QUAKERTOWN, Pa. – After clinching its second consecutive PSAC East Regional Season Championship last week, the 15th-ranked East Stroudsburg University softball team begins postseason play as the top seed from the PSAC East in the PSAC Tournament from Wed., May 1 to Sat., May 4 at Quakertown’s Veterans Park.

The Warriors will play the winner of game one, which features Bloomsburg and Slippery Rock. ESU will play either the Huskies or The Rock at Field 2 at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. 

How to Follow: All 17 potential PSAC Tournament games will be broadcasted on the PSAC Sports Digital Network, along with live stats available. Tickets are available to be purchased online only. Admission is free for students from PSAC member institutions with a valid ID.

2024 PSAC Softball Tournament Schedule

About the Warriors: Led by strong pitching by ESU Pitcher and Freshman of the Year Sarah Davenport (22-5) and all-time wins leader Paige Zigmund, the Warriors look to limit runs in a hitter-friendly Veterans Park. As a staff, Warrior pitching rank second in strikeouts-per-7 innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio, along with ranking highly in WHIP (14th) and ERA (21st). Along with strong pitching, ESU’s defense has shined, which leads the PSAC in fielding percentage and ranks 14th in the country. ESU’s lineup is balanced throughout, featuring seven starters batting above .300, with five Warriors recording at least 22 RBIs. When on the basepaths, ESU is dangerous, with Abigail Weirich (38-41), Reilly Vicendese (25-28) and Taylor Lipkins (23-26) always a threat to steal a base. 

All-PSAC: Joining Davenport on the All-PSAC East First Team are Vicendese and Delaney Ridgell. Vicendese is batting .318 on the season with 61 hits, as one of the top hitters and fielders in program history. The Ellicott City, Md. native is ESU’s all-time leader in hits (239), runs (158) and RBIs (107) and is just three steals away from another career record. Ridgell transferred from Caldwell after her freshman season and has fit nicely in the lineup as ESU’s primary designated player in game one and ESU’s catcher in game two. The fellow Marylander is hitting .344 on the season with 12 extra-base hits and 23 RBIs. Behind the plate, Ridgell has thrown out six of 10 base stealers. Leadoff hitter and center fielder Taylor Lipkins rounds out the all-conference selections, who earned All-PSAC East Second Team accolades. Lipkins enters the postseason on a 13-game hitting streak and leads the Red and Black with a .358 batting average and a .418 on-base percentage.

The Coach: Jaime Wohlbach, who was named the PSAC East Coach of the Year on Tuesday, looks to guide ESU to its first PSAC title since 1980. She has guided ESU to its second consecutive 40-win season – the only two 40 win seasons in program history. Since 2021, Wohlbach has coached the Warriors to an impressive 148-59 record (71.5 winning percentage), two NCAA Tournaments, along with ESU's first-ever NCAA Atlantic Region Championship in 2023. Wohlbach became the Warriors' all-time wins leader at Millersville earlier this season and currently holds a career record of 395-386, which includes a 226-165 record as a Warrior.

PSAC History: After clinching its first outright PSAC East regular season championship in program history during the regular season, ESU serves as the top seed in the PSAC East and looks to capture its second-ever PSAC Championship after earning the conference title in 1980. The Warriors hold a 9-16 overall record when playing in the conference tournament, posting a 2-2 record a season ago. 

Up Next: The Warriors, who ranked first in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings released last Wednesday, look to sure up their NCAA Tournament resume at the conference championships. ESU hopes to hold the tops-seed in the Atlantic Region for the second consecutive season. The Warriors officially find out its postseason fate and if it host the NCAA Atlantic Regional at Creekview Park during the NCAA Selection Show on Mon., May 6th at 10:00 a.m. on NCAA.com.