SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – It took until the final day of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) regular season, but with a record of 13-3 (28-9 overall) Western New England earned the top seed in the 2016 CCC Baseball Championship Tournament. Day one of the six-team, double-elimination tournament begins on Thursday, May 5.

The Golden Bears were the No. 2-seed in last year's tournament, but made an early exit after losing to No. 5-seed Roger Williams, 6-5 and then to No. 1-seed Endicott, 1-0, on the first two days of the Championship. They will be looking to make a run at their first CCC crown since 2012.

Endicott also finished with a 13-3 (25-13 overall) record in the league this year, but lost the top seed in a tiebreaker. Since the two teams split their CCC matchup, a second round of tiebreakers was required. The two teams' records against other conference teams in their finishing order were compared. Both teams split with No. 3-seed Nichols, but the Golden Bears' Sunday sweep of No. 4-seed Salve Regina gave them the edge with the Gulls slotting into the No. 2 spot. Both teams will host games on Thursday.

Nichols will be the third team to host a day one game as it earned the No. 3 seed with an 11-5 (24-14 overall) record. Following right behind the Bison is No. 4-seed Salve Regina, which went 10-6 (21-15-1 overall) this year.

Gordon will be the No. 5-seed in the 2016 tournament with an 8-8 (19-16 overall) record. Curry is slotted in the sixth and final spot in the CCC Championship with a 6-10 (12-22 overall) record in league play.

On day one of the tournament No.1 Western New England will host No. 6 Curry, No. 2 Endicott will host No. 5 Gordon, and No. 3 Nichols will host No. 4 Salve Regina. All games are scheduled for 3 p.m. first pitches.

The results after day one will determine the day two matchups with the loser of the Western New England-Curry game playing the loser of the Endicott-Gordon game and the winner of the Western New England-Curry game will play the loser of the Nichols-Salve Regina game. The winners from the Endicott -Gordon game and the Nichols-Salve Regina game will also play each other.

The schedule for the final two days of the tournament – Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8 – is contingent on the number of teams that remain after Game 6. Three games will be played on Saturday. The tournament will conclude on Sunday, May 8 with the 2016 CCC Baseball Champion being crowned. The CCC Champion will receive the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

2016 CCC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Dates and times subject to change 

Day 1 – Thursday, May 5
(Games 1-3, Hosted by higher seeds)

Game 1 - #6 Curry at #1 Western New England, 3 p.m.
Game 2 - #5 Gordon at #2 Endicott, 3 p.m.
Game 3 - #4 Salve Regina at #3 Nichols, 3 p.m.

Day 2 – Friday, May 6
(Games 4-6, Hosted by higher seeds)

Game 4 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, TBD
Game 5 – Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, TBD
Game 6 – Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, TBD

Day 3 – Saturday, May 7
(Games 7-9)

If four teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed with the highest seed serving as host:

Game 7 – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, TBD
Game 8 – Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 6, TBD
Game 9 – Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, TBD

Note: The early game involving the host team will be played on the host team's field, while the other game will be played at an alternate site.

If five teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed:
(Highest remaining seed will host the early game in which it plays, plus Game 9. The other early game will be hosted by the higher seed in that pairing.)

Game 7 – Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, TBD
Game 8 – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, TBD
Game 9 – Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7, TBD

Day 4 – Sunday, May 8
(Games 10-11)

If four teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed with the highest remaining seed serving as host:

Game 10 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, TBD
Game 11 – If necessary, same teams as in Game 10, TBD

If five teams remain after Game 6 AND only two teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed with the highest remaining seed serving as host:

Game 10 – Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9, TBD
Game 11 – If necessary, same teams as in Game 10, TBD

If five teams remain after Game 6 AND three teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed:

Game 10 – Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9, TBD
Game 11 – Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, TBD

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