Lancaster, Pa. – (4/28/2024) – With the conclusion of the regular season and league schedules, Conference Commissioner Jessica Huntley has officially released the seeding for the upcoming
2024 Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Softball Championship Tournament. A 5-7 league record earns Gwynedd Mercy University (16-21, 5-7) the #4 seed and a POD A placement with #1 Centenary University and #6 Cabrini University. Meanwhile, POD B consists of #2 Marymount University, #3 Marywood University, and #5 Neumann University.
AEC POD play begins on Friday, May 3, at the home of the top two seeds; the Griffins will play the Cavaliers in a 2:00 p.m. contest and the hosting Cyclones at 4:00 p.m. Day two of AEC POD play will take place on Saturday, May 4, with the double-elimination tournament eventually producing a three-game championship series at the home of the highest remaining seed on Friday, May 10, and Saturday, May 11.
Gwynedd Mercy University split their AEC season-opening doubleheader with Cabrini University on March 25 (L, 7-10/W, 12-1 (5)) and split with Marywood University on April 7 (L, 0-3/W, 3-1), before their twin bill versus Marymount University was halted in the 10
th inning of game two. The Saints won game one 6-3 and eventually won the conclusion of game two on April 21; 2-1. In between, an April-13 split (L, 4-6/W, 7-0) with the top-seeded Cyclones and an April-20 sweep (W, 5-2/W, 4-1) at Neumann University left the Griffins with a 5-7 league record and a 2-2 standing versus their upcoming AEC POD play opponents.
The Griffins were led by seniors; pitcher/first baseman
Jocelyn Baumeister (Willow Grove, Pa.), centerfielder
Shylynn Cordero (Allentown, Pa.), and third baseman
Grace Scally (Philadelphia, Pa.). All three reached significant career milestone in brilliant swan song campaigns. Baumeister surpassed 200 career wins and continues to extend the program's marks for career whiffs; she carries a 6-5 record and the league's third-best earned run average (ERA) with a career-low 1.94 earned by holding opponents to 23 earned runs 76 hits and 13 walks. She has struck out 69 which currently ranks her fifth among the AEC pitchers. Meanwhile, Cordero and Scally captained the Red and Gold defense as well as fueled the Griffin offense. The former leads the AEC in walks with a career-high 23 and has paired it with the league's sixth-best batting average (.368; 39-for-106) for 25 runs (4
th in AEC) and four runs-batted-in (RBI). The latter holds AEC Top-10 numbers in batting average (10
th, .358; 38-for-106), slugging percentage (9
th, .509), hits (7
th, 38), RBI (3
rd, 28), total bases (7
th, 54), walks (T8
th, 10), as well as the AEC lead in doubles with a career-high 16.
Please visit GwyneddAthletics.com following Friday's AEC POD play results and updates to the Griffins' postseason schedule.
