MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College softball team will host the championship series of the Northeast-10 Conference postseason tournament, starting on Friday, May 14. The Hawks, ranked 18th in NCAA Division II, will welcome the NE10 Southwest Division champion, Adelphi University, to the South Athletics Fields for a best-of-three series.

The Hawks improved to 27-4 on the year after defeating Franklin Pierce in the NE10 Divisional Finals. Saint Anselm is also ranked second in the latest NCAA Division II East Region rankings after earning the Northeast Division Regular Season Championship and the number one overall seed in the NE10 Tournament. The Hawks have now recorded 11 consecutive victories, dating back to the 2-1 loss to Franklin Pierce on Tuesday, Apr. 20.

Adelphi earned the top seed in the NE10 Southwest Division Championship after claiming the regular season title with a 24-6 record. The Panthers opened the NE10 postseason with a 1-0 victory over Le Moyne on Thursday, May 6 before downing New Haven in the Southwest Division Final by scores of 3-2 and 2-1.

Saint Anselm students, faculty, staff, and members of the Monastic community will be allowed to attend the weekend's NE10 Championship contests. All other spectators are not permitted to attend the series at the South Athletic Fields. For more information, please refer to our Spectator Policy.

Live Statistics and Live Video will be available via the NE10 Now Network.

SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM

• Entering the NE10 postseason, the Hawks won each of their past eight games, compiling a 24-4 overall record. Saint Anselm won the Northeast Division Regular Season Championship for the third-straight season and is currently ranked No. 18 in NCAA Division II, according to the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Top 25 poll. The Hawks are riding an 11-game winning streak, which they are looking to keep going while claiming their second-straight NE10 Championship.
• The Hawks began the NE10 Tournament by taking down cross-town rival Southern New Hampshire, 8-0, in the NE10 Divisional Semifinals. Junior Bre Klaiber (Ironton, Ohio) led the team in the hitting category, recording a team-high four hits with one run batted in. Senior Lauren Washburn (Carmichael, Calif.) and sophomore Kylie Fitzpatrick (Danville, N.H.) each posted two hits and two runs batted.
• Advancing to the NE10 Divisional Finals, Saint Anselm defeated Franklin Pierce, 2-0, in the opening game, led by senior Morgan Perry (Bethany, Conn.) and her 12 strikeouts, surrendering just two hits. In the second game, the Hawks offense picked up to score seven runs, including posting two three-run innings to earn a 7-1 victory. Sophomore McKenna Smith (Old Town, Maine) fanned eight batters, giving up only four hits in a complete-game performance. She also earned her sixth win of the season.
• With the NCAA Division II selection show approaching on Sunday, May 16 at 10 p.m., Saint Anselm checks in at No. 2 on the eight-team East Region list. Six of the top teams in the East Region will be selected following the conclusion of the conference tournaments. Saint Anselm is slotted second behind the 34-4 Georgian Court squad, who will take on Bloomfield in the CACC Championship Game on Wednesday, May 12 at 3 p.m.
• The Hawks defense has kept all opponents to two or less runs throughout the season, except cross-town rival Southern New Hampshire who scored three runs. Saint Anselm has recorded 17 shutouts, ranking fourth in the nation with North Georgia and UIndy who have logged 19.
• The team's pitching staff has combined for the best earned run average in all of Division II, recording a 0.64 mark with Perry and Smith claiming earned run averages of under 1.00. Perry heads into the upcoming contests with a 0.29 average, sitting in second among 150 student-athletes in all of Division II.
• Perry was named NFCA East Region Pitcher of the Year on Wednesday after leading the Hawks to a NE10 Championship series appearance. Prior to the NE10 postseason, she was selected as one of the Top 30 finalists for the 2021 Schutt Sports / NFCA Division II Player and Pitcher of the Year awards. A few days after, Perry was named NE10 Northeast Pitcher of the Year for her outstanding work on the field in 2021. On Wednesday, Perry was selected to the NFCA All-East First Team.
