Saint Mark’s is the top seed in the 2025 DIAA softball state tournament, which begins Tuesday with eight games. The fields were announced the afternoon of May 18. The Spartans are joined by Padua, the 14th seed, and No. 24 Ursuline.
The Spartans are in the tournament for the fifth consecutive season after going 15-3. Their schedule included wins over tournament teams Conrad, Middletown, Concord, Laurel, Red Lion, Sussex Academy, Delaware Military, Ursuline, Appoquinimink, Indian River and St. Georges. They split two games with Padua. Their other losses were to Lake Forest and Sussex Central, both in the tourney.
Chloe Bedwell, Kimorah Neal and Karlee Cathcart are part of a potent lineup, and Saint Mark’s has relied on several arms in the circle, including Gabby Saggione and Ava McCormick.
After a first-round bye, Saint Mark’s will host the winner of No. 17 Laurel-No. 16 Woodbridge.
Padua returns to the postseason after a one-year absence. The Pandas wrapped up a 9-7 regular season hours before the tournament field was announced. They have wins against Saint Mark’s and fellow postseason contenders Ursuline, Concord and Indian River. They lost to Saint Mark’s, St. Georges, Conrad, Cape Henlopen, Sussex Tech and Laurel.
Among their offensive weapons are Lexi Dawson, Siena Evans and Ellie Hill. They have gotten good pitching from several arms, including Shay Chesworth and Kaia Bennett, both freshmen.
The Pandas will open tournament play against Indian River, the 19th seed, on May 20 at 4 p.m. at Wilmington University. The winner will play at No. 3 Cape Henlopen on May 22 at a time to be determined.
Ursuline earned the final berth in the field with a 9-7 record. Five of their losses came against tournament teams, including two to Padua and one each against Saint Mark’s, Concord and Woodbridge. It is the Raiders’ first appearance in the tournament since at least 2008; the school resurrected the program in 2021 after not having a team from 2017-19.
Bailey Maloney has been solid in the circle all season, collecting her 400th career strikeout earlier this season. She is also one of the Raiders’ premier offensive weapons, along with Anna Mieczkowski and Anna Harris.
Ursuline opens tournament play on May 20 at 4 p.m. at Sussex Academy. The winner will visit No. 8 Polytech on May 22 at a time to be determined.
The quarterfinals are May 24 at sites and times to be determined. Both the semifinals and championship will be at the University of Delaware. The semis are May 27 at times to be determined, and the final is May 30 at 7 p.m.
Tickets for games through the semifinals are available at www.gofan.co/app/school/DIAA.
