Softball Remains at No. 6 in NCAA's East Region Rankings
Purple Knights, now 30-18 overall, have won 12 of their last 15 games.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - As preparations continue for the double-elimination CACC Championship Weekend beginning Thursday, the University of Bridgeport softball team held steady at No. 6 in the NCAA's second East Region rankings, which were released on Wednesday.
UB is one of two CACC programs in the top 10, joining Caldwell (No. 4). The top-eight teams in the rankings will make the NCAA East Regional, which is scheduled for May 14-16.
The Purple Knights, who have secured at-large bids to four of the last five NCAA Tournaments, once again find themselves firmly in the postseason mix.
UB enters the next stage of postseason play riding plenty of momentum after sweeping Goldey-Beacom in the CACC First Round this past Saturday.
Senior Vise Zarate starred in the circle, earning victories in both games while tossing 10.2 scoreless innings across the doubleheader. Offensively, Sydnee Perreault paced the Purple Knights with a dominant 5-for-9 showing that featured six RBIs, three doubles, a triple and a home run, while Breanna Pelaez and Sophia Philippou each added four hits over the two games.
UB's success this season has been fueled by a core group of standouts, highlighted by the program's five CACC All-Conference selections announced this week.
Senior Mya Jones headlined the group after being named the CACC Player of the Year. Jones currently ranks second in the conference in both batting average (.431) and on-base percentage (.496) while leading the Purple Knights with 53 hits.
Paityn Thibodeaux, Samantha Ledger and McKenzie Morgan joined Jones on the All-Conference First Team, while Perreault collected second-team recognition for the second straight season.
As a team, the Purple Knights have emerged as one of the East Region's top offensive squads. UB ranks second in the region in home runs (34) and third in runs scored (250), and the offense has only gotten hotter down the stretch.
Over their last 18 games, the Purple Knights are batting .342 as a team while averaging 6.6 runs per contest.
UP NEXT
UB will return to action on Thursday afternoon in the double-elimination portion of the CACC Tournament at Wilmington. The third-seeded Purple Knights will take on second-seeded Felician at 1:30 p.m.