Salve Regina softball continues its spring in Springfield
INDIANAPOLIS - Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Softball Champion Salve Regina will travel to Springfield for the 2017 NCAA Division III Softball Regional where they will take on the host Pride on Friday, May 12. Game times will be announced at a later time.
The entire 62-team field was announced on Monday afternoon during the NCAA.com Selection Show.
Salve Regina earned the CCC automatic qualifier into the national championship and currently sports a 25-11 overall (16-2 CCC) record. After earning the top seed in the CCC Softball Championship Tournament, the Seahawks advanced through the double-elimination bracket without taking a loss. Along the way they knocked off No. 4 seed Endicott, No. 2 seed Western New England and No. 3 seed Roger Williams.
Springfield was an at-large selection into this year's championship after the Pride lost to Babson in the New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship, 8-3. The Pride come into this year's tournament with a 32-9 overall (13-5 NEWMAC) record.
The other two teams in the Springfield Regional pod are UMass-Boston and Amherst. The Beacons, which are 28-11 (8-6 LEC), earned their spot in the NCAA Tournament by claiming their first-ever Little East Tournament Championship. Needing two wins against No. 1 seed Plymouth in the Little East Championship, the Beacons did just that. They won the first game 3-1 and the second 6-2 to earn the LEC automatic qualifier. Amherst's entry, like Springfield's, came as an at-large selection. The 28-10 (10-2 NESCAC) Mammoths finished as the runner-up in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Tournament.
The Springfield Regional is one of 14 regional sites with four teams competing. Two other regional sites have three teams competing. The team advancing from each regional will compete in the super regional round May 19 and 20. The finals, hosted by the University of Central Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City All-Sports Association, will be held May 25-30 at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla. All rounds will use a double-elimination format.
Forty-two conferences received an automatic qualification (Pool A). One institution was selected from Pool B, which includes independent institutions and institutions from conferences that do not meet the automatic qualification criteria. The 19 remaining teams were selected on an at-large basis from automatic qualifying conferences and the remaining institutions in Pool B.
Portions of this release are courtesy of the NCAA.