberty League, leading the conference in batting average (.332), runs scored (234), and RBI (217). They boast a complete and lineup with nine players batting over .300:
Cate Murray (.376),
Belle de Oliveira (.370),
Haley Petrucci (.366),
Sela Scheinman (.361),
Elise Waddington (.350),
Jessie Lopez (.344),
Kailen Winkelblech (.337),
Anna Bello (.308), and
Ava Rao (.306). Waddington especially has been on a heater as she earned the most recent Liberty League Performer of the Week honors after going 5-for-11 (.455) during the Liberty League softball tournament, which included three of her five hits being doubles.
Cate Murray and
Sela Scheinman will look to spark the offensive charge from atop the lineup as the pair of combined to score 65 runs this season. Scheinman leads the team with her 15 stolen bases and has totaled 52 for her career and is three away from breaking the all-time program record.
In the circle, Ithaca is led by the program's all-time career strikeouts leader
Anna Cornell. The senior most recently was recognized with Liberty League Pitcher of the Year honors and has posted a 15-3 overall record with a career-low 1.06 ERA, while holding opponents to a .158 batting average. She is ranked among DIII's top ten in hits allowed per seven innings (5th, 3.91), strikeouts (7th), and earned run average (10th).
Mady Rowell has also stepped up for IC this season and has tossed 77.1 innings where she has a 10-2 record and a 1.63 earned run average.
Springfield College Pride (30-13)
At-Large Bid – New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
The Pride earned one of 22 at-large berths into the field of 64 teams and return to the NCAA Division III Championship tournament for the first time since 2017. They went 14-6 in NEWMAC play to earn the regular season championship, before being eliminated during the conference tournament in a 10-8 loss to WPI.
Springfield's lineup will feature three All-NEWMAC selections in Michaela Ponticello along with first team honorees Callie Gendron and Amelia DeRosa. Genderon leads the Pride with a .457 average, 22 runs scored, five home runs, and 41 RBI, while Amela DeRosa is right behind her with her .358 batting average and 20 RBI.
The pitching staff is led by Amelia DeRosa who has a 3.12 ERA across 21 starts and 121.0 innings pitched. DeRosa has also tallied 62 punchouts entering regional play and has often been relived by Lily McCauliffie who has tossed 79.0 innings across 23 appearances. McCauliffie has posted a 0.62 ERA and leads the squad in strikeouts (63).
Ithaca and Springfield have played each other 13 times all-time but have not met since 2000.
UMass Boston Beacons (32-11-1)
Automatic Bid – Little East Conference
The Beacons are riding high off their Little East Conference tournament run, which was capped off by an eighth-inning walk-off over Plymouth State to capture the program's third LEC title. UMass Boston will be meeting up with Texas Lutheran for the first-ever meeting between the two programs. They led their conference in team batting average (.321), racking up 381 hits, 74 doubles, 18 triples, and five home runs. The Beacons also topped the conference in ERA (1.92), recording 12 shutouts, four saves, and 258 strikeouts.
They're led by graduate student Bri Melchionda who was recently named the LEC Player of the Year for the second-straight season. Offensively, she leads the team with a .449 batting average, with 48 hits in 107 at-bats, including 14 doubles, one triple and a home run to go along with 28 RBI. Melchionda is a two-way player making 17 appearances in the pitching circle where she has a 10-3 record and a 1.79 ERA to go along with 119 strikeouts. Jacqueline Cherry leads the Beacons in appearances in the circle with a 13-4 record and a 1.72 ERA, striking out 102 across a team-high 114 innings pitched.
Another player to watch will certainly be All-LEC Second Team and All-LEC Rookie Team outfielder Mary Mattews who is third on the team in batting average (.349). She hit the Beacons walk-off double to help win the Little East and has eight on the season, with a team-high five triples and 19 RBI.
