ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - For the fifth consecutive year, Eastern Softball clinched a spot in the MAC Commonwealth Softball Tournament. The three-day tournament will begin on Thursday and continue through Saturday. The Eagles, as the No. 2 seed, will begin its tournament run against No. 3 York.
There will be two games on Thursday, as No. 1 Messiah will play No. 4 Stevenson after the Eastern and York contest concludes. Being a double elimination tournament, the easiest path to the championship is by earning three wins. The winners of Games 1 and 2 on Thursday will play the first game on Friday at 12 noon. The next two games on Friday will be eliminations games, leaving just two teams for Saturday. On Saturday, the winner of Game 3 will face the winner of Game 5, and there will be a seventh game, if necessary, to determine the MAC Commonwealth Champion.
The tournament will take place in Grantham. The Falcons earned home field advantage by finishing 13-1 in conference play. Their lone conference loss came to Eastern.
The Eagles are in the midst of another strong season under Head Coach
Terri Adams. Heading into Thursday, the Eagles are 25-7 on the year and 11-3 in conference play. Much of their success can be attributed to the strong pitching of
Emily Trzonkowski and
Bryn Clifford, along with an offense that hit .332 and scored 199 runs.
Trzonkowski, a first-year pitcher from Middletown, Del., has been sensational in her first season with Eastern. In 16 starts and 20 appearance, she has yet to lose, going 15-0 with 11 complete games and six shutouts in 99 innings pitched. Furthermore, she has 112 strikeouts and has allowed just 21 walks and 22 earned run for a sparkling 1.56 ERA. Clifford has been Eastern's most effective reliever. Eastern's all-time saves leaders collected four more this spring, and holds a 5-1 record and a 2.28 ERA. In 40 innings, she has allowed just 13 earned runs and has struck out 19 batters.
Offensively, sophomore shortstop
Maura Yoos was almost an automatic hit every time she stepped up to the plate. She started all 32 games at shortstop and hit .472 at the dish in her second season. Her batting average, along with her 50 hits and 36 runs scored, led the team. Junior outfielder
Ainsley O'Donnell played an excellent center field, starting all 32 games. She bat .357 with 35 hits, eight doubles, and a career-best five triples, the most for an Eagles since 2014.
Graduate outfielder
Morgan Joseph slotted perfectly into the Eastern lineup. In 24 games, she bat .395 with 15 hits and six RBIs. She hit a pair of triples in Eastern's doubleheader sweep of Stevenson earlier this spring.
Mackenzie Laub, who has been Eastern's every day right fielder since her first year, is having a tremendous season at the dish, hitting .390 with 32 hits, seven doubles, and 26 RBIs, tied for second on the team.
Sophomore
Hailey Burke, forced into action due to injury, played an excellent second base and hit .319 with 22 hits and 11 RBIs. First-year left fielder
Maryanna Nagle was Eastern's most effective run producer, leading the team with 27 RBIs. She hit .310 with 31 hits, 20 runs scored and 10 doubles. Lastly, senior catcher
Sydney Ostolaza led the Eagles with 11 doubles this season.
Eastern will look to win its second MAC Commonwealth Tournament Championship in the last three season. They won their first back in the spring of 2024 in Philadelphia. Messiah is the reigning MAC Commonwealth Champion. First pitch against York is set for 1:00 pm.
