STANDISH, ME - The 2013 NCAA DIII Softball Tournament field has been released and Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Champion Saint Joseph's College will face Springfield College in the opening round of the national tourney on Thursday, May 9th at Babson College.
Saint Joseph's has claimed the #5 seed in the eight-team regional and will play fourth-seeded Springfield at 12:00 PM on Thursday. Top-seeded Tufts University (38-3) takes on #8 Lesley College (24-17) at 10:00 AM), #3 Babson (32-12) battles #6 Bridgewater State University (24-15) at 2:00 PM and #2 Rowan University (37-7) faces #7 Husson University (31-10-1) at 4:00 PM on the first day.
The Monks, 33-11 overall and 18-6 in conference play this spring, will be making their third-consecutive national tourney appearance after clinching three conference titles over the last three seasons. St. Joe's collected an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament with an 8-0 victory over Suffolk University in the 2013 GNAC Championship contest on Sunday, April 28th.
Along with a talented roster, the Monks will rely on their past NCAA Tournament experience to be a contributing factor in this year's tourney.
As the fifth seed in the 2012 NCAA Amherst Regional Tournament, Saint Joseph's opened play with a hard-fought 4-2 loss at the hands of #4 Keene State College, which advanced all the way to the regional championship several days later. The Monks' season ended the next day when #8 Keuka College tipped the Royal Blue by a 5-4 margin in nine innings.
In 2011, Saint Joseph's enjoyed a strong run in what was the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. As the #6 seed in the Providence Regional, the Monks defeated #3 Endicott and #2 Coast Guard before bowing out of the tourney with hard-fought losses to Eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island College.
Springfield claimed the 2013 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) title with a 6-2 championship game victory over Babson on Sunday. The Pride, the #10 team in the New England Region according to the latest NCAA Regional Rankings, have not made a national tourney appearance since 2009.
Overall, 62 teams from across the country will compete in the 2013 NCAA DIII Softball Tournament.
Six teams will compete at one regional site and eight teams will compete at seven regional sites. The eight regional sites will use a double-elimination format.
The six-team regional round will be held May 9-13, and the eight-team regional rounds will be held May 10-13. The finals, hosted by the Wisconsin-Eau Claire, will be held May 17-21 at the Carson Park in Eau Claire, Wis.
Forty-one conferences received automatic qualification (Pool A). Two institutions were 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.
BABSON PARK NCAA REGIONAL BRACKET
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.
