LAKEWOOD, NJ (May 3, 2023) - The 2023 CACC Softball Championship is officially here. The field has been paired down to four and a champion will be crowned this weekend in Lakewood.

Teams
No. 1 Wilmington Wildcats -  35-12, 21-3 CACC
No. 2 Caldwell Cougars - 35-15, 19-5 CACC
No. 3 Georgian Court Lions - 35-17, 18-6 CACC
No. 4 Bridgeport Purple Knights - 29-21, 16-8 CACC

Where
Lakewood, NJ - Georgian Court Softball Field 1

How to Watch
• All games are available to watch via a free-to-view broadcast on the Georgian portal of the CACC Digital Network powered by HUDL. Live stats are also available at gculions.com. 
• Tickets for game are $10 and can be purchased on site. The first 50 Georgian Court students get in free with student ID. 

Tournament Schedule
Thursday - May 4
Game #1: #1 Wilmington vs. #4 Bridgeport (11 a.m.)
Game #2: #2 Caldwell vs. #3 Georgian Court (1:30 p.m.)
Game 3: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser (4 p.m., Elimination Game)

DAY 2 (Friday, May 5, at Georgian Court University)
Game 4: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner (11 a.m.)
Game 5: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser (1:30 p.m., Elimination Game)

DAY 3 - CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL (Saturday, May 6, at Georgian Court University)
Game 6: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner (11 a.m.)
Game 7: "If Necessary" Game (Approx. 1:30 p.m.)

**-Times are subject to change

Previously vs. Caldwell
• It wasn't all that long ago that Georgian Court and Caldwell faced off.
• The Lions and Cougars met in Caldwell last Tuesday with the Lions coming away with a road sweep.
• Georgian Court took game one 7-0 behind five RBI from the seven and eight hitters Brittany Gable and Jordan Mendolla.
• Maddie Rabe pitched a complete game shutout.
• Game two was a little more high scoring. The Lions scored four in the sixth and seventh innings to pull away with a 10-5 win.
• A key play in that win was Jadalynn Rodriguez putting a hole in the Caldwell fence to catch a fly ball with the bases loaded. That kept the Lions in front.
• Kaitlyn Stufft had two RBI.

Last Time Out
• Georgian Court needed just one win to advance to the semifinal round playing against No. 6 Holy Family.
• The Tigers jumped the Lions early in game one and forced the if necessary game with a 10-0, six-inning game.
• In game two, GCU got on top first. They scored the first three runs helped out by a Kaitlyn Stufft home run before the Tigers got two back.
• Jackie Cherry shut the door though going all seven innings for the win.

Who's Hot?
• Jackie Cherry has had consecutive complete game outings allowing two runs on four hits against Holy Family. 
• Jayda Jones has multiple hits in 12 of her last 17 games. 
• Kaitlyn Stufft has a 27 game hitting streak. That's been done only 20 other times in Division II history. 
• Brittany Gable is hitting .360 over her last 10 games with four doubles and seven RBI. Those seven RBI are second on the team during that time. 

Individual Milestones
• Taylor Lipkins needs two more stolen bases to set the new GCU single season record. She also needs one more run to score 60 this season, something done just three other times.
• One more run and Jadalynn Rodriguez will score the 75th of her career. 
• Alyssa Herrera is two RBI away from 75.
• Taylor Barraza needs one more double to get to 30.
• Two doubles will get Jayda Jones to 20 this season. A figure done just three other times. 
• Three more RBI will put Kaitlyn Stuff in the top-three for a single season. She finished last season with 68, second-most all-time.

Regional Rankings
• Georgian Court checked in at No. four in this week's NCAA Regional Rankings. 
• The Lions moved up two spots following their 6-0 week last week.
• The top-eight teams in the region all advance to the NCAA East Region Championship.
• The selection show is Monday, May 8 at 10 a.m.
• The winner of the CACC Tournament receives and automatic bid into the regional championship.

Lions in the CACC
• Within the conference, Georgian Court has one of the most potent offenses. They rank in the top-five in nearly every offensive category.
• GCU leads the league in home runs with 31 and slugging percentage at .497.
• With 6.87 runs per game, GCU leads the CACC and is 16th in the nation in scoring offense. 
• The Lions baserunning has played a big part in their success. They are second in the CACC in stolen bases per game with 2.21. They also rank fourth in the nation in with 25 sacrifice flies and third with 26 triples. 
• Taylor Lipkins 42 stolen bases are the most in the CACC and eighth in D2.  
• Jayda Jones' 18 doubles are fifth in the conference and 16th in the country.  
• Kaitlyn Stufft leads all of Division II with eight sacrifice flies. She's also eighth nationally and leads the CACC with 62 RBI. 
• Adriana Mungo is fourth in the league with 49 runs batted in. 

About the Opponents
No. 1 Wilmington Wildcats
• Wilmington enters the CACC Tournament winners of four straight. They won the CACC by two games over Caldwell with a 21-3 league mark.
• The Wildcats defeated Goldey-Beacom in their CACC opening round game 6-0.
• Wilmington had the CACC Player of the Year in Lexi Moore and Pitcher of the Year in Kylee Gunkel.
• The Wildcats are hitting .334 on the season. 
• Wilmington leads the CACC with a .964 fielding percentage.
• They are second in team ERA at 2.15. 
• League MVP Lexi Moore is hitting .468 with 51 runs scored, 20 RBI and 32 stolen bases.
• Sara Miller leads the team with nine home runs and 56 runs batted in.
• Kylee Gunkel is 17-4 this season with a 1.48 ERA and 92 strikeouts.
• Delani Sheehan is 12-6 and pitching to a 2.74 ERA with 5.81 strikeouts per seven innings.

No. 2 Caldwell Cougars
• Caldwell stumbled a bit down the stretch. Georgian Court snapped their eight-game winning streak and Caldwell finished the season 4-4 in their last eight games.
• Over the course of the season the Cougars were 35-15 and 19-5 in the CACC.
• Caldwell put six on the All-CACC team, two making the First Team as pitchers.
• The Cougars staff ERA is a league-leading 1.79 which ranks 15th in the country.
• Caldwell doesn't have much pop having hit just nine home runs all season. They get on base at a .396 clip with a team average of .335, second in the CACC.
• Olivia Kennedy was 9-3 this season in 73.1 innings to make the All-CACC First Team. She held opponents to a .175 batting average. 
• Mariah Culver has seen the most action with 101.1 innings. She too made the All-CACC First Team and is 7-6 with a 1.93 ERA.
• At the plate, Courtney Grundhauser leads the team with a .403 batting average and .448 on-base percentage. She has six of the team's nine home runs.

No. 4 Bridgeport Purple Knights
• Bridgeport ended their first season in the CACC 29-21 overall and 16-8 in the CACC.
• They won four in a row including their 5-2 CACC opening round win over Felician. They also handed Wilmington one of their three conference losses the last week of the season.
• The Purple Knights have one of the top offenses in the league, leading the CACC hitting .341 and with 481 total hits.
• Bridgeport's pitching has been middle of the pack with a 3.95 team ERA. 
• There were four from Bridgeport to make All-CACC honors including Mya Jones who was the league's Rookie of the Year.
• Samantha Schiebe was First Team at utility/pitcher with a 9-9 record and 4.28 ERA and a .302 average and 36 runs batted in.
• Mya Jones led the team with seven home runs and 52 RBI.
• Gabby Simms was All-CACC First Team in the outfield hitting .421 with 14 doubles.
• Vise Zarate has a league-best 19 wins in the circle with a 3.27 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 184 innings.