#CUWStatsInfo: Softball set for NACC Tournament

MILWAUKEE – For the eighth straight season, the Concordia University Wisconsin Softball team will appear in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament, which is set to begin Thursday at Alverno Field in Milwaukee. The Falcons enter as the tournament's two seed after a 15-7 regular season.

CUWFalcons.com prepares you for some of the numbers and facts you need to know for the 2016 NACC Softball Tournament.

Click here for the NACC Softball Tournament page. This page features a full schedule, along with live stat and video links for each game. Live links will also be available at CUWFalcons.com.

THE FIELD: Six teams qualify each season for the NACC Tournament and the No. 2 seed is the highest the Falcons have claimed in the 10-year history of the league. Aurora (19-3 NACC) will be the No. 1 seed for the seventh time. The Falcons ended up in a three-way tie with Benedictine (15-7) and Dominican (15-7) for second, winning the tiebreaker. Benedictine will be the third seed, followed by Dominican, fifth-seeded Lakeland (13-9) and sixth-seeded Concordia Chicago (12-8).

THE SCHEDULE:
Thursday, May 5
Game 1, 10 am: No. 6 Concordia Chicago vs. No. 3 Benedictine
Game 2, 12 pm: No. 5 Lakeland vs. No. 4 Dominican
Game 3, 2 pm: Game-1 Winner vs. No. 2 Concordia Wisconsin
Game 4, 4 pm: Game-2 Winner vs. No. 1 Aurora

Friday, May 1
Game 5, 9 am: Game-2 Loser vs. Game-3 Loser
Game 6, 11 am: Game-1 Loser vs. Game-4 Loser
Game 7, 1 pm: Game-5 Winner vs. Game-6 Winner
Game 8, 3 pm: Game-3 Winner, vs. Game-4 Winner

Saturday, May 2
Game 9, 9 am: Game-7 Winner vs. Game-8 Loser
Game 10, 11 am: Game-8 Winner vs. Game-9 Winner
Game 11, if necessary, 1 pm: Same teams as Game 10

FALCONS IN THE NACC TOURNAMENT: CUW is making its ninth tournament appearance in the 10-year history of the league. The Falcons captured one NACC Tournament title, winning it as the No. 6 seed during the 2009 season. Last year, CUW reached the finals before falling to Aurora. CUW has advanced to Saturday in each of the past three seasons.

NACC TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Aurora and Benedictine have captured eight of nine NACC Tournament Titles, with the Falcons earning the other one in 2009. Aurora won last year, ending Benedictine's stretch of four straight (2011-15). The Spartans and Eagles have each won four titles.

FALCONS VS THE FIELD: CUW posted a 6-4 record against the five other NACC Tournament teams this season. The Falcons swept both Dominican and Concordia Chicago at home, while falling in both games against Aurora, also at home. CUW went on the road and split doubleheaders versus Lakeland and Benedictine.

PERKINS FINAL RUN: The Falcons have just one senior this season, but it is an important one in pitcher Melissa Perkins. Perkins (Park Forest, Ill.) is expected to get the ball in game one against either Benedictine or Concordia Chicago. The Falcons all-time leader in wins owns a 2.65 ERA this season with a 15-7 record. In addition, Perkins has two saves and 65 strikeouts, while walking 24 batters in 140 innings of work. Sophomore Emily Brekke (Waterford, Wis.) has worked as the game two starter all season for the Falcons as well and delivered a 9-7 record with two saves and a 3.58 ERA.

BALANCED LINEUP: It is no secret who will make up the defense behind Perkins as the Falcons have had much of the same defensive alignment this season. Here is the Falcons defensive alignment (note: this is not a projected batting order).

Catcher: Carly Sobrilsky (Brookfield, Wis.) - .325 AVG, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 13 R
First Base: Jamie Reiser (Ingleside, Ill.) - .246 AVG, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 10 R
Second Base: Christine Sharon (Cornell, Mich.) - .312 AVG, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 24 R
Shortstop: Deidra Weinberger (Mayville, Wis.) - .387 AVG, 1 HR, 11 2B, 25 RBI, 32 R
Third Base: Maddie Zazas (Mundelein, Ill.) - .372 AVG, 2 HR, 14 2B, 27 RBI, 24 R, 10 SB
Left Field: Delaney O'Keefe (Muskego, Wis.) - .342 AVG, 1 HR, 23 RBI, 28 R, 8 SB
Center Field: Sara Rosenow (Kimberly, Wis.) - .342 AVG, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 21 R, 14 SB
Right Field: Lexi Holsten (Oshkosh, Wis.) - ..330 AVG, 9 2B, 15 RBI, 22 R

OVERVIEW: It should be an exciting tournament with just three games separating second place and sixth place in the NACC standings this season. In addition, unlike a season ago where Aurora entered the Tournament undefeated, every team has at least three NACC losses this season. The Falcons feature a young lineup with two juniors, three sophomores and four freshmen in the batting order, but have gained plenty of experience throughout the regular season to be considered a legitimate contender for the NACC Tournament Championship.