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WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley University softball team will make its NCAA Division II championship debut Thursday afternoon at 2:30 pm when the Falcons take on Caldwell University in the first round of the East Regional 1 Tournament at Adelphi University.

The Falcons were seeded fourth in the East while Caldwell, whose resume includes 16 NCAA regional appearances, was seeded fifth. The rest of the field in East I will be top-seeded Adelphi and number eight St. Thomas Aquinas.

The champion of the three-day double-elimination regional will face the East II Champion May 19-20 for the right to advance to the NCAA Division II Championships. Competing in the East II are host and second-seeded Wilmington, third-seeded Georgian Court, sixth-seeded Franklin Pierce University and seventh-seeded Pace University.

Bentley, 28-14-1 overall, and Caldwell split a doubleheader April 28 with the Falcons winning the opener, 5-4 in eight innings, and the Cougars posting an 8-0 shutout in the nightcap. Senior center fielder Sam Petow (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS) accounted for all five runs, scoring twice and driving in three, including the game-winner with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly. Junior Payton Doiron (Beacon Falls, Conn./St. Joseph HS) earned the win and struck out eight in 5.2 innings, and sophomore Dahlia Fink (Sherman Oaks, Calif./Notre Dame HS) picked up the save.

Doiron, 15-5 with a 1.83 ERA and 167 strikeouts, is one of three Falcons who earned first team All-Northeast-10 honors. She enters the regional with 274 career strikeouts, two shy of the school record.

The other two first-team All-Conference picks were junior left fielder Jordan Krause (San Pedro, Calif./San Pedro HS) and junior shortstop Sabrina Grizzaffi (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield HS). Krause is number two in the NE10 in batting average (.421), on base percentage (.470) and slugging (.671). Her 64 hits is a Bentley single season record and she has seven homers and 35 RBI. Grizzaffi has had three or more hits four times in her last 12 games and was named to the conference's All-Defensive Team along with Petow.           

Graduate catcher Ella Hillier (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin HS), Bentley's career leader in runs, RBI, doubles and extra base hits, is second to Krause in most offensive categories as she's hitting .350. She received second team All-Northeast-10 honors as she played the same position as the conference player of the year.

Petow (324) and Fink (.430) also are hitting over .300 for coach Terry McDonough's squad. Fink, 8-2 with a 2.33 ERA and four saves, is also a key contributor in the center circle.

Other regulars in Bentley's lineup are seniors Kaylee Mankins (North Attleboro/Bishop Feehan HS), Katherine Noftall (Ipswich/Ipswich HS) and Jess Trahan (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack HS) at first, second and third respectively, and junior Kylee Amato (Bergenfield, N.J./Acad. of the Holy Angels HS) in right.

Caldwell enters the NCAA tournament with a 35-17 overall record, including 13-13 away from their home field. The Cougars, who have a .332 team batting average, are led by senior second baseman Courtney Grundhauser, who hits .398 with six home runs and 28 RBI. She's followed by Maya Rodriguez, a .393 hitter with 29 RBI. The top pitchers are Olivia Kennedy (9-3, 1.59 ERA) and Madison Burns (11-4, 1.83).