Overview
The #4 seeded Caldwell University softball team faces #5 Saint Anselm College in their opening game of the 2022 NCAA Division II Softball Championship on Thursday, May 12 at 2:30 pm. The East Region 1 bracket will be hosted by Adelphi University in Garden City, NY. The Cougars enter Thursday's game with a 37-15 record, while the Hawks are 28-15.
 
Multimedia
Live stats and video will be available for Thursday's game.
Live stats: https://aupanthers.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/adelphi
 
Scouting the Cougars (37-15, 19-5 CACC)
The Cougars enter Thursday's game with a 37-15 record and finished third in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference with a 19-5 record. Caldwell boasted nine all-conference players this spring led by CACC Rookie of the Year Jessica Klein, who leads the conference with a .465 average. The freshman outfielder ranks fourth in the CACC with 25 stolen bases. Junior third base Courtney Grundhauser led the team with 10 homeruns and 45 RBI, while adding 11 doubles three triples, 15 stolen bases and a .373 batting average. Senior Emma Cooney is batting .405 this season with four homeruns and 28 RBI, while senior first base Maya Rodriguez is batting .401 with three homeruns and 37 RBI. Senior pitcher Mariah Culver is currently 16-7 with 12 complete games and a 2.46 ERA. She has struck out 96 batters this season in 130 2/3 innings pitcher.
 
Scouting the Hawks (28-15, 20-6 NE-10)
The Hawks enter Thursday's contest with a 28-15 overall record and finished second in the Northeast-10 Conference with a 20-6 record. Saint Anselm has five all-conference selections led by catcher Bailey Cain, who leads the Hawks with a .339 average along with five doubles, two homeruns and 27 RBI. Third base Gracie O'Hara is posting a .326 average with seven doubles, one triple, three homeruns and 21 RBI, while shortstop Bre Klaiber is batting .299 with five doubles, three triples, five homeruns and 27 RBI. Haile Hicks led the Hawks pitching staff with a 21-4 record with one save and 21 complete games. She currently has a 1.17 ERA with 162 strikeouts in 173 2/3 innings pitched.
 
Next Up
The winners of the first round game will face the winner of the #1 Adelphi/#8 Pace University match-up at 10 am at Friday. The loser of this game will face the loser of the first game at 12:30 pm on Friday.
 
Caldwell Cougars Online
For more information regarding Caldwell Athletics log on to CaldwellAthletics.com or follow Caldwell Athletics on Twitter @CaldwellCougars, on Instagram @CaldwellAthletics and Like Caldwell University Athletics on Facebook. Fans can follow the Caldwell Softball team on Instagram @caldwellusoftball.