EAST STROUDSBURG – Following its best season in program history, the sixth-ranked East Stroudsburg University softball team returns to action on Friday, with the nationally-ranked Warriors battling Lynn in its season opener at noon and 2:30 p.m. in Boca Raton, Fla.
ESU will play eight total games in the Sunshine State on its trip, venturing to Palm Beach Atlantic (Feb. 10), No. 5 Nova Southeastern (Feb. 11) and Barry (Feb. 12) for doubleheaders before returning to Pennsylvania.
How to Follow: Follow @ESUWarriors and @ESUSoftball on Twitter and @esuwarriors or @esu_warriors_softball on Instagram for the latest news and updates. All ESU home games are broadcast on the PSAC Sports Digital Network and live stats are available at esuwarriors.com.
Infield: The Warriors return four of five starters from the infield, including All-PSAC East Second Team selections
Jada Smallwood (1B) and
Reilly Vicendese (3B). Vicendese led ESU with a .371 batting average and set single season records for hits (76) and runs scored in (56). She's within striking distance of becoming ESU's all-time career leader in hits (178, needs 23), runs scored (120, needs 11) RBIs (85, needs 21) and stolen bases (77, needs 24). Smallwood impressed during her first season at ESU, with the Maryland transfer tied for the team lead with 51 RBIs, which set a new ESU single-season record and also broke the doubles record (19).
Denva Shaw-Tait (2B) returns after transitioning from first base to second base in 2023, making 59 starts. The New Zealand native batted .321 with 23 extra-base hits and 32 RBIs in 2023.
ESU will have to replace shortstop
Lexi Wright, who broke ESU's all-time games played record with 201 appearances as a Warrior. As a freshman, Samantha Derrickson appeared in eight contests with three hits in 11 at-bats in 2023.
At catcher, both
Kaitlin Houser and
Shannon Edelman return behind the dish, with the two combining for 68 starts in 2023. The two often split doubleheaders at the position. Houser batted .330 with 18 RBIs, producing the game-tying run against Nova Southeastern during ESU's 2-1 victory against the Sharks.
Outfield: ESU will need to replace a pair of starting outfielders in
Brooke McKeown and
Molly Nies, but welcome back
Abigail Weirich, who had a breakout season in 2023. The All-PSAC Second Team outfielder tied Smallwood with 51 RBIs for the new Warrior single-season RBI record. Always a threat to steal a base, Weirich led the squad with 32 stolen bases and was caught stealing just once on the season.
Designated Player: Two-time All-PSAC East selection
Kate Donaghue, who has also played catcher, is also back. The clutch hitter recorded a season-best three hits and smacked the go-ahead run in ESU's 2-1 win over NSU. Along with pitching duties,
Maddy Pritchard also served time as the DP, recording a .308 batting average with 16 hits and 11 RBIs, including six in the postseason.
Pitching: Paige Zigmund returns and looks to continue her dominance in the circle. She became the first Warrior to earn NFCA Atlantic Region First Team honors as a pitcher and broke season program records for wins (26-6) and strikeouts (186). She totaled two earned runs or less in 27 of 35 contests, including seven shutout performances. Along with NFCA All-Region First Team accolades, she was also honored on the D2CCA All-Region First Team, PSAC East First Team and was named the PSAC East Pitcher of the Year. She looks to lead the Warriors back to the postseason, with the Bethlehem native recording a 0.93 ERA and .189 BAA in 45 innings during the NCAA Tournament, allowing just six earned runs while striking out 26 in a 5-1 record.
ESU will need to replace starter in
Leigh Ann Jenkins, who sent the Warriors to the NCAA Softball Championships with a shutout against Charleston in game three of the NCAA Super Regional at Creekview Park. Pritchard pitched 47 innings during her freshman season, compiling a 1.94 ERA and a .272 batting average against, with eight wins in 10 decisions.
Ariadna Cerda Bermejo, a native of Spain also returns after pitching 6.2 innings last season.
A freshman to look out for is
Sarah Davenport, who finished her high school career with 1,093 career strikeouts for Hillsborough, compiling an ERA of 0.31. The 2023 NJ.com Pitcher of the Year allowed just 23 earned runs in 517 innings, with six perfect games, 14 no-hitters and 37 shutouts.
Transfers: Joining the Warriors from other NCAA institutions are
Abbie Landrum (St. Thomas Aquinas, P/UTIL)
Taylor Lipkins (OF, Georgian Court),
Katie Master (OF, Central Connecticut State) and
Delaney Ridgell (C/INF, Caldwell).
- Landrum is a two-time all-region selection as a pitcher/utility and was named the East Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2023. She recorded a 2.13 ERA as a pitcher and held a .308 batting average with 17 RBIs and 11 doubles to help the Spartans to an ECC Championship.
- Lipkins was an All-CACC Second Team selection and is a threat on the base paths, ranking eighth in NCAA DII with 45 stolen bases. She held a .351 batting average with 68 hits, 62 runs scored and 25 RBIs for the Lions.
- Masters, an NCAA Division I transfer from CCSU, appeared in 24 games last season. She recorded multi-hit games against Yale and Mount St. Mary's as a Blue Devil.
- Ridgell started in 50 games for Caldwell a season ago. She registered a .312 batting average with 13 extra-base hits and 20 RBIs. She totaled 200 putouts and 47 assists as a catcher.
