FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Johnson & Wales softball team and head coach Kim Camara-Harvey will travel to Norton, Mass. for their first NCAA Tournament game in program history. The Wildcats will take on the Wheaton College Lyons in the opening game of the 2015 Division III NCAA Softball Tournament. Wheaton is the host of a four-team pod beginning Friday, May 8th with the winner advancing to the Super Regional on May 15-16. Eastern Connecticut State and Husson will also travel to Wheaton and play in the second contest of the day.
Wheaton earned an at-large bid to this year’s tournament and are currently 30-8 on the season. ECSU won the Little East Conference and are 29-6-1 heading into the tournament while Husson grabbed the North Atlantic Conference crown for the seventh year in a row and compiled a 26-11 record on the year.
Junior Kristen Solari (Old Bridge, N.J.) leads the way with a .466 batting average while starting every game behind the plate for the Wildcats. The Bremerton, Wash. natives, Cynthia Proby and Emily Gorecki, helped the Wildcats to their first ever Great Northeast Athletic Conference title game appearance and championship as they each led the conference with eight homeruns for Proby and 38 RBI for Gorecki.
A couple of first year players also did their part in getting the Wildcats to their first NCAA tournament. Alex Fantasia (Framingham, Mass.) hit .400 on the season and the GNAC Tournament MVP Jennifer Corona (Middle Island, N.Y.) won 17 games in the circle, including five of the teams seven playoff games en route to the conference title.
The Wildcats are 21-14 on the year and winners of seven of their last eight games. The tournament is slated to begin on May 8th at a time to be determined.