Seahawks playing for softball championship

Play Video

Summary: Salve Regina University softball travels to Springfield, Mass., needing one win for the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship; winner will take conference championship and automatic bid to NCAA Division III Championships.

Match-up: No. 3 Salve Regina Seahawks (23-16; 14-4 CCC) will face winner of No. 1 Western New England Golden Bears (23-17; 15-3 CCC) / No. 5 Roger Williams Hawks (23-18; 12-6 CCC)

Game date, time and site: Sat., May 7, 2016; approximately 1 p.m. (or 20 minutes after completion of Game 11) at Golden Bear Softball Field (Springfield, Mass.)

Live stats (if Western New England): http://bit.ly/1UFnYyc
Live stats (if Roger Williams): http://bit.ly/1SSBs8x

Video: http://bit.ly/1Mc48nX Play-by-play call from Salve Regina sports information director, Ed Habershaw

Directions: http://bit.ly/1MwLaKy

Ticket Info: Free admission with parking available on campus

Game notes: Download a PDF version of the game notes here

PDF Championship Bracket: http://bit.ly/1O44mSM

CCC statistical leaders: http://www.cccathletics.com/sports/sball/2015-16/leaders

Series edge: Salve Regina has a 36-35 mark in the all-time series with Roger Williams ... Western New England has a 15-11 edge over Salve Regina since 1987, and 12-10 since joining the league in 2007 ...

Follow the Seahawks on Twitter @SalveAthletics

SALVE REGINA IN THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• The Seahawks have won four (4) Commonwealth Coast Conference softball championships since entering as a charter member; titles in 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1999.
• The Seahawks have reached the championship round and/or game five other times: 1997, 2003, 2009, 2012, and 2014.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Roger Williams concluded its regular season at 12-6 in the CCC, with a tight race for seeding pushing the Hawks to the No. 5 seed and sending them to the single-elimination round. Against No. 8 Gordon, Roger Williams rolled to a five-inning 8-0 win and into the double-elimination round.

After pushing the double-elimination phase back a day due to rain, the Hawks began with a 3-2 nine-inning win over No. 4 University of New England to advance against top-seeded Western New England. A pitching duel ensued, with the Golden Bears slipping past the Hawks with a 1-0 win in 10 innings.

Meanwhile, Salve Regina tied with Endicott (14-4) in the regular season, but slipped to No. 3 seed due to Gulls' split with top-seeded Golden Bears. The Seahawks opened with a five-inning 8-0 win against Eastern Nazarene on Tuesday, before rallying for four runs in their last at bat against the Gulls for a 5-4 win.

On Thursday in Springfield, Mass., Salve Regina upset the top seed and defending champion Western New England, 7-0, behind the combined pitching efforts of senior Nicole Parry (Quincy, Mass.) and Kelsey Boarman (No. Dighton, Mass.). Junior outfielder Lexi Soucie (No. Easton, Mass.) and freshman infielder Amanda Riley (Barrington, N.H.) belted solo homers in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively.

Roger Williams eliminated No. 6 Eastern Nazarene with a 7-2 win to face off against No. 2 Endicott. The Hawks came back from three runs down in the top of the seventh with four runs and eliminated the Gulls with the 6-5 final.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY

• Salve Regina split the regular-season meetings with Roger Williams in Bristol, R.I., on March 30 (winning 3-0 before losing 4-2).
• The Seahawks were swept by the Golden Bears on April 9, and had lost three straight in the series after a 12-4 win in last year's CCC opener. Salve Regina ended the three-game skid with Thursday's 7-0 victory.

2016 SALVE REGINA WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
Kelsey Boarman - CCC Pitcher of the Week - March 21
Nicole Parry - CCC Pitcher of the Week - April 18

Boarman and Parry are joined by five other Seahawks on the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) all-conference team: senior Genevieve Benoit (Swampscott, Mass.), junior Kara O'Riley (Acton, Mass.), sophomore Francesca Galeazzi (Lynn, Mass.), and freshmen Lindsey Florent (New Bedford, Mass.) and Elizabeth Lombardo (Thomaston, Conn.).

ALL-TIME CCC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONS

COACHES' CORNER

• Seahawks have reached postseason in each of head coach Jessica DePolito's three seasons.
• DePolito has a 65-55 (.542) record in three seasons.
• The third-year head coach in the 11th skipper in the history of the Salve Regina softball program and the fifth to have more than two years at the helm.