#CUWStatsInfo: Previewing the NACC Softball Tournament

MEQUON, Wis. – Following a 25-win regular season, the Concordia University Wisconsin Softball Team will begin postseason play at the NACC Tournament on Thursday morning. The Falcons earned the No. 3 seed in the field and will open against No. 6 seed Edgewood College. The six-team, double elimination tournament is set for Thursday through Saturday at the Alverno Softball Field in Milwaukee.

CUWFalcons.com takes a look at what you need to know as the Falcons prepare for a NACC Tournament run.

Click here for the NACC Softball Tournament Page.

THE FIELD: Six teams qualify for the NACC Tournament with Aurora earning the No. 1 seed after rolling through the NACC with a 22-0 record. Benedictine (17-5) earned the other bye and will be seeded second, while the Falcons come in third at 16-6. Concordia Chicago and Dominican tied at 14-8, but the Cougars captured the tiebreaker and earned the No. 4 seed. Edgewood rounds out the field as the No. 6 seed after posting an 11-11 record in conference play this season.

THE SCHEDULE:

Thursday, April 30

• Game 1, 10 am: No. 6 Edgewood vs. No. 3 Concordia Wisconsin
• Game 2, 12 pm: No. 5 Dominican vs. No. 4 Concordia Chicago
• Game 3, 2 pm: Game-1 Winner vs. No. 2 Benedictine
• Game 4, 4 pm: Game-2 Winner vs. No. 1 Aurora

Friday, May 1

• Game 5, 9 am: Game-1 Loser vs. Game-3 Loser
• Game 6, 11 am: Game-2 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

HISTORY: Only three teams have won the NACC Tournament, including Benedictine who has captured the last four titles. Aurora won three of the first four ('07, '08, '10), while the Falcons took home the 2009 Tournament title despite being the No. 6 seed. CUW owns a 16-13 record all-time in the NACC Tournament, qualifying in eight of nine seasons. The 16 NACC Tournament wins ranks third all-time behind Benedictine (18) and Aurora (17).

FALCONS VS. EDGEWOOD: The Falcons were able to sweep Edgewood back on April 4 at the CUW Softball Field. Game one was a 3-1 contest in which junior Melissa Perkins (Park Forest, Ill.) tossed a complete game and did not allow an earned run. A pair of freshmen, Haley Spoerl (Salem, Wis.) and Andrea Thiry (Green Bay, Wis.), had home runs in the opening win. In game two it was freshman Emily Brekke (Waterford, Wis.) who dominated in the circle as she threw a complete-game shutout. Brekke also tied a career-high with eight strikeouts in the 6-0 win. The Falcons and Eagles have met just once in the NACC Tournament, an Edgewood win in 2007.

VERSUS THE REST OF THE FIELD: The Falcons posted a 5-5 record against the five other teams in the field this season. CUW was 4-0 in home games, sweeping the Eagles (Edgewood and Benedictine) in home twinbills. The Falcons were swept by both Aurora and Dominican and split a doubleheader at Concordia Chicago.

SOBRILSKY LEADING THE WAY: Sophomore Carly Sobrilsky (Brookfield, Wis.) was a tough out for opponents during conference play this season. Sobrilsky batted .394 with seven home runs and 24 RBI in 22 conference games. She ranked second in home runs during NACC games and fourth in RBI, while posting the third highest slugging percentage at .788.

HOLSTEN HEATING UP: Another player who had an incredible conference season was sophomore outfielder Alexis Holsten (Oshkosh, Wis.). Holsten hit .377 in game games, including going 6-for-7 in the final doubleheader of the year against Lakeland. Seven of her 20 hits in conference play were doubles.

YOUNG BUT TALENTED: The story of the Falcons all season was the team's youth. Regularly, CUW starts a batting lineup that consists of all freshmen and sophomores, with Perkins, a junior, as the team's usual game one pitcher. In addition to some of the players mentioned above, Jamie Reiser (Ingleside, Ill.), Christine Sharon (Cornell, Mich.), Sadie Strasser (Gladstone, Mich.), Deidra Weinberger (Mayville, Wis.) and Nicole Bublitz (Brown Deer, Wis.) have been staples in the Falcons lineup all season. The youthful roster won 16 conference games this season and will be looking for more this weekend in Alverno.