BOSTON, Mass. – Following the completion of Monday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference softball contests, the 2013 GNAC Softball tournament bracket is now available.
Finishing with a 20-4 GNAC slate, Norwich University earns the #1 seed and will host #8 Suffolk University (11-13) on Wednesday, 4/24 at 4:00 PM.
With a 19-5 GNAC record, Emerson College is the #2 seed and will host #7 Rivier University (11-13) on 4/24 at 8:00 PM.
University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) earns the #3 seed with an 18-6 GNAC mark, owning the tie breaker over Saint Joseph's College, who also posted an 18-6 mark and will be the #4 seed. The Blue Jays will host #6 Simmons College (15-9) while the back-to-back conference-champion Monks will host #5 Johnson & Wales University (16-8) on at Richard W. Bailey Field on Wednesday.
Saint Joseph's (29-9, 18-6 GNAC) split a doubleheader in a pair of low-scoring games with Johnson & Wales in Providence on April 5th. The Wildcats tipped the Monks by a 2-1 score in nine innings in the opener and the Royal Blue responded with a 2-0 triumph to salvage the split. Junior pitcher Rae-Marie Copan (Newton, Mass.) scattered three hits and fanned five batters in the nightcap triumph over the Wildcats that day.
First round games will be played with a single-elimination format. The four teams that advance to the quarterfinals will begin double-elimination play at the home site of the highest remaining seed on Friday and tournament play continues at the site of the top seed throughout the remainder of the playoffs.
The winner of the 2013 GNAC Softball tournament will earn an automatic qualifying bid into the 2013 NCAA Division III Softball championship tournament.
GNAC RELEASE (Includes bracket)
COURTESY OF GNAC SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 350-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
