SHIPPENSBURG - For the fifth time this season, East Stroudsburg University will play the Kutztown University softball team. This time though, the stakes are higher.

The Warriors are the No. 6 seed and will open the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional against the third-seeded Golden Bears Thursday at 10 a.m. at Robb Field. Kutztown University is web casting the game at kubears.com.

Shippensburg (40-18) is the No. 2 seed and host and will play No. 7 Millersville at noon on Thursday. The winner of the ESU-Kutztown game will play the winner of the Shippensburg-Millersville game Friday at 2 p.m. The losers of those games will play at 10 a.m. Friday.

Lock Haven (47-3), the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion, is the No. 1 seed and will play No. 8 North Carolina Central at 4 p.m. on Thursday. No. 4 Bloomsburg (35-17) will play No. 5 California (24-15) at 2 p.m. The losers will meet at noon on Friday and the winners at 4 p.m.

ESU is 26-25 overall and four of those losses have come to Kutztown. The Golden Bears won by scores of 6-1, 8-0, 6-3 and 11-3 during the regular season.

The Warriors set several records this season and hope to end that streak with great defense and quality pitching.

"The key to beating Kutztown is pitching," ESU fourth-year head coach Jamie Brown said. "The four times we played them were not our best efforts - we gave them a lot of runs. If we can keep them off the bases, we stand a good chance."

Crissy Wontroba, a junior, has led the ESU pitching staff this season and is expected to get the start Thursday. Wontroba set the school record with 15 wins this season and has a 3.02 earned-run average. She has started 25 games and thrown four shutouts with 129 strikeouts and 34 walks in 163.2 innings pitched.

Sophomore Kristen Halvorsen has appeared in 26 games and allowed 55 earned runs in 100.2 innings pitched. She has 75 strikeouts and 24 walks. Freshman Jennifer Bensinger has appeared in 21 games and has thrown 62 innings. She struck out 40 and walked 38.

Defensively, the Warriors will have catcher Eliza Morosco behind the plate. She is a sophomore who was third on the team with a .305 average. She has nine doubles and a home run and has thrown out four runners. Freshman Amanda Feist is the back up and has played in 30 games.

"Our approach might change for the playoffs," Brown said. "We have nothing to lose and I want the girls to enjoy every minute of this. I want them to have fun and not be tense. When you get into the playoffs everything is different. You always want to make sure you get a runner in scoring position so you may bunt with one out. And we might use our pitchers differently as well."

Lindsey Kost, a junior, is the first baseman. She is hitting .298 and has knocked in 28 runs. Junior Shannon Dietrich is hitting .296 and plays second base. She has knocked in 24 runs, scored 24 times and had eight extra base hits.

Junior Jennifer Veronesi is the shortstop and the second leading hitter. She has a .364 average and has started all 51 games. She set a new school record with 21 stolen bases, in 24 attempts, and hit a school record nine home runs. She has 32 RBI, four triples and 10 doubles. Sophomore Candice Pastor plays third and is hitting .260 with 28 RBI and five home runs, second on the team.

"In the playoffs, pitching and defense wins," Brown said. "All season, we have been an offensive team so our approach will change that way as well. We may use our pitching different and we will try to take the extra base whenever we can."

The outfield is led by senior Ashley Miller, the only senior on the team. Miller is hitting a team-best .383 and like Veronesi, set the school record with 64 hits. Miller doubled 11 times, hit three home runs and knocked in 26 runs. She will be joined in the outfield by freshman Jessica Schmoyer. Schmoyer is hitting .258 and had four stolen bases. Sophomore Melissa McAloon has started 50 games and is third on the team with nine stolen bases and has four doubles. Kara Muller, a junior, has appeared in 24 games and scored six runs.

Ali Hale, a sophomore, is the usually the designated player. Hale is hitting .258 and knocked in 26 runs. Hale has seven hits, a triple and three home runs.

A look at the other seven teams:

Kutztown: Top hitters for Kutztown include Ashley Fitzgerald and Krista Cameron. Fitzgerald has a .376 batting average. She has 56 hits, 10 doubles, eight home runs and 44 RBI. Cameron goes into the regional tournament with a .365 batting average. Cameron had 58 hits 12 doubles, one triple, nine home runs and 30 runs batted in. Stephanie Denlinger is also a significant part of Kutztown's offense with 16 home runs. Denlinger had 52 hits, 16 doubles and 42 runs batted in.

