West Chester Readies To Host West Virginia Wesleyan In Atlantic Super Regional

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WEST CHESTER, Pa. – West Chester University locks horns with West Virginia Wesleyan in the 2017 NCAA Division II Softball Atlantic Region Super Regional on South Campus Thursday and Friday at noon each day.

Tickets to the 2017 NCAA Atlantic Super Regional are $5 for adults, $3 for students and senior citizens and $2 for children under the age of 6.
 
The Best-of-3 series is a rematch of the 2014 Super Regional and will decide one of eight spots in the national championships Memorial Day Weekend in Salem, Va. This is the third time that West Chester (47-11) has ventured this far into the postseason. The Golden Rams lost the series, 2 games to 0, against PSAC East rival Kutztown in 2013, before turning around and defeating West Virginia Wesleyan, 2 games to 1, in 2014.
 
West Virginia Wesleyan (47-7) is making its fourth straight trip to the NCAA Super Regional and fifth in the last six years. The Bobcats, ranked seventh nationally in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches' Association poll, are still searching for their first trip to the national championships, during this latest stretch.
 
For the Golden Rams, it is extra special for four seniors, who were just freshmen when West Chester stamped its first ticket to the national championships in 2014. Senior team captain Hayley Bollinger, center fielder Sarah Walasavage, outfielder Shannon Gray and first baseman Micaela McSpadden know that this opportunity does not come around all the time.
 
"This is the best time of the season," Bollinger noted. "Everyone wants to be in the playoffs. Just think of all the teams who are sitting at home right now. We just need to work hard and stay focused.
 
"(The senior class) went to the national championships our freshman year. We know how that feels, and we want the underclassmen to realize what it takes to get there. (The seniors) have a goal of getting back to the national championships, and we want the underclassmen to understand that because that is what is going to help propel this program forward for years to come."
 
"We talk a lot at the beginning of every season about doing something new and leaving your legacy on the program that is unique," 14-year head coach Diane Lokey mentioned. "For this group, winning the school's first PSAC championship was that thing. I am really proud of them for that."
 
Walasavage is the only one of the three seniors to see any significant playing time during that run to the national championship round in 2014. Even at that, the girl who is hitting .391 heading into Thursday's Super Regional was the 10th person in the order – meaning she only played the field and did not hit.
 
"I think as freshmen, we just didn't realize what making it this far really meant and what a great accomplishment it is to play in a Super Regional for the chance to go to the national championships," Walasavage said.
 
Teams don't make it this far in the season without strong pitching and some dazzling plays in the field to boot. Walasavage came up with a nice catch last week in Virginia to rob a Shepherd player of a home run Sunday afternoon.
"I didn't really know where the wall was," Walasavage said shyly. "So, I just kinda stuck my glove up, ran into the fence. But, it was alright because that was a great feeling. I had never robbed somebody before.
 
"Maybe (pitcher Brooke Harner) owes me a couple of Dunkin Donuts coffee's, huh?" Walasavage said laughing.
 
All kidding aside, the Golden Rams have bonded at the right time of the year to win a conference championship and make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament. With a pair of pitchers inside the circle the likes of Hannah Vet for West Virginia Wesleyan and Amanda Houck for West Chester, runs will be at a premium and defense the key to getting out of innings.
 
The action gets under way on Thursday with the first pitch at 12 p.m. West Chester, ranked 18th in the latest NFCA poll against No. 7 West Virginia Wesleyan.