SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Western New England University will be the top seed for the 2015 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) softball championship, which begins with play-in games on Saturday, April 25. The Golden Bears (25-7 overall) earned the top seed in the tournament after posting a 14-2 record in CCC play.
Western New England, second-seeded Salve Regina University (19-16, 12-4), third-seeded Endicott College (15-17, 11-5) and fourth-seeded Curry College (12-16, 8-8) all earned byes directly into the double-elimination phase of the tournament.
A pair of single-elimination opening round games will take place Saturday. Saturday's tournament action will include #5 seed Roger Williams University (12-15, 8-8) hosting #8 seed Gordon College (7-22, 4-12) at 5:30 p.m. in Bristol, R.I.., and #6 seed University of New England (17-18, 8-8) hosting #7 seed Nichols College (11-17, 7-9) at 1:00 p.m. in Biddeford, Maine. The winners of Saturday's games will advance to the double-elimination phase of the tournament which is scheduled to begin Monday, April 27.
On Monday, the winner of the Roger Williams vs. Gordon matchup will face #4 seed Curry at 2:30 p.m. at Western New England. The winner of that game will face the top-seeded Golden Bears 20 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
Also on Monday, the winner of the UNE vs. Nichols contest will face #3 seed Endicott at 2:30 p.m. at Salve Regina. The winner of that game will face the second-seeded Seahawks 20 minutes after the end of the first game.
CCC tiebreaking procedures were used to break a three-way tie among Curry, Roger Williams and UNE for fourth place in the regular-season standings and determine the fourth, fifth and sixth seeds in the tournament All three of those teams completed the CCC regular-season schedule with 8-8 conference records.
In the first step, head-to-head play among the three teams was examined. Curry posted a 3-1 record versus RWU and UNE, earning the Colonels the fourth seed. The remaining teams, RWU and UNE, were treated as a new tie and returned to the first step in the tiebreaking process. That step offered no relief, as the two teams split their regular-season doubleheader.
In the second step, records against other CCC teams were examined, starting at the top of the standings and working downward until one team gained an advantage. Both RWU and UNE posted identical records against #1 Western New England (0-2) and#2 Salve Regina (1-1). The Hawks gained the advantage and the fourth seed thanks to a 1-1 record versus #3 Endicott, while the Nor'easters went 0-2.
Tournament action will continue on Thursday, April 30 at Western New England University and a satellite field at American International College, and will culminate with the championship game on Saturday, May 3 at the field of the highest-remaining team. The CCC tournament champion will earn an automatic berth in the upcoming 2015 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
The complete tournament schedule appears below. All dates and times are tentative and subject to change.
Click HERE for the Printable Tournament Bracket.
2015 CCC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
PLAY-IN PHASE
Saturday, April 25
Game 1 - #8 Gordon at #5 Roger Williams, 5:30 p.m.
Game 2 - #7 Nichols at #6 University of New England, 1:00 p.m.
DOUBLE ELIMINATION PHASE
Monday, April 27
Game 3 - Game 1 Winner vs. #4 Curry (at WNE), 2:30 p.m.
Game 4 - Game 2 Winner vs. #3 Endicott (at SRU), 2:30 p.m.
Game 5 - Game 3 Winner at #1 Western New England *
Game 6 - Game 4 Winner at #2 Salve Regina *
** Games 5 and 6 begin 20 minutes following the completion of Games 3 and 4, respectively.
Thursday, April 30
Game 7 - Game 3 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser (at WNE), 2:30 p.m.
Game 8 - Game 5 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser (at AIC), 2:30 p.m.
Game 9 - Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner (at WNE) *
Game 10 - Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (at AIC) *
** Games 9 and 10 begin 20 minutes following the completion of Games 7 and 8, respectively
Saturday, May 2
Game 11 - Game 10 Winner vs. Game 9 Loser (at highest remaining seed), 11:00 a.m.
Game 12 - Game 11 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner (at Game 11 site), 1:00 p.m.
Game 13 - If Necessary, 3:00 p.m.
All dates and times are tentative and subject to change due to inclement weather.
