Lexington, Kentucky—The Mount St. Joseph University Softball program will begin their 2022 post season, on Thursday, May 5. This day marks the opening of the 2022 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship. The Lions will be competing to earn their second consecutive HCAC Championship, and earn a spot in the NCAA tournament.
This season, saw the Lions finish with an overall record of (28-9), a number that helped earn the #2 overall seed in the upcoming tournament. This effort, landed the program a first-round matchup with #3 seed Defiance College. The Yellow Jackets finished their season red hot, winners of five of their last six, helping accumulate a (21-13) record.
The Lions will rely on the best pitching staff in the Heartland Conference. The Staff made up of Kamryn McCool and Casey Kemp have combined for a 1.46 ERA. McCool has dominated competition this season, posting a league best ERA, while winning 14 total games and striking out a conference best 137, needing 39 less innings than her next pitcher on the leader board. Kemp is as good as they come, boasting the second best ERA in the conference, also amassing 14 wins over the course of the season and tossing shutouts on two occasions.
However the dominant staff of the Lions will be faced with a tall challenge as Defiance is a strong at the plate. Defiance will enter the opening round of the HCAC tournament, boasting a .341 team batting average, a number that is good for third in the conference. In producing 215 runs throughout the regular season, the bats of Defiance have displayed big-time power, with 23 total home runs. The trio of Kalin Hubble, Destiny Coil and Marissa Robe have been the top producers for the Yellow-Jackets.
In the box for the Lions, is one of the more complete hitting attacks in the conference. Currently the Mount holds a team batting average of .348, scoring 223 runs in the season. Freshman Macy Cornelius, will lead the Lions offense through the tournament. The Freshman has accumulated a season batting average of .446, collecting 11 doubles, 3 triples and 25 RBI on the season. At first base, Rachel Gabbard has been dominant, this season. Entering this contest, she holds a .372 batting average, collecting 38 RBI and 3 home runs this season.
The Lions look to reestablish their footing and make a deep post season run in the coming weeks, starting with a win over Defiance. This game is scheduled for May, 5 at Transylvania University, with first pitch at 3 PM. Below are the links for the upcoming tournament. For continued coverage of the 2022 Heartland Conference tournament, and all other MSJ Athletics, continue to follow msjlions.com
HCAC Championship Central/Tournament Bracket
Live Stream
Live Stats
