For the first time in school history the East Central University softball team will be dancing in the NCAA DII Tournament, as they earned the Great American Conference automatic bid after winning the 2015 GAC Tournament Championship.  The Tigers (32-14) drew the  No. 8 seed in the Central Regional and will face No. 1 Augustana College, Friday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m. in the first round of the double-elimination tournament.

Tournament Notes

The Coverage
Fans who can't be at the game can find links to live stats, live video on ECUTigers.com.  Go to the softball schedule page.

Against the Tournament Field
Besides the host Vikings, the Tigers will be fighting for the title with No. 4 Central Oklahoma and No. 5 Winona State.  The only team in the tournament field that ECU has faced previously is Central Oklahoma.  The Tigers are 15-30 against UCO since 1999, with the last meeting with the Bronchos coming in 2011 when ECU went 2-1.

Scouting the Vikings
Augustana College is 50-9 so far this season and claimed the runner-up title at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament last weekend.

Sarah Kennedy is the top producer at the plate, with a .495 average, 99 hits, 63 runs and 68 RBIs.  Caitlin Nichol also adds a .446 average, 86 hits and 52 RBIs.  Jenelle Trautmann is also a key hitter and a pitcher.  Trautmann hit .431 and has a 1.88 ERA.  She has gone 29-3 in 194 innings pitched and struck out 276.

Scouting the Bronchos
UCO is 40-18 this season and went 1-2 in the  Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament.  

Kaylee Brunson is the top producer at the plate, with a .388 average, 81 hits and 26 RBIs.  Ashton Smith adds a .387 average, with 45 RBIs.

Kelsey Berlin is the top pitcher for the Bronchos, with a 3.13 ERA, 11-7 record and 77 strikeouts in 138.2 innings.

Scouting the Warriors
Winona State is 46-12 after claiming the NSIC Tournament title over Augustana last weekend.

McKenna Laresen is the top player at the plate, with a .391 average, 54 hits and 34 RBIs.  Reed Karsten adds a  3.90 average, 78 hits and 37 RBIs.

Hanna Lythberg is the top pitcher in the circle, with a 1.36 ERA, 23-7 record and 153 Ks in 179.2 innings pitched.

Claiming the First Title
The Tigers claimed their first GAC tournament title last weekend, going 4-1 in the tournament.  ECU was represented by five players on the All-Tournament team.  Juniors Taylor Davis, Autumn Suydam and Lauren Reeves and senior Samantha McGraw were all named to the team, while junior Lacey Paulk claimed the Tournament MVP title.

GAC Honors
The Tigers were well represented on the 2015 All-GAC Teams, with three first team picks, one second team selection and three honorable mention picks.

Junior Marissa Shaffer was the first member of the All-GAC First Team after going 12-6 in the circle in the regular season, including four shutouts and a team-best 70 Ks.

Junior Jordynn VanPelt (OF) earned her second All-GAC Honor as a member of the First Team, after earning honorable mention honors as a freshman. This season she has led the team with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs, while hitting .370.

Junior Taylor Davis (DP/UTL) is the final of the All-GAC First Team.  Davis leads the team and the GAC with a .451 batting average and adds 23 RBIs, 10 doubles, three triples and three home runs.

ECU was also represented by senior Samantha McGraw (3B) as an All-GAC Second Team pick.  The final three players to pick up honors were junior Lacey Paulk (P), seniors Kaile Marcum (2B), and junior Autumn Suydam (OF), all honorable mention selection.

Pounding Away at the Plate
The Tigers have had a strong season at the plate this season hitting .333 as a team (No. 25 NCAA), while only allowing a .269 mark.  Juniors Taylor Davis and Autumn Suydam not only lead ECU, but also the GAC in batting average and are ranked No. 31 and No. 37 in the NCAA.  Davis posted a .447 mark, while Suydam adds a .441 average.

Shutting Down the Competition
While the Tigers have been banging away at the plate, the ECU pitching staff has been doing its part to keep runs off the scoreboard.  The Tigers have scored 293 times and held the opposition to just 199 for the year.  That has resulted in 10 shutouts by the pitching staff and allowing just a 3.52 ERA for the year.  Junior Marissa Shaffer leads the staff with four shutouts (No. 2 GAC/ 71 NCAA), while junior Lacey Paulk has four shutouts (No. 2 GAC) and senior Brianna Nunley has shut down the competition twice (No. 6 GAC).

Davis Powering Through
Junior Taylor Davis is not just leading the league and the team in batting average, she has had key hits for the Tigers.  Davis is hitting .417 with two outs this year, .615 when advancing runners and .698 as a leadoff hitter.  She has scored 39 times and adds 24 RBIs, while 18 of her 59 hits are extra-bases hit (11 doubles, three triples and four home runs).

National Strength
For the second-straight season senior Lacey Williams-Wenholm was honored by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and Muscle Milk as 2015 All-American Athlete Award recipients.  The honor recognizes a student-athlete's athletic accomplishments and their dedication to strength and conditioning, with strong strength and conditioning testing numbers and a positive attitude every day in the program.

Davis Player of the Week
Junior Taylor Davis was named the GAC Player of the Week for April 14 after helping the Tigers to a 5-1 performance.  Davis hit .632 and reached base 18 times in 25 plate appearances. After two multi-hit games against Southeastern Oklahoma State, she went 7-for-11 against Southwestern Oklahoma State. In game three, she hit a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning. For the week, she scored nine runs and stole four bases.

Shaffer Player of the Week
Junior Marissa Shaffer earned her first GAC honor, being named the GAC Pitcher of the Week for March 31.  Shaffer picked up two wins and a save as part of the Tigers' 4-1 week. She opened her week by closing out an 11-10 win against Southeastern Oklahoma State, with two strikeouts in her lone inning of work. In two games against UAM, she threw two complete games, allowed only seven hits and struck out eight. For the week, she held hitters to a .135 batting average.

VanPelt Player of the Week
Junior Jordynn VanPelt picked up the Tiger's first honor of the 2015 season, as she was named the GAC Softball Player of the Week for March 10.  VanPelt led the Tiger offense to a four-game sweep of Harding. In the series, she hit .571 with three home runs, a double a triple and a stolen base. She scored six times and drove in seven. In game three, she led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a game-winning home run. She ranks third in the conference with six home runs and ninth with 17 RBI.