Rachel Weidensaul and Stacey Denlinger are the top pitchers for Kutztown. Weidensaul has a 19-4 record with 32 appearances. She has 71 strikeouts and allowed 136 hits.
Denlinger has an 11-6 record on the mound this season. She has a 2.22 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 25 appearances.

Shippensburg
ESU beat Shippensburg 3-0 and lost to the Red Raiders 1-0, 2-0 and 1-0. The top hitters for Shippensburg include Heather Chantiles and Kristen Marll. Chantiles has a .493 average in 213 at bats. She totaled 49 hits with five doubles and 19 RBI. Marll enters the regional tournament with a .310 batting average with 53 hits, four doubles, two triples and 11 runs batted in. Kelly Nelson had five home runs and Lori Knopf had four while Rachelle Wedell had 11 doubles for Shippensburg this season.

Kelley Tiesi and Danielle Shields are the top pitchers for Shippensburg. Tiesi has a 0.69 earned-run average in 34 appearances. She has a 23-8 record at the mound and leads the conference with 334 strikeouts. Shields, 15-7, has a 1.23 ERA and 169 strikeouts.

Millersville
ESU split with Millersville in both doubleheaders this season. ESU won, 8-7, 9-5 and lost 2-7, 1-4.

Meghan Sinback and Erin Hepner are two of the top hitters for Millersville. Sinback has a .365 batting average in 167 at bats. She has 61 hits with eight doubles, four triples, three home runs and 27 RBI. Hepner has a .338 batting average in 151 at bats with 51 hits. Hepner hit 12 doubles, a triple, six home runs and had 38 RBI this season.

Emily Flieger, 12-4, and Jess Vonada, 10-9, are the top pitchers for Millersville. Flieger had 54 strikeouts in 120 innings pitched. Vonada struck out 67 and allowed 120 hits.

Bloomsburg
ESU defeated Bloomsburg in their first meeting of the season, 3-2. Bloomsburg won the next three games 6-3, 3-2 and 1-0.

Tara Reed, Alyson Taylor and Lisa Bohner are three of the top hitters for Bloomsburg. Reed has a .358 batting average in 162 at bats. She had 58 hits with ten doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 30 runs batted in. Taylor leads the team with 11 home runs. Bohner had 44 hits with seven doubles, two triples and five home runs.

Reed is also one of the top pitchers with a 1.24 ERA and a 14-5 record with 147 strikeouts this season. Ashley Lynn, 16-8, struck out 151 and has a 1.46 ERA.

California
ESU did not play California this season. Top hitters for California include Jennifer Doty (.385), Debbie Tedesco (.365), Megan Timpf (.345) and Becky Mezyk (.317). Doty had 47 hits and led the team with 12 doubles. Tedesco had 35 hits and was second on the team with 23 RBI. Timpf had 39 hits in 113 at bats and leads the team with five home runs. Mezyk had 123 at bats with 39 hits and 10 doubles.

Lock Haven
ESU lost to Lock Haven, from the Western Division, twice this season 7-1 and 3-0.

Three of the top hitters are Courtney Hughes, Danielle Fraser and Kristin Erb. Hughes holds a .439 batting average and leads the team with 65 hits and18 home runs. Fraser leads the team with14 doubles and has a .391 batting average. Erb had 50 hits in 130 at bats with seven doubles and seven home runs.

Erb and Jeanette Middlest are the top two pitchers for Lock Haven. Erb is undefeated at 37-0m has pitched 178 innings and has a 0.16 ERA. She has 194 strike outs and allowed 81 hits this season. Middlest, 14-2, has a 1.04 ERA and 125 strikeouts.

N.C. Central
ESU defeated N.C. Central twice early in the season, 4-0 and 17-11 in eight innings.

Top hitters include Sha Sutton, Sophia Blue and Casey Rodriquez. Sutton leads the team with a .509 batting average. She had 86 hits with 25 doubles, seven triples, six home runs and 71 RBI. Blue has a .497 batting average. In 171 at bats, she totaled 85 hits including nine doubles, six triples, a home run and 49 RBI. Rodriquez leads the team with 14 home runs.

N.C. Central's top pitchers are Clarisse Steans and Stacey Greene. Steans, 20-6, has 131 strikeouts in 31 appearances. Greene, 11-8, had 92 strikeouts and allowed 123 hits.