DOVER, Del.-The Immaculata softball team is finalizing its preparations for its Atlantic East Tournament opener on Friday morning at top-seed Wesley. Due to the weather forecast for tomorrow, the first pitch in this contest has been moved up to 10 a.m. on Friday morning, with the Mighty Macs second game of the day opposite Neumann to follow.

Immaculata enters play on Friday as the No. 6 seed in the tournament with a mark of 4-14 overall and in Atlantic East play.  This seeding landed the Macs in Pod A of the Atlantic East Tournament alongside top-seed and host Wesley and No. 4 Neumann. Immaculata will begin its tenure in the double-elimination Tournament with its opener against Wesley on Friday morning at 10 a.m., followed by a game against Neumann after the conclusion of game one of the weekend. On Saturday, if all three teams remain, Immaculata and Neumann will square off again at 10 a.m. to open the day, with the winner advancing to the pod Championship game at 12 p.m. Should one team be eliminated on Friday afternoon, Saturday would begin with the pod Championship game at 10 a.m. with the if-necessary game five to follow.  

Earlier this season, Immaculata squared off against Wesley and Neumann in a pair of four-game series, which saw the Mighty Macs go 1-3 against Wesley and 2-2 opposite Neumann in these earlier meetings. Immaculata opened its 2021 season with its four-game set vs. Wesley, dropping the first three games of the series before rebounding to take the fourth and final game of the set by a final of 6-0 on the road at Wesley. In this contest, Sarah Guido pitched a gem as she went the distance, scattering just seven hits while striking out five to earn her first victory of the young season. Offensively, Immaculata was well balanced in this victory, as six different Mighty Macs combined for seven hits in the win. Immaculata jumped out to an early lead when Katy Newton scored on an error after a single off the bat of Cat Knoll in the first inning. Immaculata extended its lead in the second when Elena Anglani scored on an error after a single off the bat of Jess Oldham to move the score to 2-0. Oldham came around to score later in the inning when Sara Rode reached on a fielders choice to extend the lead to 3-0. In the sixth inning, Immaculata put the game out of reach as Renee DeAngelis laced an RBI single into left-center before Rode cleared the bases with a two-RBI triple into right-center to lift Immaculata to the 6-0 victory.

Against Neumann, Immaculata split each day of the weekend series to register a pair of wins over the Knights in the four-game series. On Friday evening, Immaculata benefitted from some late-inning magic as the Macs erased an early two-run deficit to defeat Neumann by a final of 3-2 in eight innings. In this contest, Neumann took an early 2-0 lead, which the Knights held into the sixth inning. In the sixth inning, Keani Hindle hit a towering home run to center field, which cut the deficit in half, making the score 2-1 heading into the seventh. In the seventh, Riece Onorato delivered a one-out sac fly to left field, which plated Carly Grandizio to even the score at 2-2. In the eighth inning, Keani Hindle started the inning with a single through the left side before advancing to second on a groundball back to the pitcher off the bat of Laurna Heathcott. With two outs in the inning, Sarah Reed came through for the Macs in a big way with an RBI single through the left side, which scored Hindle and gave Immaculata a 3-2 lead it would never relinquish. Guido got the start for Immaculata in this contest, going the full eight innings, scattering just six hits and two runs while walking three and striking out one to earn the victory.  On Saturday afternoon, Immaculata opened the second half of its four-game set with the Knights with a convincing 11-3 win in five innings. In this contest, Hindle opened the scoring with a two-run home run down the line in left to give the Macs an early 2-0 lead. Neumann responded with three runs of its own during the third inning, but Immaculata countered with a five-run home half courtesy of a pair of RBI doubles from Knoll and Heathcott, along with an RBI single from Paige Gerst and a two-run home run from Oldham to claim a 7-3 lead. Immaculata tacked on four more runs in the fifth thanks to a bases-clearing, three-RBI double from Alyssa Daly, and an RBI single from Rode to score Daly later in the inning to lift Immaculata to the 11-3 victory in five innings. Guido got the starting nod for Immaculata once again in this contest, going five innings surrendering just three hits and three unearned runs while striking out a pair for her second victory in as many days.

On the year, Immaculata has been dangerous offensively as 12 different Mighty Macs are batting north of .300 on the year, led by Gerst, who is batting a blistering .545 on the year with 24 hits in 44 at bats with five doubles, one home run, and 15 RBI. Knoll and Hindle rank second and third on the team in batting average at .397 and .396, respectively. Knoll leads the team in doubles and runs scored with six doubles and 18 runs scored on the year, while Hindle leads the way in both home runs and RBI with five home runs and 18 RBI on the year. Freshman Jess Oldham has also enjoyed a strong rookie season as a Mighty Mac, batting .348 on the year while ranking second on the team home runs and RBI with three long balls and 15 RBI on the year.  In the circle, Guido has led the staff, entering the postseason with a record of 4-3 on the year with a 4.79 ERA over the course of 45.1 innings pitched. Guido has also tossed four complete games, including one shutout, while also leading the staff in strikeouts with 14 on the year. Renee DeAngelis, Kristin Carter, and Kayley Peugh have also seen significant time in the circle for Immaculata this season, tossing 21.1, 18.1, and 17.1 innings, respectively.

For Wesley, the 2021 season has been a historically good season for the Wolverines as they have played to a record of 19-5 overall and 17-1 in league play. Offensively, Wesley boasts 11 players batting north of .300, including six batting above .400 on the season. On the year, pitcher Dori Lokopoulos has been almost equally as dangerous in the circle as she has been at bat for the Wolverines as she enters play with a team-best .500 batting average and 22 RBI while also pitching to a record of 9-2 with a 2.08 ERA and 71 strikeouts on the season as the Wolverines top pitcher as well. Batterymate Gabriella Monzo has been a weapon at the dish for Wesley throughout the year as well batting .478 on the season with a team-best five home runs along with eight doubles and 21 RBI on the season.  Rachel Martinez and Arianna Mirenda have also been dangerous for Wesley this season, batting .436 and .422 on the year, respectively.

Neumann, who enters the tournament as the reigning Champions, having captured the crown at the end of the 2019 season, comes into play with a record of 9-11 overall and 7-11 in league play. Offensively, Bri Lagroteria leads six Knights who are batting north of .300 on the year, with a .392 batting average, 29 hits, and 19 runs scored on the year. Rachel Albertson and Kristen Pagliaro are tied for the team home run lead with two home runs each, while Elizabeth Shire leads the team in RBI with 19 on the season. In the circle, Ashlynne Scardino leads the Knights with a record of 4-5 on the year and a 4.56 ERA through 43.0 innings pitched. Jess Sarni has been the other primary option for the Knights this season, pitching to a record of 3-5 with a 4.51 ERA over the course of 45 innings of work.

On the other side of the bracket, Cabrini is also hosting a three-team pod this weekend featuring the No. 2 seed Cavaliers, No. 3 seed Marywood, and No. 5 seed Gwynedd Mercy. The winner of that pod will earn the right to face the winner of the Wesley pod on the weekend of May 14-15 in the Atlantic East Championship series.