Previewing the PSAC softball championship: West Chester vs. Seton Hill

PSAC softball championship series

West Chester (28-14) vs. Seton Hill (32-12)

When: Friday, Saturday at Seton Hill Softball Complex, Greensburg. Game 1, 4 p.m. Friday; Game 2, 1 p.m. Saturday (Game 3 to follow, if necessary)

Coaches: Diane Lokey, West Chester; Jessica Strong, Seton Hill

What’s next?: The series winner receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Tournament. Six teams make the Atlantic Regional.

Around the horn: Seton Hill advanced to the PSAC finals for the first time after holding off Gannon in the West semifinals. The Griffins, ranked seventh in the NCAA Atlantic Regional, lost the opener before taking the next two games to win the series, 2-1. The freshmen pitching duo of Logan Hartman and Lauren Dellett have been sensational, combining for a 26-5 record. Each has 13 wins. Hartman has a 1.19 ERA and 54 strikeouts, while Dellett has 94 Ks over 107 innings. Senior Jenna Osikowicz (Hempfield) is hitting .407 with eight triples, 29 runs, 26 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases. Senior Nichole McClendon has a .355 average with 23 runs and 15 steals, while grad student Christiana Skrabak (Norwin) has 11 home runs and 31 RBIs. Another grad student, Alexis Vargas, has 30 RBIs. … West Chester, the PSAC champion in 2017, knocked off East top seed Kutztown, 2 games to 1, in the other semifinal series. The Golden Rams are ranked third in the NCAA Atlantic Regional. The Rams have not played Seton Hill since the first round of the 2019 PSAC Tournament when they won, 5-2. The team went 1-2 in the NCAA Tournament that season. A talented hitting team, the Rams lead the conference with a .360 average and average 7.6 runs. Fifth-year infielder Bri Garber is the PSAC’s all-time hits leader (312) and is hitting .422 for the season with 14 doubles, seven triples and 45 RBIs. Sophomore Madison Melvin has a .416 average and 25 stolen bases, while senior Jaime Klemas hits .393 and has 15 doubles, and 33 runs. Sophomore Trisha Kopinetz provides power with 10 homers and 38 RBIs, but fifth-year Courtney Stump leads the Rams with 51 RBIs. Pitcher Jen Hanshaw is 14-4 and Mary Piccozi is 12-7. Both have an ERA over 4.00. Sophomore catcher Haleigh Karcher is a Thomas Jefferson alum who has played in 28 games. Karcher has a prosthetic hand. When she was 18, she was swinging across a creek on a rope when her hand got tangled in the rope and three fingers were severed from her (left) glove hand.