AMCC softball teams are gearing up for the AMCC championship tournament, which will be held this weekend, May 6-8 at top seed D'Youville College. The 2016 regular season title came down to a three-way tie between D'Youville, Penn State Altoona and Penn State Behrend, all who finished with 15-3 conference records. By virtue of the tiebreaker criteria, the Spartans are #1 and will host, Altoona earned the #2 seed and Behrend is third.
#1 D'Youville (21-11, 15-3 AMCC) is led in the pitching circle by senior Kalie McHenry. McHenry, the reigning 2014 and 2015 AMCC Pitcher of the Year, is tops in the conference with 21 wins and a staggering 180 strikeouts and sits in third with a 1.58 ERA. McHenry has helped her own cause at the plate by leading the Spartans, and is sixth in the AMCC, with a .389 batting average. Senior infielder Mackenzie Kehlenbeck is leading the conference with seven home runs.
#2 Penn St. Altoona (25-9, 15-3 AMCC) is also led by impressive pitching from junior Kate Burge. Burge is second in the conference with 20 wins and 147 strikeouts and is fourth with a 1.64 ERA. Senior catcher Clarissa Keller boasts a conference-leading .486 batting average and is second with 15 stolen bases.
#3 Penn St. Behrend (23-11, 15-3 AMCC) relies on the pitching trio of junior Rachel Miller, sophomore Alexa Bupp, and freshman AJ Nichols, all who rank in the top five in the conference in earned run average. Offensively, the Lions will look to sophomore catcher Sarah Blagg whose .421 batting average places her third in the league.
La Roche College enters the tournament as the #4 seed (19-14, 10-8 AMCC) and will rely on junior infielder Kara Sainato and sophomore infielder Aubrey Martin to generate some runs for the Redhawks as the duo is tied with a conference-leading 31 RBI.
Pitt-Greensbug (12-24, 10-8 AMCC) doubled their conference win total from last year to earn the #5 seed in this year's postseason tournament. Senior pitcher and utility player Kara Barclay is third in the conference with five home runs and has pitched her way to six victories from the circle.
Rounding out the tournament is #6 Mount Aloysius College (19-20, 10-8 AMCC). The Mounties will look for strong pitching from freshman Morgan Rackish who is tied for third in the conference with 12 wins and 102 strikeouts and is sixth with a 3.04 ERA.
The AMCC softball tournament will take place May 6-8 at the D'Youville College Outdoor Athletic Complex at the corner of Porter Avenue and 4th St. in Buffalo, NY. Please see the Championships section of the AMCC website for the full tournament schedule.