GETTYSBURG, Pa. – After finishing Centennial Conference runner-up last season, the Gettysburg College softball team has its sights set on claiming its first championship in nine seasons this weekend at Washington College.
 
Gettysburg (25-11, 11-5 CC) fell one run short of the conference title last spring with a 2-1 loss in nine innings to McDaniel College (24-16, 10-6 CC) in the finale. The Bullets will draw a rematch with the Green Terror in Friday's opening game, while top seed and host Washington (20-18, 11-5 CC) will face Haverford College (20-18, 9-7 CC) in Friday's other contest.
 
The three-day, double-elimination event continues Saturday with three games and concludes Sunday with the championship contest at noon.
 
Gettysburg is the odd-man out in this weekend's title race in terms of recent championships. McDaniel, Haverford, and Washington have won titles in each of the last three seasons. The Bullets' last Centennial crown came in 2007.
 
Gettysburg tied Washington for the top spot in the regular-season standings, but the Shorewomen held the tiebreaker for hosting rights. The No. 2 seed represents the Bullets' best seeding since it entered the 2010 playoffs in the same position.
 
The Orange and Blue pace the conference in a number of statistical categories, including batting average (.341), slugging percentage (.496), triples (16), ERA (2.87), and shutouts (8). Seven members of this weekend's projected starting lineup are hitting .300 or better and five players have accounted for 20 or more RBI.
 
Gettysburg is seeking its fourth CC title overall. The program claimed crowns in 1994 and 1999 prior to the start of tournament play.
 
Championship Schedule
Friday, May 6
Game 1: Gettysburg vs. McDaniel – 2 p.m.
Game 2: Haverford at Washington – 4:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, May 7
Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – 11 a.m.
Game 4: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 1:30 p.m.
Game 5: Winnter of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 – 4 p.m.
 
Sunday, May 8
Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5 – 12 p.m.
Game 7: If Necessary – 2:30 p.m.
 
Media Coverage
Washington College will be providing live statistics and for the first time in softball, live video with play-by-play commentary of this weekend's event at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/washcoll/.
 
The Playoff Field
Washington College (20-18, 11-5 CC)
Seed: No. 1
Last CC Title: 2013
Total CC Titles: 1
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
Gettysburg College (25-11, 11-5 CC)
Seed: No. 2
Last CC Title: 2007
Total CC Titles: 3
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
McDaniel College (24-16, 10-6 CC)
Seed: No. 3
Last CC Title: 2015
Total CC Titles: 7
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
Haverford College (20-18, 9-7 CC)
Seed: No. 4
Last CC Title: 2014
Total CC Titles: 2
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
Tournament History
This weekend's event marks the 16th Centennial Conference Championship Tournament. Eight different teams have claimed tournament titles since 2001with McDaniel leading the way with four. Gettysburg claimed its only tournament championship in 2007 at Ursinus College. The Bullets are making their 11th appearance in the CC playoffs and the team owns a record of 16-17 overall in the event. Last year's win by McDaniel over Gettysburg was the first championship decided in extra innings.
 
Gettysburg Notes
 

• Gettysburg closed the regular season and wrapped up a playoff spot with a sweep of Haverford last Saturday. The Bullets walked off 9-1 in the sixth inning on a grand slam by junior Sam Misurell (Franklin Park, N.J./Bishop George Ahr) in the opening game. The Fords erased a 4-0 deficit in the seventh inning of the nightcap before a game-tying home run by sophomore Jessica Casale (Cranford, N.J./Cranford) and a game-winning RBI single by freshman Meredith Taylor (Hamilton, N.J./Northern Burlington) gave the Bullets a 6-5 victory.
   
• The team leads the conference in batting average at .341. That is the best season mark since the 2003 squad hit .352. Seven starters are hitting .300 or better.
   
• The Bullets set a new program standard for doubles with 76 this spring. That broke the old mark of 75 set just last season.
   
• Five players have picked up weekly honors from the conference this spring. Sophomore Aileen Reilly (Huntington Station, N.Y./St. Anthony's) has been named CC Pitcher of the Week twice. Sophomore Wendy Folfas (Westminster, Md./McDonogh School), senior Steph Zengel (High Bridge, N.J./North Hunterdon), junior Jamie Abell (Glenn Dale, Md./Elizabeth Seton), and sophomore Mykaela Twitchell (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) have all been named CC Player of the Week this spring.  
   
• Senior Steph Zengel enters the postseason as the program's all-time leader in hits (209), doubles (51), RBI (124), and total bases (308). She ranks second on the conference's all-time hit list behind Washington's Lauren Dockrill (221).
   
• Sophomore Mykaela Twitchell tied the conference record and shattered the school record with three home runs in the second game against Susquehanna last week. Twitchell hit a two-run shot in the first inning and a solo blast in the second before breaking the program record with a two-run homer down the right-field line in the sixth inning. She has also tied Gettysburg's single-season home run mark with seven this spring.
   
• Sophomore Aileen Reilly closed the regular season by allowing no earned runs over 11 innings in two starts against Haverford. She paces the conference in games started (20), wins (15), complete games (17), and shutouts (4).
   
• Gettysburg Head Coach Annette Hunt-Shepherd has won at least 20 games in each of her three seasons at the helm and owns a 75-41 record with the Bullets. She is seeking her first conference title since leading Ohio Northern University to the Ohio Athletic Conference crown in 2010.