Gwynedd Valley, Pa. – (6/4/2025) – Gwynedd Mercy University produced a 5-5 Atlantic East Conference (AEC) record within their 12-25 overall finish to the 2025 season, but failed to make the league's championship tournament for the first time since 2022. Still, fifth-years, pitcher/second baseman Jocelyn Baumeister (Willow Grove, Pa.) and utility Shylynn Cordero (Allentown, Pa.), as well as sophomore middle infielder Avery Schwartz (Collegeville, Pa.) repeated on the all-league squad; the first garnered All-AEC First Team honors, while the second and third were named All-AEC Second Team.
 
Baumeister and Cordero added to brilliant collegiate careers with their impressive fifth-year seasons. The former pieced together outstanding final year as a career-year in strikeouts (115) cemented her as the program's all-time leader (328). She also finished her collegiate career as Gwynedd Mercy University's all-time leader in saves (1^st, 4), appearances (1^st, 79), starts (1^st, 57), complete games (T1^st, 47), and strikeouts per seven innings (1^st, 5.95 K/7), Meanwhile, the latter finished her collegiate career as the Griffins' all-time leader in games played (1^st, 160), games started (1^st, 153), at-bats (1^st, 480), and sacrifice hits (1^st, 16).
 
In 2025, Baumeister led the league in CG (1^st, 15), while ranking second in ERA (2^nd, 2.68), strikeouts (2^nd, 115), and batting average against (2^nd, .229 BAA). She also ranked among the AEC Top-10 in wins (3^rd, 9) and innings pitched (4^th, 112.2 IP), while offering offensive career-highs in batting average (.387 AVG; 36-for-93), slugging (.484 SLG), hits (36), triples (2), and runs-batted-in (24 RBI). Cordero was the everyday center fielder for the Griffins. She finished her season with a .343 (37-for-108)/.459/.370 slash line and was AEC Top-10 in runs (9^th, 26), walks (5^th, 16), and OBP (5^th, .469).
 
Schwartz followed up her all-conference freshman campaign with an equally impressive sophomore season. She was a regular starter at second base once again and ranked among the AEC Top-10 in triples (T7^th, 3) while producing 13 runs and 13 RBI with a .330 (31-for-94)/.370/.436 slash line.
 
The 2025 season began on March 9 with Gwynedd Mercy University annual spring trip to the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic. There, the Griffins celebrated wins over Penn State Hazelton (W, 9-0 (5) on Mar. 9), the State University of New York (SUNY) Morrisville (W, 9-1 (6) on Mar. 13), and – non-National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) member - St. Clair County Community College (W, 12-8 on Mar. 14). Baumeister went 1-2 with 22 strikeouts in 19.0 innings to garner a spot on the AEC Softball Weekly Honor Roll (Mar. 17), while junior shortstop Hannah Smith (Levittown, Pa.) was recognized as the AEC Softball Player of the Week for a 7-for-13 (.538) clip that produced five runs and a sacrifice fly in the win over the Mustangs.
 
Unfortunately, Gwynedd Mercy University's return north welcomed them with doubleheader losses to Penn State Brandywine (L, 4-5/L, 2-3 on Mar. 18), Haverford College (L, 2-13 (5)/L, 1-6 on Mar. 20), and Penn State Berks (L, 0-3/L, 3-4 on Mar. 22). Despite going 0-3 of the week, Baumeister was recognized on the AEC Softball Weekly Honor Roll (Mar. 24) for holding the Griffins' opponents to eight earned runs on 13 hits and three walks over 19.2 innings. She also struck out 21 while going 3-for-13 (.231) with a run scored and four clutch RBI.
 
The Red and Gold closed out March on a better note as splits versus Penn State Abington (W, 5-4 (8)/L, 4-6 (6) on Mar. 26), Rutgers-Camden (W, 6-5/L, 2-5 on Mar. 27), and AEC rival Marywood University (L, 3-6/W, 8-7 on Mar. 29) left their record at 5-16 heading to April. Baumeister continued her stay on the AEC Softball Weekly Honor Roll (Mar. 31) as the Griffins won all three of her starts (5 appearances); she allowed seven earned runs on 20 hits and 12 walks, while striking out 20 in 21.2 innings. Baumeister also went 6-for-21 (.286) with three runs and five RBI. She was joined on the Honor Roll by Cordero, who reached second place on Gwynedd Mercy University's all-time hits list with a 9-for-20 week that brought her career total to 157.
 
