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Loretto, PA - For the first time since 2008, the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament will feature the Wagner College Seahawks (20-23, 10-6 NEC), who enter the competition as the No. 3 seed behind host Saint Francis U (45-9, 16-0 NEC) and Sacred Heart (22-16, 10-6 NEC), and ahead of Robert Morris (19-31, 9-7 NEC).

Tournament Format: The Seahawks will begin the three-day, double-elimination tournament on Thursday vs. No. 3 seed Sacred Heart, while top-No. 4 Robert Morris and top-seeded Saint Francis U will play in the second. On Friday, there will be three games on tap, beginning with the two winners meeting one another, followed by a matchup of the two losing teams from day one. On Saturday, May 13, the 2017 NEC championship team that will earn the NEC's coveted automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Division I Softball Championship, will be determined.

Batting Champion: With a .402 overall average in the regular season, senior Brianna Tredway (Downingtown, PA / Downingtown West) is the NEC's regular season batting champion and ranks 63^rd in the NCAA, in addition to batting .440 in league contests. Sophomore Karen Prihoda (Hamilton Square, NJ / The Lawrenceville School) finished third in the conference for the regular season with a .399 average, good for 70^th in the nation.

In the Circle: The Seahawks' two starting pitchers, junior Morgan Brown (Buckeye, AZ / Verrado) and senior McKaleigh Goodale (Bradenton, FL / Lakewood Ranch), have come on strong of late and have played instrumental roles down the stretch when Wagner locked up the NEC Tournament berth by winning four of its final six conference games.

With a 10-7 record, Brown leads Wagner in overall win, which includes four victories in league play. The junior picked up a career-high ten strikeouts in Wagner's 5-2 win over Fairleigh Dickinson (4/8) and has 62 K's on the season. Brown pitched 110 innings for the Seahawks throughout the season with a 3.60 conference ERA.

Goodale is the Seahawks' leader with five conference victories this season. The senior finished the regular season with dominant performances in multiple contests, leading to a 1.74 NEC ERA. Goodale pitched a two-hit shutout in win over  Sacred Heart (4/15), which led the Seahawks to a 1-0 win, as both teams combined for just four hits. The senior finished the day with three strikeouts while giving up no walks, earning her NEC Co-Pitcher of the Week honors.

Wagner In The NEC Tournament: This season's NEC berth marks the Green and White's 12^th appearance in the NEC Tournament and first since 2008, when the Seahawks finished fourth. The last time Wagner entered the competition as the No. 3 seed was 2006 when the Seahawks finished in third. While Wagner has never won the NEC Tournament, the Seahawks have finished second a total of four times, the last time coming in 2007. In 1990, Wagner was in a tight battle with LIU Brooklyn in the final game, falling 4-3 in nine innings, which to date is the closest the Seahawks have ever come to winning the trophy.

Tredway And Prihoda Earn CoSIDA Academic All-District Honors: Senior Brianna Tredway (Downingtown, PA / Downingtown West) and sophomore Karen Prihoda (Hamilton Square, NJ / The Lawrenceville School) were named to the 2017 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District™ Team. The CoSIDA Academic All-District Team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performance on the field and in the classroom.

Key performers in driving the Seahawks a spot in the NEC tourney, Tredway are the only athletes representing the NEC on this year's All-District Team.

In batting a robust .440 over the span of 16 league games, the senior had 22 hits and 11 RBIs and will look to carry over her form into the postseason. For her career, Tredway now has 65 RBIs, 36 doubles and has more hits (171) than appearances (169) in four seasons on Grymes Hill. In the classroom, the Downingtown, PA native carries a 3.8 cumulative GPA as a psychology major.

Prihoda, Wagner's leader in hits (59) steals (21), doubles (13) and slugging percentage (.595) on the year, finished the regular season with a .399 batting average. The sophomore is slugging .636 in league play, leading the squad with three home runs against NEC competition. As Wagner's leadoff hitter, Prihoda is already fifth all-time in steals with 32 in just two seasons. Academically, Prihoda has a 3.91 cumulative GPA.

NCAA Recognition: Wagner's softball team was one of five Wagner College athletic programs being recognized as part of the NCAA's Public Recognition Awards for scoring in the top 10 percent in each sport with respect to their Academic Progress Rate (APR).  Scores for programs in the top 10 percent ranged from 984 to a perfect 1,000, with 1,090 teams earning a perfect score. For the softball squad, it is the first time since 2006-2007 that the Green and White is included.

Scouting the Opposition: Wagner's opponent in the opening game of the tournament, Sacred Heart, comes into the tournament with a 10-6 conference record, which equals the Seahawks' league record. The Pioneers split the season series with Wagner and are 22-26 on the season. The tournament's number one seed, Saint Francis U, enters the competition with an undefeated 16-0 league record and 45-9 overall record. The Red Flash will enjoy home field advantage throughout the tournament, where they are 8-1 on the year. Lastly, the Robert Morris Colonials qualified for the tournament with two wins over Mount St. Mary's last weekend after losing two to the Green and White. RMU is 9-7 in conference play and 19-31, qualifying as the #4-seed for the NEC Tournament.

How They Got Here: The Seahawks started their season with road trips to North Carolina and Utah in March, with their first win coming on March 12 over Southern Utah. Five different Seahawks collected RBIs in the win, while junior pitcher Morgan Brown (Buckeye, AZ / Verrado) limited the opposition to three runs, and senior reliever McKaleigh Goodale (Bradenton, FL / Lakewood Ranch) became Wagner's all-time saves leader in the 5-3 victory.

