Softball Preview: CAA Championship

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» The University of Delaware softball team is in North Carolina this week for the 2022 CAA Championship. The Blue Hens are the No. 1 seed after clinching its first CAA Regular Season Championship. Delaware will play its first game at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 12 against the winner of the matchup between No. 4 Elon and No. 5 Charleston.

» The Blue & Gold received some early hardware on Wednesday as five Blue Hens were selected for All-CAA honors and UD earned two major awards. Hanna Garber was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year and Head Coach Jen Steele was selected the CAA Coach of the Year. Delaware had a league-high five players selected to all-conference teams. Hanna Garber was named to the All-CAA First Team for the second-straight year, while Brittney Mendoza and Emily Winburn each received their first selections to the first team. Julz Garber and Graceyn Frost both earned nods to the All-CAA Second Team and Frost was also named to the All-CAA Rookie Team.

» The Blue Hens earned the top seed after going 28-14 overall and finished atop the conference standings with an 11-4 record. UD ranks second in the CAA in hitting (.279), pitching (2.86) and fielding (.966). Hanna Garber leads the offense with a .368 batting average and 22 extra-base hits, while Mendoza is batting .336 on the season with a team-high 11 doubles and Brooke Glanden is hitting at a .321 clip with nine home runs and 38 RBI. Winburn is 12-8 on the season with a 2.75 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 122.1 innings. Frost leads the league with 13 wins and has a 2.76 ERA and 97 strikeouts.

» Hofstra is the tournament's No. 2 seed after going 13-6 in conference play. Chelsea Manto leads the offense with a .363 batting average and is atop the conference with 61 hits. Meghan Giordano has driven in 31 RBI while scoring 29 runs. In the circle, Julia Apsel leads the team in innings pitched (95.0) and ERA (2.87) while ranking second in strikeouts (61).

» The No. 3 seed is UNCW which finished with an 11-8 record reach the tournament for the first time since 2018. The Seahawks' pitching staff leads the CAA with a 1.78 team ERA behind Emily Winstead who leads the conference with a 1.72 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 122.1 innings pitched. Offensively, Janel Gamache leads the team with a .343 batting average and has team-highs in home runs (7) and RBI (31). Tayler Vitola leads the team in hits (47), stolen bases (22) and runs scored (31).

» Host Elon is the No. 4 seed after going 10-8 in conference play. Rebecca Murray leads the Phoenix with a .347 batting average, 51 hits, and 23 stolen bases, while Gabi Schaal is hitting at a .316 clip to go along with a team-best nine home runs and 38 RBI. On the pitching side, McKenzie Weber has a 1.91 ERA in 16 appearances, while Alexa Nemeth has a team-high eight wins and Taylor Cherry leads the staff with 82 strikeouts.

» No. 5 Charleston clinched the final playoff spot with a 7-10 CAA record. The Cougars have won their last four games, including a series sweep over Towson. Jenna Helberg leads the offense with 38 hits to go along with a team-best 11 doubles, five home runs and 22 RBI. In the circle, Carli McCants leads the pitching staff with a 2.23 ERA, six wins and 103 strikeouts.

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Thursday
4 p.m. – Live Stats | Watch

Friday
TBD

Saturday
TBD

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University of Delaware Athletics

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How to Follow

Players Mentioned

Graceyn Frost

Hanna Garber

Julz Garber

Brooke Glanden

Brittney Mendoza

Emily Winburn

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