Reading, Pa. (May 2, 2019) - Alvernia University enters this weekend's MAC Commonwealth Softball tournament as the third seed, and will take on second seeded Albright College at 12:00 PM in game two of the opening day of the Championship, which is hosted at Messiah College.

The Championship gets started at 10:00 AM on Friday with #5 Lebanon Valley taking on #4 Widener University. Top-seeded Arcadia will take on the game one winner at 2:00 PM on Friday. The tournament follows a double-elimination format and will run through Sunday, May 5.

2019 is the second straight year that Alvernia had made it to the MAC Commonwealth Championship. The Golden Wolves made it as the fifth seed in 2018. They made it to the second day of the tournament, but fell to Lebanon Valley in a loser's bracket elimination game.

Prior to 2018, Alvernia has made it to the MAC Commonwealth Championship three times. Alvernia won it all in 2012, and fell in the finals in 2014. Alvernia made it in as the fifth seed in 2015, but was eliminated on day one.

#3 Alvernia University
The Golden Wolves finished the regular season with an overall record of 24-15-1, and a MAC Commonwealth record of 10-6. After going 8-0 to lead off their MAC Commonwealth schedule, Alvernia dropped six of their last eight MAC Commonwealth games, and ended a five game conference losing streak with a 14-2 win over Lycoming College in the final game of the regular season. Earlier this week, Riley Shields, JoAnnah Lim, Analise Fouracre earned First Team All-MAC Commonwealth honors, with Sarah Reinert earning Second Team honors, and Ally Decker getting Honorable Mention. Offensively, Alvernia leads the MAC Commonwealth a .333 team batting average. They have a total of 377 combined hits, which is 85 hits more than Lebanon Valley, who sits in second with 292 hits. Individually, Lim, Reinert, and Fouracre are leading Alvernia's offensive efforts. The trio have combined for a .431 batting average. Lim is second in the conference with an individual batting average of .466. Reinert leads the conference with 58 hits. Also leading Alvernia's offense is Sarah Bystrycki, who has driven in a conference leading 38 runs on 44 hits. In the circle, Shields and Decker have split time. Shields has a 3.34 ERA with 79 strikeouts over 111 innings pitched. Decker has a 2.71 ERA with 45 strikeouts over 98 innings pitched.

#1 Arcadia University
The top-seeded Knights fell to Messiah College in the final game of the 2018 MAC Commonwealth Championship. Arcadia finished the season at 28-12 overall and 13-3 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Knights only conference losses come against Lebanon Valley, Albright, and Stevenson. Earlier this season, Arcadia swept Alvernia by 9-1 and 2-1 decisions. Arcadia is led by MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year, Jackie Bilotti. Bilottti, who has won Player of the Year for three straight years and was Rookie of the Year her freshman year, is hitting .452 on the season with 57 hits and 20 RBIs. She is also 20-21 in stolen base attempts. Mary Pat Murray, who was named MAC Commonwealth Pitcher of the Year, has a blistering 0.91 ERA over 115 and two thirds innings pitched. She has struckout 83 batters and has a 13-4 record with 15 complete games. Arcadia's other starting pitcher, Kylee Schwind has a 2.33 ERA with 100 strikeouts over 117 innings pitched.

#2 Albright College
The second-seeded Lions finished the regular season at 23-15, and were 13-3 in MAC Commonwealth play. 2019 is the first time since 2007 that the Lions have made it to the MAC Commonwealth Championship. The Lions enter Friday on a 12 game winning streak, including an eight game MAC Commonwealth winning streak. Their last loss came on April 10 with a 5-3 loss to Arcadia University in game two of the doubleheader. The Lions took game one, 5-4. The win streak also included a sweep of Alvernia with a 7-3 win and 5-3 win. Albright's offense is led by Camille Sears who has a .420 batting average with 50 hits and three home runs. Brooke Yerger is leading the Lions with 51 hits and has a .392 batting average. Allison Melahn, who was named MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year, leads Albright in the circle. The freshman has pitched in every single MAC Commonwealth game for the Lions since April 7.

#4 Widener University
The fourth-seeded Pride went 24-14 overall with a 9-7 MAC Commonwealth record. They have won their last three games of the regular season to get into the MAC Commonwealth Championship. The Golden Wolves split with Alvernia earlier in the season. Alvernia fell in game one 5-3, but came back and took game two 9-1. The Pride's offense is led by Carli Benozich, who is batting .378 with 48 hits and 32 RBIs. Ally McDowell also has 48 hits for the Pride and is batting .375 on the season with 25 RBIs. Kait Jaworksi leads Widener's pitching staff with a 3.69 ERA, 72 strikeouts and a 14-6 record over 126 and two thirds innings pitched.

#5 Lebanon Valley
The Dutchmen snuck in as the fifth seed with an 18-20 overall record and a 7-9 performance in MAC Commonwealth play. The Duthcmen pulled out a must-win game against Arcadia on the final day of the regular season. The Golden Wolves swept the Dutchmen back in March to open up their MAC Commonwealth schedule. The Pride are led by Rylee Shockley on offense, who is batting .417 with 40 hits. She has three home runs on the year and 11 doubles with 25 RBIs. Lexi Windsor is the Dutchmen's go-to option in the circle. She has a 2.45 ERA with 93 strikeouts. Windsor is 11-9 with 17 complete games and five shutouts.

The 2019 MAC Commonwealth Championship will be held at Messiah College' Starry Softball Field starting tomorrow, Friday, May 3 at 10:00 AM. Admission is $6.00 for adults, $5.00 for seniors, and $3.00 for students.

For the most up-to-date information on this year's Championship, visit the 2019 Championship Central.