• After the game one shutout by Perry in the NE10 Divisional Finals, she broke the single-season shutout record first set by Lisa Petell '99 with 10. Perry is also one complete game away from tying for second place on the all-time list with 75 to her credit. Following her 12 strikeout performance in the contest, Perry now holds the top three single-season strikeout marks in her career as she heads into the NE10 Championship with 182, only two shy of her 2018 mark. Perry's 16 wins so far this season is the third best in all of the NE10 along with 25th in the NCAA.
• Perry is the nation's leader in hits allowed per seven innings with 3.03 and strikeouts per seven innings with 13.1.
• The Hawks pitching staff is also led by the arm of Smith who has thrown in 59.1 innings, recording a 0.82 earned run average which ranks in the nation's top-10. She has started in eight of her 12 appearances in 2021, allowing only eight runs and 39 hits. Smith posted a career-high 14 strikeouts in the victory over Saint Michael's on Apr. 24. Smith also earned All-NE10 accolades this season, grabbing a spot on the All-Conference Third Team. She also secured a position in the NFCA All-East Second Team.
• Seven Hawks student-athletes were named to All-Conference teams by the Northeast-10 Conference on Wednesday, May 5. The group was headlined by Northeast Division Defensive Player of the Year Fitzpatrick, Northeast Division Pitcher of the Year, Perry, and Klaiber, who was named NE10 Player of the Year in the Northeast Division.
• The three major award winners are joined by Washburn and Shannon Colson (Rochester, N.H.), who earned spots on the Second Team after strong senior campaigns. Freshman Gracie O'Hara (Shrewsbury, Mass.) accompanied Smith on the Third Team All-Conference list while O'Hara also was selected to the All-Rookie Team.
• Earning the NE10 Northeast Defensive Player of the Year, Fitzpatrick played in 31 games for the Hawks, logging a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, recording 39 putouts and 38 assists without an error. Fitzpatrick has also helped the Hawks post a 0.964 fielding percentage, ranking fourth in the league with the Panthers of Adelphi sitting on top of the statistical category with 0.974.
• Fitzpatrick has posted one or more hits in 14 of her last 15 games, including a three-hit performance against Franklin Pierce on Apr. 18. In 2021, she has racked up 36 hits and is the owner of a .375 batting average, while also stroking two home runs. After earning the NE10 Northeast Defensive Player of the Year, she claimed her first-ever NFCA All-East First Team honor.
• Earning the Northeast Division Player of the Year award, Klaiber leads the conference with a .452 batting average. Over 30 games played, Klaiber has recorded 38 hits, 22 runs scored, 20 runs batted in, and 17 walks. Her batting average ranks in the top-35 of the nation as Clark Atlanta's Tatianna Kelly holds the top spot with 0.579. She has helped the Hawks to get on base throughout the year, leading the conference with a 0.545 on-base percentage. She heads into the weekend as the second-best student-athlete in the NE10 in the walks per game category (0.57).
• Klaiber, the transfer from LIU Post, notched a season-high four hits against Saint Michael's on Apr. 24 and, earlier in the season, she launched a grand slam against Assumption on Apr. 7 that helped the Hawks to victory. Due to her efforts in 2021, she was named NFCA All-East First Team selection.
• Washburn ranks third on the team in batting average with a career-high .358 as a senior, collecting 34 hits in 95 at-bats and driving in a team-leading 27 runs in just 31 games played. One of the toughest to strike out in the NE10, she has fanned just three times all season.
• Senior Abbie Murrell (Scarborough, Maine) has been one of the most consistent bats for the Hawks, recording one or more hits in the past nine straight contests. In that span, she has scored eight runs, hit three doubles and drove in three runs. Murrell ranks fourth on the team with a .325 batting average, totaling nine doubles, two shy of the team-lead 11 from Fitzpatrick.
• Capturing her second career Third Team honor, Colson is batting .314 in her fifth season with the Hawks. She owns a .314 batting average with 29 hits alongside 23 runs scored, swiping six bases and drawing 13 walks. She logged three hits in the victory over Bentley on Apr. 5 and recently tallied her first career home run, doing so against Stonehill on Apr. 30. Colson is three hits away from recording her 200th career hit and one at-bat away from her 600th.
• O'Hara has made an instant impact on the Hawks program, totaling a .305 batting average over 29 games played as a freshman. O'Hara has hit for power in her brief Saint Anselm career, recording six doubles, three triples, and two home runs.

