WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - To say expectations were low for the Lycoming College softball team at the beginning of the season is a bit of an understatement, the MAC Freedom coaches picked the team to finish dead last, but ended up finishing 25-14 overall, tied for first in the league in the regular season, helping Melissa Montoro earn her first career Robert Darrow Curry Coach of the Year Award.

With three of the team's eight first-year players in the starting lineup, the Warriors swept their opening day in Myrtle Beach and finished 6-2 on the week.

That set the tone for the team, as it swept DeSales and FDU-Florham and started MAC Freedom play with a 7-1 record before finishing tied for first in the league with a 12-4 mark. It was the first time since 2005 that the Warriors won a share of a regular-season title.

In the MAC Freedom Championship, the Warriors lost their opening game, but rebounded to eliminate three of the five teams in the tournament, Stevens, Arcadia and King's with a stunning six-run rally in the last two innings.

In all, the Warriors won a school-record 25 games, dropped their team ERA by nearly 2.5 runs and raised their batting average by nearly 30 points. A school-record seven Warriors were named to the all-conference team, including MAC Freedom Pitcher of the Year Kylie Russell and First Team All-MAC Freedom Outfielder Morgan Wetzel.

Maybe even more amazingly – the team, with 20 members, had a combined GPA of 3.41 for the 2022-23 academic year and 14 earned MAC Academic Honor Roll honors.