Newcomers: ESU welcomes a crew of 11 incoming freshmen in
Brittney Baber (INF),
Kaitlynn Colangelo (INF),
Sarah Davenport (P),
Gigi DeMito (C/INF),
Natalie Graham (P/INF)
Maddin Grow (OF),
Kylie Ingram (OF),
Meadow Lake (P),
Carly Mockenhaupt (P),
Caitlyn Reynolds (INF),
Kaylee Watson (INF).
Other Returners: Also returning to the roster from ESU's NCAA DII Atlantic Region Championship team include
Eve Beuchat (C),
Jade Hassler (UTIL),
Shannon Harvey (OF)
Holly Soto (OF),
Kasey Ulmer (OF) and Gabby Vasquez (C).
The Coach: Jaime Wohlbach enters her ninth season at the helm of the Warriors and holds a record of 185-151 at ESU. Over the past three seasons, Wohlbach has transformed the Warriors into a power in the conference, region and nation, combining for a record of 107-46. Wohlbach, who along with assistants
Erica Molinaro and
Bo Vicendese were named the NFCA Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year look to lead ESU back to the NCAA Tournament for the third time over the past four seasons. Wohlbach needs just 24 wins to surpass Jone Bush (208-194-2, 1976-88) as the program's all-time leader in wins.
Schedule: After the Florida trip against tough competition, the Warriors begin a 10-game home stand in the Poconos, welcoming Holy Family (2/22), St. Thomas Aquinas (2/27), Molloy (3/3), Georgian Court (3/6) and Felician (3/8) for doubleheaders at Creekview Park. The Warriors will then travel to No. 9 Wilmington (3/12), who along with Nova Southeastern, were among eight teams in Chattanooga, Tenn. for the NCAA Softball Championships a season ago.
The Warriors close out the non-conference slate at home against Southern New Hampshire (3/16) and continue their home stretch against PSAC foes Kutztown (3/19), Shepherd (3/23) and Shippensburg (3/23.). The Warriors hit the road for three consecutive series against Millersville (3/26), West Chester (3/29) and Bloomsburg (4/2), before matchups against Lock Haven (4/6) and Millersville (4/9) at Creekview Park. ESU closes the regular season against Kutztown (away, 4/16), West Chester (home, 4/19), Mansfield (home, 4/23), Bloomsburg (home, 4/26) and Lock Haven (away, 4/27).
The PSAC Softball Championships are headed back to Quakertown's Veteran's Park from May 1-4, with the NCAA Selection Show scheduled for May 6th. If it hears its name called for the fifth time in program history, the Warriors look to defend its NCAA Division II Atlantic Region title, with the NCAA Atlantic Regional from May 9-11 and the Super Regional set for May 15-16. The NCAA Softball Championships will take place in Longwood, Fla. from May 19-25.
NFCA Preseason Poll: ESU was selected No. 6 in the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Preseason Top-25, after finishing the 2023 in the No. 5 slot. ESU is the lone PSAC and one of two NCAA DII Atlantic Region squads (No. 20 Charleston) listed in the preseason top-25 rankings.
| Rk. |
School |
Pts. |
| 1 |
North Georgia (16) |
400 |
| 2 |
Grand Valley State |
384 |
| 3 |
Central Oklahoma |
359 |
| 4 |
West Texas A&M |
331 |
| 5 |
Nova Southeastern |
330 |
| 6 |
East Stroudsburg |
312 |
| 7 |
Cal State San Marcos |
298 |
| 8 |
UT Tyler |
291 |
| 9 |
Wilmington |
280 |
| 10 |
Tampa |
271 |
| 11 |
Indianapolis |
254 |
| 12 |
UAH |
215 |
| 13 |
Southern Arkansas |
192 |
| 14 |
Adelphi |
160 |
| 14 |
Concordia |
160 |
| 16 |
Oklahoma Christian |
148 |
| 17 |
Wingate |
141 |
| 18 |
Saint Leo |
133 |
| 19 |
Rogers State |
124 |
| 20 |
Charleston |
105 |
| 21 |
Colorado Christian |
102 |
| 22 |
Oklahoma Baptist |
49 |
| 23 |
Columbus State |
45 |
| 24 |
Mississippi College |
44 |
| 25 |
Northwest Nazarene |
22 |
PSAC Preseason Poll: ESU garnered five of a potential eight first-place votes in the PSAC East Preseason Coaches Poll as the projected favorite for the first time in program history. West Chester and Shippensburg were voted to finish second and third, respectively with each squad earning a pair of first-place votes. Kutztown claimed fourth place, while Bloomsburg (5th), Lock Haven (6th), Shepherd (7th), Millersville (8th) and Mansfield (9th) round out the poll.
PSAC EAST PRESEASON POLL
| 1 |
East Stroudsburg (5) |
| 2 |
West Chester (2) |
| 3 |
Shippensburg (2) |
| 4 |
Kutztown |
| 5 |
Bloomsburg |
| 6 |
Lock Haven |
| 7 |
Shepherd |
| 8 |
Millersville |
| 9 |
Mansfield |
PSAC WEST PRESEASON POLL
| 1 |
Mercyhurst (4) |
| 2 |
Seton Hill (3) |
| 3 |
Gannon (1) |
| 4 |
Slippery Rock (1) |
| 5 |
California |
| 6 |
IUP |
| 7 |
Clarion |
| 8 |
Pitt-Johnstown |
| 9 |
Edinboro |
