LVC softball championship preview and prediction

LEHIGH VALLEY CONFERENCE SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Who: Liberty vs. Nazareth.

When/Where: 7 p.m. Thursday at Pates Park in Allentown.

LIBERTY (No. 4 seed, 14-7, 10-4).

Coach: Rich Giering (second year, 26-16).

How they got here: Qualified as the wild card team, defeated No. 1 seed Easton 9-0 in Monday's semis.

About the Hurricanes: Going for their first league championship since winning an East Penn Conference title in 1993. In only other LVC title game appearance, lost to Parkland 9-1 in 2004. ... Erin Wilson, using an effective changeup, pitched a 4-hitter with five walks and six strikeouts in shutout of Easton, which ended Rovers' 11-game winning streak. ... Katie Souders had three hits, while Dior George and Taylor Mihalik had two hits apiece in the semis. Mihalik and Shane Dartouzos also drove in a pair of runs. ... Began season 5-0 and 9-1, but finished with just two wins in its last seven. One of those losses was a 10-0 defeat to Nazareth on May 4.



Quote: "We've hit [Nazareth's] Sarah Faust before, so we can't let her get in our heads," said Wilson. "We're peaking now. We know we can do it. We just have to come ready to play. It has been rough this season, but now that we're here, we know we can do it. We're going to do it."

Probable lineup with averages before Monday's game:

1. Dior George (Jr., CF) .459, 4 HR; 2. Shane Dartouzos (Sr., RF) .182; 3. Taylor Mihalik (Sr. C) .381, 9 extra-base hits, 12 RBIs; 4. Marissa Vitale (Sr., 3B) .288; 5. Erin Wilson (So. P) .167; 6. Katie Souders (So. 1B) .347; 7. Megan Alisio (Jr. 2B) .214; 8. Danielle Jones (Jr. DP) .375; 9. Kayla Strunk (Sr. SS) .136. Flex player, Taylor Schlener (Sr., LF).

Pitcher: Wilson (including Easton game) 12-5, 2.48 ERA. 52 BB, 79 Ks, 1 SHO.

NAZARETH (No. 3 seed, 15-6, 10-4)

Coach: Michelle Schoenberger (second season, 29-13).

How they got here: Won the North Division title, defeated Emmaus 6-4 in Monday's semis.

About the Blue Eagles: Going for their first LVC title since 2003 when they beat Parkland 6-4 for the championship. Current coach Schoeneberger was the Eagles' catcher in that game. ... Lost to Parkland in the 2008 title game. ... Won six Mountain Valley Conference titles between 1995-2002. ... Also won a Colonial League championship in 1993. This year's team won eight straight to start the season, but then lost six of eight beore closing the regular season with four straight wins. ...Starting pitcher Sarah Faust, the 2009 Morning Call rookie of the year, began the season battling mono and has struggled to find consistency. She pitched in the semis with flu-like symptoms.

Probable lineup with averages after Monday's game:

1. Katie Buskirk (Sr. LF) .328 2. Morgan Calabrese (Fr. 3B) .378; 3. Krista Ammon (Sr. C) .286; 4. Lindsey Mastro (Jr. CF) .469, 5. Hilary Dilsaver (Sr. 1B) .438; 6. Megan Hull (Jr. 2B) .273; 7. Molly Calabrese (Fr. DP) .273; 8. Lizzie Deutsch (Fr. SS) ..375; 9. Alexa Sylvanius (Sr. RF) .378; Flex, Sarah Faust (So. P).

Pitcher: Faust 10-4, 1.93 ERA, 130 Ks, 60 BB, 71.1 IP.

Prediction: I predicted Nazareth to win the league and while the Eagles' road to the title game hasn't exactly gone as planned, there's no turning back now. Sarah Faust is the key. She can be overpowering and she can also be out of control, often in the same game, often in the same inning. The offenses are fairly equal. But if Faust is on, Nazareth has the edge in the circle. Nazareth 5-4.

FROM KEITH GROLLER