ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley softball team will look to defend its conference title this weekend as the third seed in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Championship. The double-elimination tournament will be hosted by top seed Misericordia University at Anderson Field in Dallas, starting on Thursday and concluding with the Championship game on Saturday.
 
LVC is on the road for the conference tournament for the first time since 2022, when they lost in the MAC Commonwealth Championship to Messiah at Alvernia University. The Dutchmen have played in a conference final four consecutive years, winning the last two as members of the MAC Freedom. They will face second-seeded FDU-Florham on Thursday in the opening game of the tournament at 1 p.m. Top-seeded Misericordia will play fourth-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology in the other game on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Friday's game times will be at 12, 2, and 4, with the winner's bracket game being the first game of the day before the two elimination games. Saturday's Championship round will be a 1 p.m. with the if necessary game to follow.
 
Ticket prices for each game are set by the MAC office and are as follows, and are sold online only as Misericordia is a cashless venue:
Adults - $10
Seniors (65+) - $5
Youth (7-17) - $5
MAC Students s/ valid ID - FREE
6 and under w/ Adult – FREE
 
The Dutchmen enter the weekend with a 23-15 overall record and a 10-4 mark in conference play. LVC dropped a pair of close games at FDU-Florham on March 29, falling 8-7 in the opener and 4-2 in game two. The Dutchmen swept Stevens in Annville by scores of 8-3 and 2-1 on April 3. They then fell to Misericordia by scores of 5-1 and 3-1 on April 18 at the Softball Park. Misericordia went 12-2 in conference play and is 25-11 overall. The Cougars split with FDU-Florham and swept Stevens in their conference meetings. FDU-Florham is 22-12-1 and went 10-4 in conference play. The Devils were in contention for the top seed and hosting duties until they got swept by Stevens last week. Stevens is 24-14 overall and 9-5 in conference play, needing the sweep of FDU to qualify for the playoffs.
 
Holly Grube has led the Dutchmen out of the leadoff spot with a .471 average and 27 runs batted in (RBIs). The sophomore became the first in program history to have over 60 hits in back-to-back years and has 65 hits, including a school-record 17 doubles, triples, and three home runs. She is 20-21 on steal attempts and has scored 36 runs. Maddy Gronback is having an outstanding senior season with a .431 average on 44 hits, including 15 doubles and three triples. The catcher has knocked in 27 runs and scored 13 times. Megan Heard has been a defensive stalwart at shortstop and has provided plenty of offense with a 3.96 average. The senior has 44 hits, including one double and two triples, with 21 RBIs, 26 runs scored, and 20 stolen bases. Miley Beachel is having a fantastic rookie season with a .319 average on 38 hits, including 10 doubles and three triples, 22 runs scored, and 18 RBIs. She is 7-8 on stolen base attempts.
 
Nikki Sellers is batting .293 as the team's first baseman. The senior has 27 hits, including four doubles and one home run, with 10 RBIs and nine runs scored. Katie Muller is batting .288 while playing a strong right field. She has 19 hits, including four doubles and two triples, with four stolen bases on four attempts, 13 runs, and eight RBIs. Nicole Kratz provides plenty of offense at third base with a .276 average on 24 hits, including six doubles, one triple, and two home runs, with 16 RBIs, and 10 runs scored. Bella Mackison has split time between catching and third base with a .274 average on 26 hits, including eight doubles and three home runs. The sophomore has scored 12 times and knocked in 20 runs.
 
Lauren Foster, Chrissy Ivers-Schultz, Sydney Zeigler, Avery Eaton, and Karena Justice have split significant playing time in the outfield. Foster is a strong defender who has started 14 games and made 24 putouts in center field. The sophomore has only taken 18 at-bats this year and has one hit. Ivers has started nine games and has six hits, including three doubles with a run scored. Zeigler has started 15 games and played in 26 with six hits, two RBIs, and five runs. Eaton has started 10 of the 24 games she has played in with a .280 average on seven hits, including one triple, and seven runs. Justice has played in 29 games and made 14 starts. She has five hits, seven stolen bases on nine attempts, and has scored 10 runs.
 
Madison Shiffer has seen time at first base with a .250 average in 18 games with 10 starts. She has nine hits, three of which were doubles, five runs, and five RBIs. Abby McElroy has played great at second base with eight hits, including one double and one home run, four runs, and seven RBIs in 25 games. Megan Ferenchak has four hits with one double in 14 at-bats. The catcher has knocked in three runs and scored twice. Aubrey Gahman has also provided production this season with two runs in six games.
 
The Dutchmen have used four pitchers this year, with three splitting most of the time in the circle. Abby Reed is 8-8 in 90.1 innings spanning 20 appearances. The sophomore has struck out 41 hitters and has a team-leading 2.87 ERA. Beachel has been outstanding in the circle with a 9-4 record and three shutouts. The first-year has a 3.35 ERA in 87.2 innings pitched with 46 strikeouts. Grube has pitched 55 innings and is 6-3 in 13 appearances. The sophomore has a 4.07 ERA with 28 strikeouts. Ivers has pitched 20.2 innings in relief with a 2.37 ERA and seven strikeouts.
 
The Dutchmen have won the past two conference titles with shutouts in the Championship game the past two years. Last year, they defeated Misericordia 2-0 after the Cougars forced the if necessary game. Heard hit a walk-off single up the middle to give the Dutchmen a 1-0 victory over DeSales in 2024.

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