The Malone University softball team makes its second postseason appearance in the last three years this weekend at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament. Games will be played at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio and at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio May 2-4. The bracket is an 8-team double elimination tournament.
 
The Pioneers enter the event 21-15 on the season, including a 13-11 record in the G-MAC. Malone will compete as the #6 seed, and will open the tournament against the #3 seed, the Tiffin University Dragons.

SCHEDULE UPDATE
Thursday's opening-round game against Tiffin will take place at Walsh on May 2nd starting at 11:30 AM.  The winner of the Malone-Tiffin game will move on to the winner's bracket and will play again on Thursday night at Firestone Stadium against the winner of game four between Trevecca Nazarene University and the University of Findlay. The losers of each of those games (Malone-Tiffin and Trevecca-Findlay) are scheduled to play in an elimination game at 3:30 pm on Thursday at Walsh's field.

The full, up-to-date bracket can be seen on the G-MAC Championship webpage.

Ticket Prices:
All-Tournament Pass: $25 adults; $15 students with ID, children 5 & under no charge
Thursday/Friday: $12 adults; $10 students with ID, children 5 & under no charge
Saturday: $6 adults; $5 students with ID, children 5 & under no charge
Parking: Free

Firestone Stadium Address: 1575 Firestone Pkwy, Akron, OH 44301

Follow Along:
#3 Tiffin vs #6 Malone (at Walsh's Field)
Thursday, May 2 starting at  *11:30 AM*
Live Video (Opening Round): https://portal.stretchinternet.com/walsh/
Live Stats (Opening Round):  http://www.athletics.walsh.edu/sports/sball/tournament/boxscores/20190502_mnhf.xml

Live Video (For any games at Firestone): https://portal.stretchinternet.com/greatmidwest/
Live Stats (For any games at Firestone): https://portal.stretchinternet.com/greatmidwest/

What's at Stake?
The winner of the G-MAC Tournament gets an automatic bid into the NCAA Softball Championships as one of the eight seeds from the Midwest Region. 
 
Recent Postseason History:
Softball reached the G-MAC Tournament in 2017, where the team lost to Cedarville in the opening game 3-2 in 8 innings. The team defeated Ursuline in game two 4-2, but was eliminated with a loss to Davis & Elkins 1-0.
 
Series History vs Tiffin:
Earlier this season, Malone dropped two games in a road doubleheader at Tiffin, 5-2 and 12-5. The Pioneers are 9-32 against the Dragons all-time.
 
Malone Team Notes: Roster | Schedule | Stats
Malone is 7-3 in its last 10 contests, with its most recent games being a doubleheader sweep over Walsh last weekend to end the regular season. During that stretch, Pioneer pitching is holding opponents to a miniscule 1.9 runs per game. The Pioneer offense is cranking out 8.1 hits per game during the hot streak. As a team, the Pioneers are hitting .311, which puts them third in the G-MAC.
 
Bailey Byers won her second G-MAC Player of the Week award for her performances against Ohio Dominican, Ohio Valley and Walsh. Byers is batting .465 this season (2nd in the conference) with 13 homeruns and 37 RBIs. She has a slugging percentage of .913 and and on-base percentage of .485. In the last 10 games, Byers is hitting .500 (18-for-36).
 
Kelsey Byers had a record-setting day in the circle last weekend against Walsh as she surpassed Malone's single-season wins (18) and strikeout (158) records. Byers is 18-7 this season with a 2.29 ERA, and leads the conference with 23 complete games and 165 innings pitched. Her 18 wins this season is also a conference-high. At the plate against Walsh, she went 2-for-3 with two doubles and drove in a run.
 
Outfielder Madison Corrick has driven in 37 runs this season from the lead-off spot for the Pioneers, including a two-homerun, seven-RBI outburst in a game against Ohio Valley last week. She is tied with Bailey Byers for the team lead in RBI and is batting .385 on the year. Defensively, she has made 61 putouts this season with seven assists and only one error. Her .986 fielding percentage leads the team. She has stolen 10 bases in 12 attempts on the year.
 
April Howser is hitting .314 in her freshman campaign, with two homeruns and 10 RBIs. Her 17 runs scored is tied for third on the team behind Byers and Corrick.
 
Also at 17 runs scored is freshman outfielder Erika Johnson. Typically batting in the 9-hole, Johnson has done a great job at flipping the line-up by getting on base. She is batting .309 and is tied for the team lead in walks with seven.
 
The three Pioneer seniors have played well in their final seasons. Shortstop Serena Tucciarelli is batting .292 this season with a homerun and 14 RBIs. Nicole Ferrara has a .301 batting average with 10 RBIs and Caley Ritts is hitting .265 while driving in four runs.
 
Anissa Seese has put up great numbers in limited at-bats this season primarily as the designated player. She is hitting .318 with five RBIs and 10 runs scored.
 
Freshman first baseman Emily Betts is hitting .260 this season with eight RBIs and 14 runs scored.
 
Morgan Sampsel has a .250 batting average with five RBIs and eight runs scored.
 
Tiffin Team Notes: Roster | Schedule | Stats
Tiffin enters postseason play with a 28-15 record overall, with an 18-8 record in conference play. They swept Findlay over the weekend by scores of 3-1 and 5-0. As a team, the Dragons are hitting .308 and have a team ERA of 3.09.
 
In this matchup, Malone allows the fewest walks in the conference at 53 and Tiffin has drawn the most walks in the G-MAC this season at 116. Tiffin does a great job of getting runners on and using sacrifice hits to get them in scoring position. The Dragons are tied for the league lead in sacrifice flies (16) and sacrifice bunts (51).
 
Junior infielder Brooke Lambert is hitting .329 this season with three homeruns and 27 runs batted in.
 
Senior outfielders Libby Crow and Jamie Sevenish do damage at the plate as well. Crow is hitting .382 on the year with three homeruns and 20 RBIs and Sevenish has a .353 batting average with 12 RBIs, 33 runs scored and 21 stolen bases.
 
Hayley Kobie is leading the team in batting average at a .394 clip. She also leads the team with 11 doubles.
 
In the circle, freshman Sarah Klein has a 15-9 record in 155 innings pitched with 18 complete games, 114 strikeouts and two saves.