The University of St. Thomas Softball team is preparing for the SCAC Championship Tournament this weekend. After reaching a program high 29 wins this season, the Celts will enter the tournament as the number two seed. They have clinched a first-round bye and await the winner of Schreiner versus Southwestern in the semi-final round. 

Stars at the Plate and In the Circle

St. Thomas has made it this far due to their balanced attack in the circle and at the plate. Leading the charge has been a pair of starting pitchers. Senior Bailey Tisdale leads the conference with 16 wins this season and is fourth in ERA at 1.89. Tisdale's season was highlighted by 14 complete games, including a no-hitter against Dallas on April 16th. Not far behind her, Allison Hughes has made a splash with 12 wins, which is second in the SCAC. She also is fourth in strikeouts with 59 on the year. At the plate, the Celts lead the conference in team batting average at .352, and slugging at .498. Freshman Rebecca Archibald has been key for the Celts at leadoff, leading the conference with a .476 batting average and scoring 42 runs. Also contributing is Junior Mallarie Munson- the first Celt to reach 10 home runs in a career, by playing multiple positions in the lineup to get the job done. 

It's all About UST in Year Three

The UST softball season has featured some key moments to get them to this point. After starting the season 3-3, the Celts kicked it into high gear and won 26 of their final 31 games to finish 29-8, their best record in just three years of competition. Of those wins, the Celts went 17-3 in SCAC play, including series sweeps of Austin College, Trinity, Dallas, Southwestern, and Schreiner. They also took down national powerhouse #5 Texas Lutheran in game one of their three-game series, ultimately the first time the Bulldogs have lost a SCAC game at home since 2014. As for this weekend, now that St. Thomas is officially a member of NCAA Division III, a SCAC Tournament victory would automatically qualify them for the national tournament. Should Softball win, they will be among the first women's Celt team to make an NCAA tournament. 

The 2023 SCAC Softball Championship is set to begin on Friday, May 5 and will run through Sunday, May 7 in San Antonio, Texas on the campus of Trinity University. Official Website l Printable Bracket