ANNVILLE, Pa. – The top-seeded Lebanon Valley Softball team will host the three-day Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom Championship starting on Thursday and concluding on Saturday. The Dutchmen earned the honor on hosting by finishing atop the MAC Freedom standings for the second consecutive year.
 
The Dutchmen will take on fourth-seeded DeSales University at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday in the second game of the day. Second-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology will play third-seeded Misericordia University at 1 p.m. in Thursday's other matchup. The full schedule of games for the weekend is below.

Game 1 (May 1 at 1:00 PM): No. 3 Misericordia vs. No. 2 Stevens
Game 2 (May 1 at 3:30 PM): No. 4 DeSales vs. No. 1 Lebanon Valley
 
Game 3 (May 2 at 11:00 AM): Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
Game 4 (May 2 at 1:30 PM): Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
Game 5 (May 2 at 4:00 PM): Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner
 
Game 6 (May 3 at 1:00 PM): Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner
Game 7 (May 3 at 3:00 PM): If Necessary
 
Ticket prices for each game are set by the MAC office and are as follows with LVC being a cash-only venue:
Adults - $8
Seniors (65+) - $6
Youth (7-17) - $6
MAC Students s/ valid ID - FREE
6 and under w/ Adult – FREE
 
LVC is 26-12 heading into the weekend and went 13-1 in conference play with the lone defeat coming in a split against DeSales the second weekend of conference play. Stevens is 20-20 overall and 9-5 in conference dropping both games to the Dutchmen the opening weekend of conference play in New Jersey. Misericordia is 26-12 and 8-6 in the conference after sweeping Stevens this past weekend to get into the tournament. The Dutchmen swept the Cougars in Dallas earlier this month. DeSales got swept by King's on Sunday to finish 7-7 in conference play and is 16-18 overall. DSU and LVC played a pair of one-run games in March as the Dutchmen won the opener 8-7 and the Bulldogs took the second game 6-5.
 
Holly Grube has led the Dutchmen this spring with a .434 batting average and a 2.53 earned-run average in the circle. The first-year is 11-6 with two saves in 103 innings pitched with 47 strikeouts. At the plate, she has 53 hits including eight doubles, four triples, and two home runs with 26 runs scored and 22 runs batted in. Maddy Gronback has been strong behind the plate and as the designated player with a .390 average. She has 39 hits including 10 doubles, one triple, and one home run with a team-leading 29 RBIs and 11 runs scored. Erin Pattillo is batting .383 with 31 hits including four doubles and has scored 18 runs while knocking in 20. On the base paths, she leads the team with 21 stolen bases on 22 attempts. Megan Heard has been steady at shortstop all year and is hitting .360 with an on-base percentage of .430 as the leadoff hitter. Heard has 36 hits including four doubles and a triple with 23 runs scored and nine RBI while going a perfect 13-for-13 on stolen base attempts.
 
Mackenzie Willey is playing her best heading into the weekend and has a .318 average with 27 hits, 10 doubles, one triple, and three home runs on the season. She has scored 19 times and knocked in 12 runs. Nicole Kratz is having a strong season at third base with numerous great plays in the field and a .272 average. The junior has 28 hits including 10 doubles, two triples, and two home runs with 19 runs scored and 15 RBI. Lexi Smith has battled injuries but is stilling batting .293 with 17 hits including a double. She is 9-for-10 in stolen base attempts and has scored 11 runs. Bella Mackison has split time behind the plate with Gronback and is batting .258 with 23 hits including 12 doubles and one home run. She has knocked in 20 runs and scored 14 times. Julia Craig is one RBI away from tying the program record for career RBIs and is batting .208 on the season with three doubles, 17 RBIs, and eight runs scored.
 
The Dutchmen have gotten excellent production off the bench as Emily Mitchell is batting .391 with 18 hits including two double, 10 RBIs, and nine runs scored. Mitchell has been strong at second base behind Grube. Katie Muller is hitting .345 with two doubles, a triple, nine runs scored and seven RBIs while Nikki Sellers has a .300 average and knocked in seven runs with 12 hits. LVC has also received significant contributions from Maddie Russell, Abby McElroy, and Lauren Foster off the bench.
 
Abby Reed has been a great complement to Grube in the pitching circle with a 3.15 ERA and 10-4 record in 88.2 innings. She has struck out 45 batters and recorded two shutouts. Maycee White is 4-1 in her 13 appearances with a 4.84 ERA and five strikeouts in 44.2 innings. Maura Savoca recorded her first collegiate win on Monday against Messiah and has a 3.86 ERA in 4.2 innings spanning three appearances. Caroline Hinkelman has also since time in the circle making four appearances for a total of 7.2 innings this season.
 
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