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2023 Salisbury Softball NCAA Regional Preview

5/17/2023 9:04:00 AM

The Rundown

The top-ranked Salisbury University softball team begins its road back to the NCAA Championships as Salisbury hosts the four-team Salisbury Regional starting on Thursday, May 18 against the Framingham State Rams. The Sea Gulls also welcome the the Williams Ephs and the UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs in the four-team double-elimination pod.

The #D3sb bracket is HERE!#WhyD3 pic.twitter.com/7pKEvTYIrY
— NCAA Division III (@NCAADIII) May 15, 2023

Tournament Schedule

Thursday, May 18

Game 1 - Williams vs. UMass-Dartmouth - 2 p.m.

Game 2 - Salisbury vs. Framingham - 4:30 p.m.

Friday, May 19

Game 3 - G1 Winner vs. G2 Winner - 11 a.m.

Game 4 - G1 Loser vs. G2 Loser - 1:30 p.m.

Game 5 - G3 Loser vs. G4 Winner - 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 20 - Regional Finals

Game 6 - G3 Winner vs. G5 Winner - Noon

Game 7 - If Necessary Game - 2:30 p.m.

Live Video

Live Stats

Regionals Information

NCAA Tournament Information

How We Got Here

The Sea Gulls had a standout 2023 regular season and enter the NCAA Tournament with the best record in the nation of 39-3 and Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Champions. The Sea Gulls battled back from losing its first game of the C2C Tournament to CNU to win three games in a row, including back-to-back shutout wins over the Captains to win the conference title.

The 2023 Sea Gulls

#10 Lindsey Windsor | Three-time C2C Pitcher of the Year

#8 Sam Flowers | 2023 C2C Rookie of the Year

#5 Natalie Paoli | Two-time C2C Scholar-Athlete of the Year

#18 Abby Mace | Two-time C2C Player of the Year

Salisbury finished the regular season with a 36-2 overall record. Salisbury earned the top seed due to the Massey Ratings.
Salisbury has been ranked as the top-team in the country since March 14. The team has been in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association top-three since the start of the season.
The Sea Gulls opened the 2023 season 16-0 before the team dropped a game to Lynchburg on March 18 the snapped its 71-game home win streak that dated back to 2020.
After the team fell to Randolph on the road on March 23, the Sea Gulls have won 14 in a row to enter the C2C Tournament.
The team has a perfect 8-0 record against ranked teams, including sweeps of CNU, Lynchburg, Rochester and Virginia Wesleyan.
Salisbury dropped its first game of the tournament to CNU, 1-0, on Thursday, May 10.
In the elimination game on Friday, May 11, Salisbury bounced back in a big way with a 8-0 five-inning win over Mary Washington. Abby Mace drove in five runs in the game, including an inside the park grand slam.
The Sea Gulls then forced a winner-take-all matchup with the Captains with a 2-0 victory. Madi Lemon delivered the insurance run with a home run in the seventh inning.
Nicole Ortega and Savannah Sheats pitched a combined one-hitter to clinch the C2C Championship with a 1-0 win over CNU. Carrie Jacoby drove in Lindsey Windsor with the eventual game -winning triple in the third inning.
Salisbury cleaned up the All-C2C awards with 11 All-C2C selections and four of the five C2C major awards.
Senior pitcher/outfielder Lindsey Windsor won her third consecutive C2C Pitcher of the Year award.
Freshman outfielder Sam Flowers collected the C2C Rookie of the Year award.
Senior shortstop Natalie Paoli picked up her second consecutive C2C Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor.
Head coach Lacey Lord and the rest of the SU coaching staff were honored with the C2C Coaching Staff of the Year.
The Salisbury offense led the conference in runs scored (289), hits (387), doubles (68), triples (17), stolen bases (97), batting average (.352), on-base percentage (.423) and slugging percentage (.540).
The pitching staff had the lowest ERA in conference with a 1.24 ERA as well as the lowest home runs allowed (5) and runs allowed (69).
Abby Mace led the conference in stolen bases (20), doubles (12), triples (4) and runs scored (43). She also sits second in the league with nine home runs and a .521 on-base percentage,
Savannah Sheats had the lowest ERA in league with a 0.96 average.
Lindsey Windsor leads the C2C in RBIs (41) and saves (3). She was second in the conference in wins (12) and ERA (1.06).
Salisbury ranks second in Division III in slugging percentage (.545).
The offense also ranks in the top-10 nationally in home runs (35), home runs per game (0.83) and on-base percentage (.426).
The pitching staff has the seventh-lowest ERA in the country with a 1.30 ERA.
Savannah Sheats sits 12th in the nation with a 0.96 ERA followed by Lindsey Windsor at a tie for 18th with a 1.06 ERA and Nicole Ortega at 24th with a 1.13 ERA.
Windsor also ranks 21st in saves (3), 27th in hits allowed per seven innings (4.53), 40th in WHIP (0.92) and 53rd in runs batted in (41).
Abby Mace ranks fourth in walks per game (0.81), 16th in slugging percentage (.829), 32nd in on-base percentage (.532), 34th in runs per game (1.16) and 34th in home runs (9).

Scouting Report

Framingham State Rams

Williams Ephs

UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs

Framingham had a strong season in 2023 with a 32-11 overall record and a 13-1 record in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC). The Rams dropped its first game of the MASCAC Tournament but finished the playoffs strong with three-straight run-rules to claim its second-straight MASCAC Championship.

Williams won its first New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship since 2018 with a 3-1 win over Tufts in the NESCAC Championship. The Ephs enter the tournament with a 22-15 record and a 12-6 NESCAC record.

UMass-Dartmouth won a marathon 12-inning game, 1-0, over Eastern Connecticut for the team's first-ever Little East Conference (LEC) Championship. The Corsairs begin their third NCAA Tournament with a 30-12 overall record and a 12-4 LEC mark.

What's At Stake

The winner of the Salisbury Regional advances to the Super Regionals, which runs from Friday, May 26 through Saturday, May 27.
The NCAA Championships, hosted by East Texas Baptist University, will be held June 1-June 7 at Bell Park at Taylor Field in Marshall, Texas.