SELINSGROVE, PA - Susquehanna's baseball and softball teams both head southeast for their respective Landmark Conference Tournaments, with their first games on Friday. Baseball heads to Lancaster, Pa at Penn Medicine Park to take on Drew Friday at 11 a.m., while softball heads to Moravian University in Bethlehem, Pa. for a 3 p.m. matchup between either Drew or Catholic. 

After a modest start to their season baseball turned the heat up in April for an impressive late-season run to earn the second seed with a 16-8 Landmark record. They finished second to top-seeded Wilkes, who they defeated in their regular season finale on Saturday 17-7 as head coach Denny Bowers earned his 400th career win. The River Hawks open the weekend tournament against the Rangers, who they swept at home this year back on April 11-12 by respective 10-6, 13-7, and 10-9 scores. Susquehanna earned another three-game Landmark sweep against last year's conference champion Catholic, while taking two out of three in their conference series against Juniata, Elizabethtown, Scranton and Moravian. Coach Bowers' team earned some Landmark praise along the way as lefty starting pitcher Josh Domaracki was twice named Landmark Pitcher of the Week. Ben Gearhart also earned Pitcher of the Week accords, while Michael Girardi earned Landmark Player of the Week. The Landmark Baseball Tournament opened on Tuesday as fifth-seeded Drew defeated Wilkes 7-6, prompting the Rangers to meet the River Hawks in the first winner's bracket game Friday. Fourth-seeded Scranton topped three-seeded Elizabethtown 13-8. Following the Drew-Susquehanna game it will be Elizabethtown and Wilkes in the elimination game at 2:30 p.m. Friday, followed by the second elimination game at 6 p.m. Two games will follow Saturday beginning at 11 a.m., followed by Sunday's championship round starting also at 11 a.m.

Softball earned the fourth seed for the Landmark Tournament, opening up Tuesday against fifth-seeded Wilkes as the Colonels dealt the River Hawks a 12-9 defeat in ten innings. Susquehanna plays in Friday's elimination game at 3 p.m. between the loser of the 11 a.m. matchup featuring three-seeded Drew and two-seeded Catholic. Wilkes takes on top-seed and host Moravian Friday at 1 p.m. The River Hawks made it this far thanks to an 8-8 Landmark record, taking sweeps over Lycoming and Juniata. Among the remaining Landmark Tournament teams they split with Drew and Wilkes during the regular season. Senior pitcher Brianna Jones had another phenomenal season in the circle, going 7-3 with a 1.99 ERA and 77 strikeouts, including a season-best ten against Wilkes on May 2 to earn Landmark Pitcher of the Week. She also reached 300 career strikeouts, currently at 340 as of Thursday. A utility player, Jones was just as effective with her bat, batting .342 with 25 hits, four doubles and three triples for 12 RBIs. First base player Katelyn Dugery "dug in" to deliver four home runs this season as she also raked in eight doubles for 12 multi-base hits and 21 RBIs to rank second on the team. Leading the RBI category is Stevie Shaak, who leads the River Hawks with a .369 batting average on 38 hits, seven doubles and three triples. She also leads the team with 12 walks on her way to a .436 on-base percentage. Leading in the OB category this spring is Maddy Devine, batting .343 with 36 hits, eight doubles and one triple, along with 11 walks and seven hit by pitches. Saturday's slate of the Landmark Tournament features three games beginning at 11 a.m., while the championship round takes place Sunday with an 11 a.m. start.