ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – After a third-place finish in the conference's Southern Division and a few days off to recharge its batteries, the Central Methodist University softball team received the No. 5 seed in the Heart of America Athletic Conference 2017 Postseason Softball Tournament and will open play on Thursday in the second round against No. 4-seed Avila University. The teams will square off at 10:30 a.m. in the second of eight games on the slate at Bill McKinney Heritage Park.

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Central Methodist vs. Avila University, 10:30 a.m.
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There will be two play-in games on Wednesday (today) at the tournament to determine the No. 7 and no. 8 seeds. No. 8-seed Missouri Valley College (27-20) will take on No. 9 Culver-Stockton College (22-24) at 4 p.m. and No. 7-seed Baker University (25-24) will meet No. 10 Benedictine College (21-24) at 4:30 p.m. The higher remaining seed of those two games will be the No. 7 seed, with the remaining team receiving the No. 8 seed as they head into double-elimination segment of the tourney.

There are eight games scheduled on Thursday, with No. 1 Grand View University (39-11) playing the No. 8 seed at 10 a.m., along with CMU (26-20) battling Avila (31-21). No. 3 Clarke University (41-10) will square off the against the No. 7 seed at 12:30 p.m. and No. 3 Evangel University (28-20) will tangle with No. 6 MidAmerica Nazarene at 1 p.m.

There will be four more contests later in the day, followed by four games on Friday and two or three contest set for Saturday to decide the champion. Clarke has already clinched a spot in the upcoming NAIA Softball Postseason Championship. There is one more automatic berth up for grabs. If Clarke wins the tournament, the second-place team earns the bid. If another team wins the tournament, it will automatically move on.

Avila tied Evangel for the Southern Division title, as both teams posted 22-14 conference records. CMU was two games back at 17-13. Avila and Central Methodist split their four games this season, with AU winning 8-0 at home and 11-6, while CMU captures contests by 7-6 and 4-2 scores. The squads split games at both venues.

The two teams met twice in the conference postseason tournament a year ago. In the second round Avila captured a 4-3 win in eight innings and then the teams squared off again in the semifinals with Avila took a hard-fought 3-2 win.

Sydnie Harmon (SO/Raymore, Mo.) is Central Methodist's top hitter, with a .381 average, with Alyssa Lilly (SR/Wentzville, Mo.) second with a .358 and Hannah Steeby (FR/St. Joseph, Mo.) third, sitting at .354. Lilly and Steeby (pictured on right) both of 43 RBIs to lead the team and Steeby leads the team in home runs (9), triples (5) and doubles (14).

Erin Enke (JR/Martinez, Calif.) has the best earned run average on the CMU ball club, sitting at 2.03. She is 11-8 on the year, with 142 strikeouts and 73 walks. Ashley Litton (SR/Lee's Summit, Mo.) (pictured on left) who has received several starts as of late, is 5-3, with a 3.73 ERA and 42 strikeouts and 19 walks. Alexis Kohrs (SR/Tilden, Ill.) is 10-9 on the year, with a 4.53 earned run average and 74 strikeouts.

Avila's top pitcher is Kayleigh Behymer, with a 17-9 record and a 2.53 ERA. She has 98 strikeouts and 49 walks. Samantha Dexter is the team's leading hitter among starters, with a .343 average and 25 RBIs.

If Central Methodist wins the game against Avila, CMU will play again at 5:30 p.m. Thursday against the winner of No. 1 Grand View and the No. 8 seed. A CMU loss in the opening round, puts the Eagles in the losers' bracket at 3 p.m. against the loser of Grand View and the No. 8 seed.

HEART OF AMERICA ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
2017 POSTSEASON SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
at Bill McKinney Heritage Park, St. Joseph, Mo.
PLAY-IN ROUND
Wednesday, May 3
#8 Missouri Valley College (27-20) vs. #9 Culver-Stockton College (22-24), 4 p.m.
#7 Baker University (25-24) vs. #10 Benedictine College (21-24), 4:30 p.m.
SECOND ROUND
Thursday, May 4
GM 1: #1 Grand View University (39-11) vs. No. 8 seed (from play-in), 10 a.m.
GM 2: #4 Avila University (31-21) vs. #5 Central Methodist University (26-20), 10:30 a.m.
GM 3: #2 Clarke University (41-10) vs. No. 7 seed (from play-in), 12:30 p.m.
GM 4: #3 Evangel University (28-20) vs. #6 MidAmerica Nazarene University (27-19), 1 p.m.
GM 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 3:30 p.m.
GM 6: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 3 p.m.
GM 7: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 5:30 p.m.
GM 8: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 6 p.m.

CMU Softball Contact: John Krueger
Phone: 936-332-9332 | jkrueger@centralmethodist.edu
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Website: www.CMUEagles.com