WILKES-BARRE – The No. 4 seed Wilkes University softball team is set to make their first postseason appearance since 2019, hosting the No. 5 seed Drew University Rangers at the Ralston Athletic Complex tomorrow (May 7) in the opening game of the Landmark Conference Tournament.
 
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The Colonels enter this game with a 16-14 overall record and a 10-6 record in Landmark play after sweeping Elizabethtown College this past Saturday.

Mia Butka (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) leads the Colonel offense with a .366 batting average, 34 hits, and four home runs. Butka's 11 doubles put her tied for fourth in the Landmark, while her 1.040 OPS and .634 slugging percentage are both also top five marks in the conference.

Allyson Stafursky (Eynon, PA/Valley View) (.333), Talia Piragas (Old Forge, PA/Old Forge) (.325), Olivia Dougher (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) (.322) and Hannah Boyd (Escalon, CA/Escalon) (.286) make up the top five in team batting average. Piragas leads the team with 17 RBIs, while Boyd's discipline at the plate has drawn 16 walks, tied for the fifth-most in the Landmark Conference.

In the circle, the Wilkes pitching staff ranks third in the conference with an overall ERA of 2.85. Lauren DeMarco (Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun) leads the group with an 8-3 record and an ERA of 1.48, the second-best in the Landmark. The Merrick, N.Y. native sits fourth in the conference with a team-high 63 strikeouts.

Butka (6-6) has created a strong one-two punch with DeMarco, pitching the most innings of any Colonel pitcher at 81.2 innings, striking out 38 batters with a 2.66 ERA, a top ten figure in the Landmark. Tessa Stafursky (Eynon, PA/Valley View) has also provided quality work with 18 strikeouts in 32 innings and an ERA of 3.06.

The Rangers enter this game with a 20-20 overall record in the regular season, finishing 7-9 in Landmark play after splitting with Susquehanna on May 2.

Olivia Magliacano spearheads Drew's offense with a .397 average, 1.181 OPS, 54 hits, 10 triples, six home runs, and 26 RBIs. Her 54 hits and 10 triples lead the Landmark Conference, with her OPS and .728 slugging percentage ranking third in the conference. MacKenzie Pisani follows behind her with 42 hits, a top-ten mark in the Landmark as well.

In the circle, Gabby Duran (4-4) leads the Rangers with a 2.24 ERA, striking out 40 batters. Teagan Bradley (8-8) leads the team with 56 strikeouts. Kaitlynne Streets sits second in the Landmark with two saves, helping close out games for the Rangers.

Wilkes swept the regular season series between these two teams back in March, taking game one 4-3 in extra innings after a walk-off single from Boyd. The Colonels took game two 2-0 after DeMarco only allowed one hit with four strikeouts.

Following this game, both teams will continue in the tournament beginning Friday, May 9 at host Moravian University's Blue & Grey Field. The double-elimination style tournament will see the winner face the top-seeded Greyhounds at 1:00 p.m., while the losing team will play the loser of the matchup between No. 2 seed Catholic University and No. 3 seed Susquehanna University at 3:00 p.m. in the tournament's first elimination game.