LANCASTER, Pa.- The fourth-seeded Franklin & Marshall softball team (17-19, 9-7 Centennial Conference) marks the program's first trip to the Centennial Conference Softball Tournament since 2017's championship season, hosting fifth-seeded Haverford (25-11, 8-8 Centennial Conference) on Tuesday, April 27, at 4:30 p.m. to play into the double-elimination phase of the tournament.

Ticket Information

The Centennial Conference has announced that Hudl will serve as the ticket provider for CC championship events. Centennial fans will be able to find all scheduled postseason events on the Centennial ticketing homepage and quickly purchase tickets to receive via email. Fans will then use their smartphone to gain access at championship events through a simple and secure ticket validation process.  

Below are the ticket prices for each round of the postseason (plus a $1 service fee):
Adults - $10
Students (Age 6 through High School) - $5
Senior Citizens - $5
College Students, Faculty & Staff of Centennial Schools - FREE
Children 5 and Under – FREE
Special Olympics Athlete – FREE

Tickets for Tuesday's game can be purchased HERE.

The Field

Tuesday, Apr. 28 | at #4 seed 

Game 1: No. 5 Haverford at No. 4 Franklin & Marshall

Thursday, Apr. 30 | at #1 & #2 seeds

Game 2: Winner of game 1 at No. 1 Swarthmore
Game 3: No. 3 Gettysburg at No. 2 Muhlenberg

Saturday, May 2 | at #1 seed

Game 4: Loser of game 2 vs. Loser of game 3
Game 5: Winner of game 2 vs. Winner of game 3
Game 6: Loser of game 5 vs. Winner of game 4

Sunday, May 3 | at #1 seed 

Game 7: Winner of game 5 vs. Winner of game 6
Game 8: if necessary, only if Winner of game 6 wins game 7

The Season So Far

In her first season as head coach, Dina Henry '94 has led the Diplomats to their second Centennial Conference Tournament appearance and the first since 2017's championship-winning season. The team has posted a 17-19, 9-7 Centennial Conference record to date, which is the most wins in a season since the 2017 and 2018 teams won 17 total games. Nine Centennial Conference wins is the most since a 9-7 season in 2015. In the conference, F&M earned sweeps over McDaniel and Washington College while splitting against Ursinus, Dickinson, Gettysburg, Munlenberg and Haverford, only dropping a series against top-of-conference Swarthmore. 
 
F&M's has had one of the strongest pitching units in the Centennial Conference, posting the fourth-best ERA (4.08) with the second-most looking strikeouts (39), fourth-most strikeouts (133), and fifth-lowest opponent batting average (.311). The Diplomats' offense leads the way with 14 home runs, while they rank fourth in stolen bases (41), walks (104) and sacrifice bunts (27). The team's catching duo of Megan Wiarda and Abby Favazza has caught the most runners attempting to steal (13) with the second-lowest stolen bases allowed percentage (.755). The defense has combined for the fifth-best fielding percentage (.749).

Players to Watch

Ainsley McClure has remained a consistent and critical presence in the circle for the Diplomats in her senior season, posting a 11-4 record with a 3.21 ERA in 98.0 innings pitched across 20 appearances and 16 starts. 12 of those starts finished in complete games, while she's totaled 72 strikeouts with a 5.14 K/7 average. Among qualifying Centennial Conference pitchers, she ranks second in complete games (12), second in looking strikeouts (24), third in strikeouts (72), tied for third in wins (11), fourth in complete games (12), seventh in opponent batting average (.252), and ninth in ERA (3.21). 

Sophomore pitcher and designated hitter Kate DelGrippo's starred for the Diplomats both in the circle and in the batter's box in 2026. Among Centennial Conference players, she offensively ranks first in slugging percentage (.742), second in OPS (1.159), second in home runs (6), and tied for 13th in RBI (24). In the circle, she's posted a 3.50 ERA across 80.0 innings of service with five wins and eight complete games across 15 appearances and 11 starts, averaging 3.76 K/7. Among qualifying Centennial Conference pitchers, she is tied for the fifth-most complete games (8), has totaled the ninth-most strikeouts (43), and maintains the tenth-best ERA (3.50). 

First-year middle infielder Morgan Risnychok has made an immediate impact for the Diplomats, leading the team in batting average (.375), on-base percentage (.421), hits (39), and RBI (27). She's also totaled the second-most extra-base hits on the team with five doubles, two triples, and three homers. Among qualifying Centennial Conference hitters, she's produced the sixth-best slugging percentage (.548), seventh-most RBI (27), a tie for the 11th-highest total bases (57), and 13th-highest OPS (.969).

