IMMACULATA, Pa. – For the third-straight year, Immaculata will be vying for the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) title as one of four teams who reached the CSAC Championship round.  Immaculata, which earned the No. 4 seed, advanced to the double-elimination weekend round with its 5-4 victory against No. 5 seed Marywood in the first round.
 
Immaculata (17-18) will play top-seed and host Neumann University in the second game of the day on Friday with first pitch scheduled for noon. Neumann (27-7) earned the No. 1 seed with a 21-1 CSAC record this season, and the Knights received a first-round bye.
 
The Mighty Macs are guaranteed to play two games on Friday. Depending on the result of the IU-Neumann game, the Mighty Macs would play at 2 p.m. with a loss or 4 p.m. with a win against the Knights.
 
Neumann won both regular-season games against Immaculata earlier this season, 9-1 and 8-0, both in six innings. Brittany Merkle and Christiana Donofry had two hits apiece during the two games to lead the Immaculata bats.
 
Armed with the CSAC Rookie of the Year and three other all-league players, Immaculata certainly has the talent to challenge top-seeded Neumann in the tournament, and head into the winner's bracket. Annemarie Bartow, who was named the rookie of the year in the conference, has started all 35 games for the Mighty Macs this year, producing 54 hits, 36 RBIs and 41 runs scored – all team highs. She has the best batting average on the team at .509, while producing 17 doubles, four triples and nine home runs. During the 22 CSAC games this season, Bartow hit .542 with 39 hits, 30 runs scored and 26 RBIs. She had a 1.083 slugging and .602 on-base percentage, as well as six walks and five hit-by-pitches during conference play.

Second baseman Melissa Ejk joined Bartow on the First Team All-CSAC. Immaculata catcher Paige Hughes was selected Second Team All-CSAC, while outfielder Donofry received Honorable Mention All-CSAC accolades.

The CSAC Championship started Wednesday with first-round games. Sixth-seeded Gwynedd Mercy upset the third-seed Centenary, 14-8, to advance to Friday.

Second-seed Cabrini plays Gwynedd Mercy in the first game Friday at 10 a.m., followed by the Neumann-Immaculata game at noon. The losers from these two games will face off in an elimination game at 2 p.m., while the winners will play at 4 p.m.
 
Immaculata swept both games from Gwynedd Mercy this season, 11-3 and 9-1, while the Mighty Macs split the doubleheader with Cabrini, as Immaculata lost the opener, 12-4, and took the nightcap, 15-11.
 
A full tournament schedule for the weekend is below.
 
Championship Weekend | at Neumann University
Friday, May 1 (double elimination)
Game 3: 10 a.m. - No. 2 Cabrini vs. No. 6 Gwynedd Mercy
Game 4: 12 p.m. - No. 1 Neumann vs. No. 4 Immaculata
Game 5: 2 p.m. - Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4
Game 6: 4 p.m. - Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4

Saturday, May 2
Game 7: 10 a.m. - Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6
Game 8: 12 p.m. - Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 7
Game 9: 2 p.m. - same as Game 8 **if necessary