Softball Claims #7 Seed in CCC Tournament

Softball Claims #7 Seed in CCC Tournament
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Salve Regina University will be the top seed for the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) softball championship, which begins with opening-round games on Saturday, April 28.  The Seahawks (21-13 overall) earned the top seed by virtue of their 14-4 conference record.

Salve and second-seeded Endicott (20-15-1 overall) both completed the regular-season CCC schedule with identical 14-4 conference records, necessitating use of the CCC tiebreaking procedures to determine the tournament’s top seed.  In the first step, head-to-head play between Salve Regina and Endicott was examined, but the teams split their conference doubleheader on April 24.  In the second step, the tied teams’ records were compared against other CCC from the top of the conference down through the standings.  Against third-seeded University of New England (21-11 overall, 13-5 CCC), Salve Regina posted a 2-0 record, while Endicott was 1-1.  That distinction earned the number one seed for the Seahawks.

A pair of single-elimination opening round games will take place Saturday.  Saturday’s tournament action will include #5 seed Nichols (15-19, 10-8) hosting #8 seed Eastern Nazarene (12-22, 12-12) at 1:00 p.m., and #6 seed Western New England (15-21, 9-9)  hosting #7 seed Curry College (20-17, 8-10) at 1:00 p.m.  The winners of Saturday’s games will advance to the double-elimination phase of the tournament which is scheduled to begin Monday, April 30.

The winner of the Nichols vs. Eastern Nazarene contest will face #4 seed Roger Williams University (17-21, 11-7) at 2:30 p.m. at Salve Regina.  The winner of that game will face the top-seeded Seahawks 20 minutes after the end of the first game.

The winner of the Western New England vs. Curry matchup will face #3 seed University of New England at 2:30 p.m. on the campus of Endicott College.  The winner of that game will face the second-seeded Gulls 20 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

Tournament action will continue through the week, culminating with the championship game on Saturday, May 5. The CCC tournament champion will earn an automatic berth in the upcoming 2012 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.

Click here to read the full Tournament release

Click here to view the Tournament bracket