May 3, 2010

2010 NECC Softball Championship Pairings Announced

ATTLEBORO, Mass.—Lesley University has claimed the top seed for the 2010 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Softball Championship, which begins with quarterfinal matchups on campus sites the afternoon of Tuesday, May 4. The Lynx (22-10 overall) earned the top spot in the upcoming NECC tournament after posting a 15-1 conference record.

Elms College (17-15 overall) claimed the #2 seed going 14-2 in conference play.

Mitchell College (20-12 overall, 12-4 NECC) has earned the #3 seed, while Bay Path College (20-18 overall, 9-7 NECC) will be the #4 seed. Daniel Webster College (13-16) finished with an 8-8 conference record earning the #5 seed

Both Newbury College (12-22) and Becker College (10-26) tied for 6^th place with a 5-11 NECC record. NECC tiebreaker procedures were used to determine the #6 and final seed. In the first criteria of head-to-head competition Newbury and Becker split. The next criterion used compared record among higher ranked teams in conference. Both teams lost to Lesley, while Newbury split with Elms on April 25^th winning 3-0 and losing 8-6. Becker lost both contests.

Newbury earned the final spot after taking the third criterion in the tiebreaker procedures.

In quarterfinal-round action on Tuesday, May 4, #3 Mitchell will host #6 Newbury in New London, Conn. at 4:00 p.m., while #4 Bay Path will host #5 Daniel Webster in Longmeadow, Mass. at 4:00 p.m.

The semifinal and final rounds will be hosted by top-seeded Lesley on Friday, May 7, Saturday, May 8 and possibly Sunday, May 9 in Cambridge, Mass. The location of the tournament field will at UMass Boston.

In Friday’s semifinals, Lesley will face the winner of the Bay Path-Daniel Webster quarterfinal at 10:00 a.m., while Elms will meet the winner of the Mitchell-Newbury quarterfinal at 12:00 p.m. Game five will have the two losing teams facing off at 2:00 p.m. and the winning teams finishing off the day at a 4:00 p.m. start time.

Saturday’s action will begin at noon with the winner of game five facing the loser of game six. The championship game -- game eight -- will take place at 2:00 p.m. with the winners of game six and seven meeting.

2010 NECC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Quarterfinals • Tuesday, May 4

Game 1-#6 Newbury (12-22, 5-11) at #3 Mitchell (20-12, 12-4), 4:00 p.m.

Game 2-#5 Daniel Webster (13-16, 8-8) at #4 Bay Path (20-18, 9-7), 4:00 p.m.

Semifinals • Friday, May 7 (Hosted by Lesley at UMass Boston)

Game 3-Winner of #4/#5 at #1 Lesley (22-10, 15-1), 10:00 a.m.

Game 4-Winner of #3/#6 vs. #2 Elms (17-15, 14-2), 12:00 p.m.

Game 5-Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 2:00 p.m.

Game 6-Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 4:00 p.m.

Semifinals and Championship Game • Saturday, May 8 (Hosted by Lesley at UMass Boston)

Game 7-Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6, 12:00 p.m.

Game 8-Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 7, 2:00 p.m.

Championship Game • Sunday, May 9 (Hosted by Lesley at UMass Boston)

Game 9 (If Necessary), 1:00 p.m.