In April, poor weather pushed the Red and Gold next competition to the 10^th of the month. Gwynedd Mercy University lit the scoreboard up for eight runs in the third inning (10-4) of game one versus the defending AEC Champions, Centenary University (N.J.). They added three more in the fifth inning (13-6), providing senior Emily Murphy (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Baumeister plenty of headway to pick up their first win (1-8) and save (1) of the season, respectively. In game two, the Griffins used a triple from sophomore utility Hannah Cohen (North Wales, Pa.) (2-2) and a sacrifice fly from senior right fielder Carly Maw (Bensalem, Pa.) to gain a 3-2 lead, before adding four insurance runs in the fifth inning (7-2) and two more in the sixth inning of a 9-2 final. Baumeister earned the win (6-5) as she kept the Cyclones off track as she allowed one earned run on five hits, while striking out seven. She was rewarded with her fourth AEC Softball Weekly Honor Roll (Apr. 14) appearance and this time she was joined by Schwartz, who went 4-for-7 with two runs and four RBI in the twin bill.
 
The following week was much busier for the Griffins as they suffered a pair of league losses at Marymount University (L, 2-8/L, 3-17 (5) on Apr. 14) and dropped a doubleheader versus Eastern University (L, 2-11 (6)/L, 0-4 on Apr. 15), before evening up their AEC standing with a split against Immaculata University (L, 5-10/W, 6-3 on Apr. 17). Cohen was the latest Griffin to accompany Baumeister on the AEC Softball Weekly Honor Roll (Apr. 21). She went 9-for-21 (.429) with four RBI, while Baumeister earned a win (7-6) and recorded the 300^th strikeout of her collegiate career in a 6-3, game-two win over the Mighty Macs.
 
The final two weeks of the season saw the Red and Gold go 3-3 in non-conference dates with Albright College (W, 4-2/W, 7-5 on Apr. 22), Penn State Harrisburg (L, 5-9 (8)/W, 9-1 (6) on Apr. 24), and Chestnut Hill College (L, 11-12 (8)/L, 10-11 on Apr. 29), and conclude their AEC schedule with an April-27 doubleheader versus Neumann University (W, 3-2/L, 5-9). Gwynedd Mercy University tasted both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat against the Knights as both Senior Day contests reversed fortunes in the seventh innings; the Griffins won the first game 3-2 on a Schwartz three-run walk-off double, but lost the second 9-5 when the Knights plated seven runs in their final at-bat of the afternoon. Schwartz and Baumeister garnered AEC Softball Weekly Honor Roll (Apr. 28) recognition for their play down the final stretch; the former went 6-for-14 (.429) with two runs and five RBI while the latter went 8-for-18 (.444) with a run and four RBI. From the circle, Baumeister was 2-1 with a pair of saves over the slate; she held the Red and Gold's opponents to seven earned runs on nine hits and three walks, while striking out 16 over the final 17 innings of her collegiate career.
 
In addition to the All-AEC seasons of Baumeister, Cordero, and Schwartz, Gwynedd Mercy University also got strong offensive years from Cohen, Smith, and senior outfielder Ally McDaid Maple Glen, Pa.). Cohen was the everyday third baseman and led the Griffins in nearly every offensive category with 19 runs and 29 RBI on a .408 (42-of-103)/.417/.602 slash line. In her first season as a team captain, Smith finished with a .333 (35-for-105)/.379/.457 slash line that knocked in 18 and scored a team-high 35 runs. McDaid served as the Griffins' everyday left fielder and finished the season with a dozen (12) runs and five RBI on a .303 (20-for-66)/.356/.333 slash line.
 
Baumeister's brilliance in the circle was complemented by additional appearances from Murphy (14 appearances – 14 starts), sophomore Grace Carney (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) (11, 8), and a few others.