ANALYZING ADELPHI

• Adelphi has won six consecutive Southwest Division titles and enters play with a 27-6 overall record after notching a 20-4 record against divisional foes.
• The Panthers are piloted by former LIU Post assistant coach Carla Campagna in her third season, who has collected a 62-33 record since joining the program at the helm of the team. In her inaugural season, Campagna guided the Panthers to a 32-20 record and a NE10 Northwest Division regular-season title. Adelphi would reach the finals of the NE10 Championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament for an eighth-straight year.
• Adelphi heads into the title game with a .277 batting average along with a .340 on-base percentage. The team has also recorded 131 runs batted in, ranking third in the NE10. The Panthers have combined for 230 hits, ranking fourth in the conference compared to Saint Anselm's 258.
• The ace of the Adelphi pitching staff, Ally Muller, was named the Southwest Division's Pitcher of the Year, posting a shutout in 13 of her last 14 starts, which includes allowing two runs over her last 82 innings pitched (since Mar. 27). She has totaled 13 total shutouts this season, to go along with 17 wins and 166 strikeouts, -- all of which ranks second among NE10 pitchers behind Perry of the Hawks. Her 0.69 earned-run average is the third-best mark in the league.
• The Southwest Division Defensive Player of the Year, Faith Camilleri, tallied 226 putouts, backed by a .993 fielding percentage at first base. Camilleri was also recognized to the NE10 All-Conference Third Team and All-Rookie Team. Offensively, she is third on the team in slugging percentage (.557) and third in hits (30).
• Emily Whitman and Daniella Roselli joined Muller as first-team selections. Whitman -- out of the leadoff spot -- paces the team in hits (38), stolen bases (16 -- second-most in NE10), batting average (.358) and slugging percentage (.557). Roselli sits second on the team with a .340 batting average and fourth with 25 hits. She also made the NE10 All-Rookie Team.
• Rounding out those honored for Adelphi were Sophia Cicchetti and Lauren O'Neill. Both were named to the Third Team and posted perfect 1.000 fielding percentages in the outfield. Cicchetti was also recognized on the All-Rookie Team. Her 15 stolen bases are third in the conference and .412 on-base percentage is the best on the team. O'Neill is first on the team in RBI (21), second in hits (35) and third in batting average (.340).

ALL-TIME vs. ADELPHI

• These two programs are known for close games in their history when facing each other with the Panthers leading the all-time series 9-7-1. This marks the second time that the squads have faced each other in the NE10 or NCAA postseason.
• At the South Athletic Fields against the Panthers, the Hawks are 4-3. Since 2007, the Hawks are averaging 3.18 runs per game against Adelphi.
• It will be a coin toss according to the last 10 matchups as the Hawks lead 5-4-1 since 2011.
• The last time the Hawks and Panthers played was on May 4, 2019 when Saint Anselm won the NE10 postseason title, downing Adelphi by a 4-3 score in 10 innings. Perry was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2019 NE10 Championship, setting a new single-season record for strikeouts in a season with 201. Jordan O'Connor '19, who was selected to the All-Championship team, came up with the big hit for the second-straight day, sending a walk-off single to right field to score the tying and game-winning runs for the Hawks with no outs in the bottom of the 10th inning.

ALL-TIME in NE10 POSTSEASON PLAY

• Heading into the 2021 NE10 Championship, the Hawks are 20-20 in the postseason over 16 years. Saint Anselm, as a program, has only appeared in one championship game situation, winning the team's first NE10 postseason championship in 2019. Saint Anselm has made the NE10 Semifinals round in three straight years, including this season's appearance.
• Perry won the Most Valuable Player award in the 2019 tournament, helping the Hawks earn their first team championship.
• This marks the first time since the 2019 NE10 Championship that both teams have battled each other when the Hawks walked off with their first-ever NE10 postseason title, 4-3.