GREENCASTLE, Ind. - May 9, 2022 – Hiram College softball will open play at the DePauw regional against the 14th-ranked Piedmont University Lions on Friday, May 13 at 2 p.m. at the DePauw Softball Field in Greencastle, Ind.
The DePauw regional features the Terriers and Lions, as well as the 10th-ranked Berry College Vikings and fellow North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) member DePauw, serving as the host.
Hiram and Piedmont face off in their opening-round matchup of the double-elimination tournament, with the winner advancing to face the winner of Berry vs. DePauw on Saturday, May 14 at noon. The regional championship game is slated for Sunday, May 15 at 12 p.m., with the "if-necessary" game to follow at 2:30 p.m.
The Lions finished this season with a 31-9 (15-1 USA South) record, winning the USA South Conference Tournament.
Rebekah Stagmayer and Kara Taylor lead the Lions' offense. Stagmayer batted a .425/.503/.520 while Taylor hit .378/.399/.644. In the circle, Martina Maloch leads the Lions with a 1.29 ERA in 21 appearances.
Berry closed out the year with a 29-11 (15-1 SAA) record. The Vikings have a plethora of heavy hitters at the plate with Shelby Daniel (.433), Anna Jackson (.427), Morgan Frye (.423) and Katie White (.407) all batting over .400 on the year.
On the pitching side, Berry's top arm is Hannah Gore, who had a 1.09 ERA in 20 appearances.
The host Tigers are a familiar foe for the Terriers, with the two sides having played four times already this season, including twice in Sunday's NCAC Tournament Championship game.
Grace Smith leads DePauw at the plate with a .427 batting average, while Cami Henry leads the DePauw staff with a 1.04 ERA in 36 appearances.
Hiram reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 after winning the 2022 NCAC Softball Tournament to clinch the conference's automatic bid. The Terriers took down Denison and Wooster on Saturday, May 7 to advance to the tournament championship game.
And the following day, Sunday, May 8, Hiram dropped the first game against DePauw, 5-3, in eight innings, but rallied to win game two over the Tigers to claim the tournament championship.
Hiram College softball opens play at the DePauw regional against the 16th-ranked Piedmont University Lions on Friday, May 13 at 2 p.m. in Greencastle, Indiana.
