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The Shaw University Softball Challenge is a three-day tournament featuring 28 teams from Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. For many teams the tournament will serve as the season opener.

The Rock will play five games over the three days beginning with a 1 p.m. game Friday against Ohio Valley and a 3 p.m. game against Bluefield State. Slippery Rock will play Ohio Valley again Saturday at 2 p.m. and West Virginia State at 4 p.m. and will close the tournament with a 1 p.m. game against Shepherd Sunday.

Scouting The Rock: The Rock was picked to finish fourth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division and is returning 15 experienced players and welcoming 11 new talents to the team. 

Senior All-PSAC-West performer Jenna Geibel returns at third base after a stellar 2012 season. Geibel started all 33 games and led the team with a .398 batting average. She tallied 37 hits, 15 runs scored and 22 RBIs.

Geibel is joined by last years second-best bat in the SRU lineup in senior catcher Katie Saluga, who appeared in 31 games and hit .354 on the season. She tallied 34 hits, a team-high 10 doubles, two home runs and 20 RBIs.

Sophomore Ashley Knight returns as the top pitcher for The Rock. Knight earned a 5-8 record as a freshman last season and recorded 72 strikeouts in 86-and-a-third innings.

Other top returners include sophomore outfielder Alaynna Beers (.222, 4 RBI), junior first baseman Breanna Tongel (.207, 6 RBI) and junior first basemen/DP Kristin Kaminski (.167, 1 RBI).

Scouting Bluefield State: The Big Blues enter the Shaw Tournament with a 1-4 overall record this spring.  Their win against Benedict College snapped a 30-game losing steak.

Returning for Bluefield is 2012 offensive leader, junior Brittany Cook. Cook started 34 of 35 games played and had a .234 average. She had four doubles, one triple, two home runs and four RBIs last year.

Returning to the mound for the Big Blues is junior Shandi Myles. Myles pitched 95-and-a-third innings and tallied 50 strikeouts.

Series: SRU and Bluefield last met in 2005 for two games with each team winning one of the meetings.

Scouting Ohio Valley: The Shaw University Softball Challenge marks the season opener for the Fighting Scots, who finished the 2012 season with a record of 7-30.

Returning for OVU is senior outfielder Brittany Shepley, who started 46 games last season. Shepley had a .383 average with 62 doubles, 12 triples, two homeruns and two RBIs.

Returning to the mound for the Fighting Scots is junior Ally Southall, who compiled 105 strikeouts in 119-and-two-thirds innings.

Series: Slippery Rock owns a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series. The first time the teams met was in 2006 and the last meeting was just last season when The Rock earned a 17-5 victory.


WVSU finished the 2012 season with a 47-15 record. Returning for the Yellow Jackets is junior utility player Mattie Best. Best appeared in all 62 games and was an offensive leader with a .376 average. She had 44 runs, 25 doubles, four triples, four home runs and 61 RBIs.

The Yellow Jackets also return Sara Pelegreen and Kelsey Lorraine, both senior pitchers. Pelegreen pitched 170-and-two-thirds innings and had 111 strikeouts and Lorraine tallied 153 strikeouts in 129 innings.

Series: SRU and WVSU last played in 2010 when the Yellow Jackets defeated The Rock, 9-2. That has been the only game played between the teams.

Scouting Shepherd: The Shaw Tournament will be the beginning of the 2013 season for the Rams. They will open the tournament against West Chester.

The Rams finished the 2012 season with a record of 31-24. Sophomore outfielder Tayler Schaefer will return as the Rams offensive leader. Schaefer tallied 18 runs scored and 51 hits. She ended the season with a .321 average with 12 doubles, two triples, one homerun and 30 RBIs.

Senior pitcher Tiffany Biggs returns for Shepherd after throwing 185-and-a-third innings and recording 149 strikeouts.

Series:  Slippery Rock and Shepherd split their last two meetings, which came during the 2007 season. 


Shaw Tournament Schedule

Date	Opponent	Time
Feb. 15	Ohio Valley University	1 p.m.
Feb. 15	Bluefield State College	3 p.m.
Feb. 16	Ohio Valley University	2 p.m.
Feb. 16	West Virginia State University	4 p.m.
Feb. 17	Shepherd University	1 p.m.