Posted: Apr 26, 2012
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.
The complete tournament schedule appears below.
2012 CCC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
PLAY-IN PHASE
Sat., April 28
Game 1 \#8 Eastern Nazarene at \#5 Nichols. 1:00 p.m.
Game 2 \#7 Curry at \#6 Western New England, 1:00 p.m.
DOUBLE ELIMINATION PHASE
Monday, April 30 Game 3 Game 1 Winner vs. \#4 Roger Williams (at Salve Regina) 2:30 p.m.
Game 4 Game 2 Winner vs. \#3 University of New England (at Endicott) 2:30 p.m.
Game 5 Game 3 Winner at \#1 Salve Regina *
Game 6 Game 4 Winner at \#2 Endicott *
* Games 5 and 6 begin 20 minutes following the completion of Games 3 and 4, respectively.
Thursday, May 3 Game 7 Game 3 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser – at Salve Regina) 2:30 p.m.
Game 8 Game 5 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser – at Salve Regina Field 2) 2:30 p.m.
Game 9 Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner – at Salve Regina ) *
Game 10 Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner – at Salve Regina Field 2) *
** Games 9 and 10 begin 20 minutes following the completion of Games 7 and 8, respectively
Saturday, May 5 Game 11 Game 10 Winner vs. Game 9 Loser – at highest remaining seed) 10:00 a.m.
Game 12 Game 11 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner – at Game 11 site) 12:00 p.m.
Game 13 — If Necessary 2:00 p.m.
