READING, Pa. – The Albright Lions softball team will host Hunter on Wednesday afternoon in the opening round of the ECAC Division III Softball Championship.
 
Live Coverage: The Albright sports information office will provide live stats for the game. Live updates will also be available throughout the game on the official Twitter feed for Albright athletics (@AlbrightLions).
 
ECAC Championship: Albright is the No. 4 seed in the tournament and faces the No. 5 seed Hunter. No. 1 seed and championship weekend host Penn State Behrend will face winner of this game on Saturday at 1 p.m. The winners of the semifinal matchups on Saturday will play in the championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Records: Albright enters the tournament with a 24-17 overall record which is the most wins for the program since 2016, and one win shy from tying the program record for most wins in a season. The Lions compiled a program-record 13-game winning streak that ended last Saturday. Meanwhile, Hunter of the City University of New York Conference (CUNYAC) enters with a 20-11 overall record.
 
Scouting the Lions: Albright finished the regular season as co-regular season champions of the MAC Commonwealth Conference, and advanced to the MAC Commonwealth Tournament for the first time since the 2007 season. The Lions had five all-conference selections with two first-team selections in freshman pitcher Allison Melahn, and junior designated hitter Camille Sears. Melahn also was named MAC Commonwealth Softball Rookie of the Year following tallying 15 wins which is the most single-season wins in Lions program history. Sears and junior outfielder Brooke Yerger both broke the program's single-season hits record, while Sears ranks second in the conference in RBI (38) and fifth in batting average (.413) and Yerger is tied for third in stolen bases with 19 and sits seventh in AVG (.390).
 
Lions in ECAC: Albright is making its first appearance in the ECAC Softball Championships since 2001 when they finished runner-up to Montclair State.
 
Scouting the Hawks: Hunter won the CUNYAC regular season title, but fell 9-6 in the CUNYAC championship game to Staten Island on Saturday. The Hawks had five players named to the CUNYAC All-Star Team led by first baseman Allyson Bricker, who leads the team with a .444 batting average. Second Baseman Brittany Salvador was also an all-star selection as she led the CUNYAC with six home runs, and holds a .432 batting average. The Hawks led the conference with a .378 team batting average, and ranked second with 237 runs scored. Nicole Guzzone leads the team with five wins in the circle and a 3.34 ERA.
 
The Hawks in ECAC: Hunter is making its first appearance in an ECAC Softball Championship since winning the metro/upstate title back in 2015 over Stevens. The Hawks also made ECAC Championship appearances in the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
 
Last Meeting: Albright faced Hunter back on their 2016 spring break trip in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Lions earned a 6-1 victory over the Hawks behind a no-hitter from Sammi O'Connor. It had been the last no-hitter for the Lions until Sears tossed one against Lycoming back in early April. Albright did most of its damage in the second inning when they scored four runs before adding two more in the bottom of the sixth.
 
Head Coaches: Marguerite DeLucas has posted a 24-17 record in her first season as head coach of the Lions. In guiding them to the MAC Commonwealth Tournament and co-regular season title in the MAC Commonwealth, DeLucas was named MAC Commonwealth Softball Coach of the Year. DeLucas, a former Albright student-athlete, served as an assistant coach on the Lions staff in the two seasons prior to being promoted to head coach.
 
Ralph Moroni is in his 14^th season as head coach at Hunter between two stints. Moroni coached the Hawks from 1991-1995 before returning in the 2011 season. He has posted a 224-219-2 record at his time at Hunter, and won three-straight CUNYAC titles from 1993-1995. Moroni led the Hawks to the 2015 ECAC Division III Metro/Upstate Championship, and was named 2019 CUNYAC Softball Coach of the Year.
 
Up Next: The winner will advance to the semifinals of the ECAC Division III Softball Championship on Saturday and will face Penn State Behrend at 1 p.m.