After a split with Southern Utah, Wagner traveled to #25 BYU for its toughest matchup of the season. Despite falling to the Cougars, the Green and White, at one point, led game two by a score of 4-1 before falling on a walk-off fielder's choice in the seventh.

The first sweep of the season came over Manhattan on March 21, as Brown earned both victories in the 5-4 and 3-1 wins, while sophomore Karen Prihoda (Hamilton Square, NJ / The Lawrenceville School) picked up three RBIs across the two games.

The Seahawks kicked off NEC play on Grymes Hill with an April 3 doubleheader split vs. Central Connecticut as Prihoda went 3-for-4 with a home run and four runs scored in the second game in the nightcap, leading the Seahawks to a 9-6 win in what was a back-and-forth game early on.

The Green and White picked up steam from there, winning five of their next six homes games that included sweeps over Fairleigh Dickinson and non-conference foe Saint Peter's, along with a split against Bryant.

Against FDU, Wagner put forth a complete effort on offense and defense, winning game one by a score of 5-2 before earning a dominant 10-2 victory in game two.

"These are two very very big wins for us in the conference," said head coach Angie Churchill afterwards. "I am very excited and proud about how the team played today. I think our pitching was great, we made some really good adjustments at the plate and we had a number of double plays, so our defense was very good today."

Freshman Zoe Bender (Glen Rock, NJ/ Glen Rock) led Wagner with three RBIs in game one, while senior Brianna Tredway (Downington, PA / Downingtwon) batted in three runs in the second game.

Next up, Wagner's split with Bryant (4/9) featured a fast start by the Seahawks in game one. After Prihoda led the game off with a double, Bender followed with a single to left to put runners on second and third. During the ensuing at bat, a fielding error at first base allowed junior Stefanie Aplin (Nesconset, NY / Smithtown East / Georgian Court University) to reach and Prihoda to score. Next up, Tredway flied out to left, bringing home Bender from third to give the Seahawks a 2-0 lead.

In the fourth, the Green and White tacked on an insurance run, when back-to-back doubles by freshmen Kaila Smith (Millville, NJ / Millville) and Amelia van Orman (Orange, CA / Lutheran High School of Orange County) set up an RBI groundout by first-year Seahawk Alyssa Tucker (Laguna Niguel, CA / Santa Margarita Catholic).

Next up, Wagner swept the Peacocks of Saint Peter's (4/11), as a tight 1-0 win was followed by an 11-1 offensive outburst in game two. Eight different Seahawks recorded a hit in the second game, including seven players with two hits, as the Green and White's offense produced 11 runs on 15 hits, headlined by six doubles.

Back in the midst of conference play, Wagner picked up two important road victories over defending champion LIU Brooklyn (4/14) and Sacred Heart (4/15) in back-to-back splits.

Against the Blackbirds, late-game heroics gave the Seahawks the 2-1 victory. With the score tied at 1-1 in the seventh, Prihoda led off the inning with her second double of the contest and was moved into scoring position once again by Bender. After a walk to Aplin, Tredway connected for her third hit of the game, this one proving to be the game-winner, as Prihoda scored in giving Wagner a 2-1 lead.

Next up, a two-hit gem by senior McKaleigh Goodale (Bradenton, FL / Lakewood Ranch) helped the Green and White to the 1-0 road win over the Pioneers. Goodale's shutout gave the Seahawks the win in what was a defensive struggle, as both teams combined for just four hits. The senior finished the day with three strikeouts while giving up no walks.

After a non-conference split with Drexel (4/18), Wagner had three conference series left, coming away with four victories to secure the Seahawks' first NEC tournament berth since 2008 and finish with a 10-6 conference record.

First off, Wagner swept Mount St. Mary's (4/24) at home, as Senior Hana Gilbert (Valley Center, CA / Valley Center) collected seven RBIs in game two after sophomore Lauren Serrato (Litchfield Park, AZ / Verrado High School) contributed the game-winning RBI single in game one. The Seahawks took game one by a score of 2-1, before erupting for 15 hits in a 15-3 victory in game two, improving to 8-4 in NEC play.

Two losses to Saint Francis U (4/30) then set up the win-and-in scenario against Robert Morris (5/1), needing just one win to qualify for postseason play. The Seahawks delivered in convincing fashion, sweeping the Colonials by scores of 10-2 in game one and 9-2 in a weather-shortened second game.

"I am so proud and excited for this team to accomplish our season goal after months of hard work and dedication," said second-year head coach Angie Churchill afterwards. "This is a great day for Wagner softball and we are looking forward to traveling to Loretto in two weeks and compete for a championship. To come out today under pressure and put forth two team victories with great pitching and a powerful offense speaks to the mental toughness of this team."

In game one, the Seahawk offense rapped out 13 base hits, while junior Morgan Brown (Buckeye, AZ / Verrado) limited the opposition to two late runs on seven hits in notching her 10^th win of the season. The offense then got off to a fast start in game two, scoring two in the first and three in the second in building a quick 5-0 lead, as Bender led the team with three RBIs on two hits, while Aplin, Tredway, and freshman Alyssa Tucker (Laguna Niguel, CA / Santa Margarita Catholic) also had multi-hit games.

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