SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The seedings for the 2012 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) baseball championship tournament has been announced and Endicott has earned the \#2 seed, with opening-round games beginning on Thursday, May 3. Endicott earned the second seed after posting a 12-4 conference record, and come into the tournament with a 26-14 overall mark.
Three games are slated for Thursday, May 3 at 3:00 p.m. Top-seeded Western New England will host sixth-seeded Salve Regina (14-25, 6-10), second-seeded Endicott (26-14, 12-4) will host fifth-seeded Gordon (14-23, 7-9), and third-seeded Curry (16-21, 12-4) will host fourth-seeded Roger Williams (14-25, 6-10).
CCC tiebreaking procedures were used to break three deadlocks for second place, fourth place and sixth place in the regular-season conference standings. Endicott and Curry tied for second place with identical 12-4 CCC records, Roger Williams and Gordon tied for fourth place with identical 7-9 CCC records, while Salve Regina and Wentworth tied for sixth place with identical 6-10 CCC records.
In the first step, head-to-head play, Endicott and Curry split two CCC games, Roger Williams and Gordon split two CCC games, and Salve Regina swept two games from Wentworth. This step awarded the number six seed and the final tournament berth to Salve Regina.
Of the two remaining ties, the Endicott and Curry tie was settled first, as that tie occurred higher in the standings. As head-to-head records granted no relief, the teams’ records were then compared to the other teams in the CCC standings from top to bottom in step two. Both Endicott and Curry were 0-2 versus top-seeded Western New England. Both teams were 3-1 against the teams tied for fourth-place -- Roger Williams and Gordon -- which were unable to be separated until the higher Endicott-Curry tie was settled. Endicott and Curry were both 2-0 against the other four CCC teams, generating no relief.
Endicott and Curry then proceeded to step three, a comparison of records against common non-conference opponents. The teams had six common opponents as of games completed by April 28 -- St. Joseph’s (Maine), Fitchburg State, Keene State, Wheaton (Mass.), Worcester State and MIT. Against those teams, Endicott posted a 5-4 total record, while Curry was 1-8. This step earned Endicott the second seed and gave Curry the third seed.
Resolution of the Endicott/Curry tie allowed the Roger Williams/Gordon tie to be broken. Both teams were 0-2 against top-seeded Western New England. Roger Williams posted a 1-1 record against third-seeded Endicott, while Gordon was 0-2. This step earned Roger Williams the fourth seed and gave Gordon the fifth seed.
Tournament action will continue through the week, culminating with the final day of the tournament scheduled for Sunday, May 6. The CCC tournament champion will earn an automatic berth in the upcoming 2012 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.
The highest seed will host each CCC tournament game played during the first two days of the tournament. The highest remaining seed following the first two full days of play will host all games played on the final two days. All times and are tentative and subject to change.
The official tournament schedule appears below.
2012 CCC Baseball Championship - Official Schedule
DAILY SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 3 -- Games 1, 2 and 3 (3:00 p.m.)
Friday, May 4 - Games 4, 5 and 6 (3:00 p.m.)
Saturday, May 5 -- Games 7 (9:30 a.m.), 8 (12:30 p.m.) and 9 (3:30 p.m.)
Sunday, May 6 - Games 10 (12:00 p.m.) and 11 (3:30 p.m., if necessary)
NOTE: Games 1-6 will be hosted by the higher seed. The highest remaining seed after Game 6 will host Games 7-11.
Thursday, May 3
Game 1 \#6 Salve Regina at \#1 Western New England 3:00 p.m.
Game 2 \#5 Gordon at \#2 Endicott 3:00 p.m.
Game 3 \#4 Roger Williams at \#3 Curry 3:00 p.m.
Friday, May 4
Game 4 Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 3:00 p.m.
Game 5 Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3 3:00 p.m.
Game 6 Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3 3:00 p.m.
If FOUR teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed:
Saturday, May 5
Game 7 Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 9:30 a.m.
Game 8 Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 6 12:30 p.m.
Game 9 Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 6
Game 10 Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9 12:00 p.m.
Game 11 If necessary, same teams as in Game 10 3:00 p.m.
If FIVE teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed:
Saturday, May 5
Game 7 Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 9:30 a.m.
Game 8 Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 12:30 p.m.
Game 9 Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7 3:30 p.m.
If TWO teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed:
Sunday, May 6
Game 10 Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9 12:00 p.m.
Game 11 If necessary, same teams as in Game 10 3:00 p.m.
If THREE teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed:
Sunday, May 6
Game 10 Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9 12:00 p.m.
Game 11 Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 3:00 p.m.