First-year first baseman Lauren Steiner has become one of F&M's most impactful bats in her rookie campaign, slashing .255/.342/.520 (.862 OPS) with a team-leading 14 extra-base hits on seven doubles, two triples, and five homers. The five home runs is the third-most in the Centennial Conference.

Junior outfielder Natalia Garza has stolen the most bases for the Diplomats, claiming nine from 11 attempts. She also leads F&M in walks (18), the 14th-most in the conference, plus runs (24). 

Junior middle infielder Gabby Mundy has executed eight successful sacrifice bunts for the Diplomats, which is tied for the fifth most in the conference. 

Sophomore outfielder Ellie LoPiccolo has been a key part of F&M's offense in the later stages of the season, recording the team's second-best batting average (.373), and third-best slugging percentage (.529) and OPS (.936) across 22 games and 18 starts.

First-year outfielder Sara Hess ranks second in the team in walks (13), and third in both hits (22) and RBI (18). 

Scouting the Fords

Haverford (25-11, 8-8 Centennial Conference) swept McDaniel on Sunday to secure a spot in the Centennial Conference Softball Tournament for the first time since the 2019 season. 

The Fords opened the season with a 9-1 record at THE Spring Games from central Florida before returning to Pennsylvania in mid-March. They went 8-2 in their remaining non-conference games with sweeps over Gwynedd Mercy, Neumann, and Wilkes and splits against Widener and DeSales. Their Centennial Conference slate featured splits against Dickinson and the Diplomats, sweeps over Ursinus, Washington and McDaniel, while they dropped two games to Swarthmore, Gettysburg, and (RV) Muhlenberg.

The Fords have posted some of the best offensive numbers in the Centennial Conference with the top slugging percentage (.457) and on-base percentage (.416) plus the second-best batting average (.351). They've also totaled the most runs (243), and doubles (59), the second-most hits (348), RBI (212), and triples (11), plus the third-most home runs (8) and stolen bases (62). Haverford specialize in the sacrifice bunt, as the Fords lead the country with 74 successful bunts this season, which is 23 more than any other side.

The pitching staff maintains the third-best ERA (3.27), third-most strikeouts (153), and a tie for the fourth-most looking strikeouts (38) among conference teams. Defensively, they maintain the second-best fielding percentage (.963). 

Addie Sapirstein is one of five Fords with an OPS north of .900 on the team. Her 1.012 is sixth in the Centennial Conference, while Lauren Martin and Kama Bode are eighth (.984), Jocelyn Leal is 11th (.981), and Shelby Preisser ranks 12th (.980). Sapirstein also leads the team in batting average (.433, 5th), hits (45, t-7th), on-base percentage (.483, 8th), and stolen bases (19, 6th). Preisser leads the teams in extra-base hits with 13 via ten doubles, two triples, and a homer, while Bode has a team-best three home runs. Zoe Friedman leads the team, with 33 RBI which is the third-most among Centennial Conference players. The Fords represent the top-five players by sacrifice bunts including Leal and Friedman with 12, Kyra Van Denburgh and Sarah Fan with nine, and Preisser with eight. 

In the circle, Haverford has three qualifying pitchers in the top ten for ERA. Preisser is third with a 2.33 ERA, Clarissa Smith ranks sixth with a 2.55 ERA, and Kaleigh Bodak has an ERA of 3.00 for the eighth-best mark. Bodak leads the team with 41 strikeouts, while Preisser has the fourth-lowest opponent batting average at .234.

Kate Gatti is in her ninth season in charge of the Fords, having secured her third trip to the conference tournament as a head coach. She enters Tuesday with a career record of 137-125-1, 51-60-1 Centennial Conference. 

Series History vs. Haverford

Tuesday's matchup will mark the 59th game contested between the sides since F&M swept the first doubleheader in 1996, and the Diplomats maintain a 35-23 series advantage. 

The Fords hosted this year's series which featured a low-scoring split. A two-RBI single from Risnychok in the fifth inning plus a one-run complete-game performance from McClure led F&M to a 2-1 win in the opener, while a two-run Sapirstein double plus a walk-off sacrifice fly from Van Denbrugh earned a 3-2 victory in the finale for the Fords.

Prior to this year's split, F&M had won the previous five games dating back to the second game of the 2023 series, while Haverford won the five games prior to that dating back to the start of the 2021 series.