CUA Softball Suits Up for Landmark Tournament; Coach Maccarone: “I Think This is the Year to Do It”

Image Courtesy of Susie Blanchard and Catholic Athletics.

By Sam Bergstrom

Tomorrow, the Catholic University softball team will play Drew in the Landmark Conference Tournament being held in Bethlehem, PA. The Cardinals finished as the #2 seed in the Landmark standings, while the Rangers finished shortly behind at #3. The winner of this first-round matchup will play the winner of the #5 Wilkes vs. #1 Moravian matchup in a best-of-three championship series. 

In their regular-season finale, the Cardinals routed the Rangers in a stellar Saturday sweep. These games resulted in 2-0 and 6-3 victories, respectively. Softball head coach Sophie Maccarone believes that Catholic can build off of this momentum in a meticulous manner tomorrow. “I think those two were some really good sweeps. But I also believe we did some things not as well during those games. So just focusing on those little things that we can do better to beat them a third time.”

She explained further, “Running the bases, we had some base running mistakes. But I think we were just being a little bit more aggressive while they had a good catcher. So, you know, we also had a lot of pop-ups. So, getting some bunts down, playing some balls in the dirt so that we’re able to get people on base instead of just pop-up after pop-up. That’s what we’ve been working on in practice this week.” 

Without question, this season has been exceptional for Coach Maccarone and the Cards. Catholic finished with a 29-11 record and went 12-4 in conference play. This year’s squad has eclipsed their highest win percentage (.725) since Maccarone officially became the boss back in 2023. Concurrently, the Cardinals secured the #2 seed in the Landmark Conference standings for their second consecutive season. 

To begin the year, Catholic played their first 8 games at home against non-conference opponents. The Cards went 4-4 during that stretch, and Maccarone believes this was exactly what Catholic needed to set their season ablaze. More importantly, she looked to equip her Cards with proper preparation for this weekend’s competition. 

“Beginning of the season, we played some hard teams, and I kept telling the team, ‘I’m scheduling hard games, so we’re ready for the conference tournament,’ basically. So we’re in these high-pressure situations, playing top teams like Case Western, Roanoke, Salisbury, Gettysburg,” she explained. “I think playing those teams earlier on in the season helped us for the middle and bulk of our season because we were able to perform under pressure.” 

Following these pressure-filled games, Catholic began dominating on the diamond. While many were relaxing at home for spring break, the Cardinal softball squad was soaring skillfully through the Spring Games showcase held in Kissimmee, Florida. After winning 3 of their 4 spring games, Catholic carried their sunshine swagger back to D.C. From March 18 to April 7, the Cardinals netted a noble 15-1 record, which featured a 9-game winning streak. 

Along with their challenging start and trip to Florida, Coach Maccarone believes Catholic’s mid-season success is rooted in their senior class stardom. This year, the Cards have 6 seniors looking to end their careers in fantastic fashion. “These seniors were upcoming sophomores when I came in. They really grasped onto what I was trying to do, and even if we had some hard prices and some hard days, they trusted it and went along with it,” Maccarone remarked. “We’ve been on the same page for the past 3 years, and they’ve only excelled each year.”

When asked which players have grown the most this year, Maccarone paid homage to seniors Katie Scolese, Sam Grillo, Kerri Hatcliffe, and sophomore Emma Fleming.

Without question, 2026 has been a historic softball season for all of these players. 

Scolese leads the team in multiple offensive categories, and recently broke the program record for most doubles hit in a season with 16. At the moment, she is tied for the single-season home run record with 10. Grillo has used her superhuman speed to steal the second-most bases in program history with 25, and currently has the sixth-most single-season runs scored with 38. With her keen eye, Hatcliffe has drawn a career-high 21 walks. She has also shown toughness by taking a team-leading 9 hit-by-pitches at the plate. After playing just 3 games in 2025, Fleming has started in 30 of Catholic’s 40 games this season. She currently leads the Cards with an astounding .386 batting average, and has contributed clutch hits for Catholic all season. 

Correspondingly, it was announced today that Catholic softball received six All-Landmark Conference selections. Fleming, Scolese, and senior pitcher Aubrynn Arcement were first-team selections, while senior Olivia Stinchomb was named to the second team. Hatcliffe and junior Katie McHugh both received honorable mentions. 

More than individual players’ success, Maccarone believes the team has bought into her mission and progressed at a rambunctious rate. “When I came in 3 years ago, we were just focused on being better than we were the year before, which we’ve done every single year. But now, we’re thinking about what we can do better hitting-wise, what we can do better fielding-wise,” she stressed. “You can see that from them in practice, you know, giving more than 100% on the field, but also outside of practice because they’re coming, even when I’m not here, running a practice, they’re here hitting, or fielding, or wanting to do extra, too. So it definitely makes sense, and it’s all adding up.”

Last year, the Cardinals lost in the Landmark Conference Championship to the Moravian Greyhounds. Catholic has not taken home a Landmark Title since 2014, when they defeated Susquehanna. 

Coach Maccarone was asked what it will take to capture their second Landmark Conference Championship in school history. “Just being confident in our play,” she put it simply. “We excelled in so many categories this year and have been on the leaderboard for so many things that I think this is the year to do it. This senior class is one that is so invested in this program, like, to the level that I am. So just doing it for the whole team, doing it for them, and everything that they’ve given to this program. We just need to have fun, take the pressure off ourselves, and play how we can play to get the title.”

The first pitch for tomorrow’s game between Catholic and Drew is set for 11 A.M. at Blue & Grey softball field in Bethlehem, PA.