SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Curry College softball team has been awarded the seventh seed in the upcoming Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament and will head to six seed Nichols in a play in game Friday at 3:00 p.m.  

Salve Regina will look to defend its Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Softball title as the Seahawks enter the 2017 CCC Softball Championship Tournament as the No. 1 seed. Salve finished with a 16-2 CCC (22-11 overall) record, which clinched them the CCC Regular-Season Championship.

Last season, the Seahawks made a run through the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed to claim their first title since 1999.

Western New England, last year's top seed, will look for better results this year after they were ousted from the tournament early on their home field. The Golden Bears went 13-5 in conference (23-9 Overall) this year to secure the No. 2 seed.

Meanwhile, 2016 CCC Softball Tournament runner-up, Roger Williams, will look to make another trip to the league's final contest as the No. 3 seed. The Hawks finished the year with a 12-6 CCC (22-16 Overall) record. The final team advancing directly to the double-elimination phase of the tournament is Endicott, which clinched the No. 4 seed with an 11-7 CCC (20-14 Overall) record.

The final four tournament entrants will have to win their way into the double-elimination phase tomorrow, April 28, in the play-in phase. No. 5 seed University of New England will host No. 8 seed Gordon in one play-in game. The Nor'easters completed a 10-8 CCC (15-13 Overall) season to earn the fifth seed, while Gordon finished 7-11 in conference (14-20 Overall) to earn the eighth seed. No. 6 seed Nichols, which went 8-10 in the CCC (16-15 Overall), will host No. 7 seed Curry, another 7-11 conference (15-21 Overall) finisher, in the other play-in. Both games are scheduled for 3 p.m.

Despite both Curry and Gordon having 7-11 conference records, the Colonels were awarded the higher seed due to the league's tiebreaking procedures. The two teams split their regular season doubleheader, offering no relief in the head-to-head phase. The teams were then compared based on their results against other conference teams in rank order. Neither team bested top-seed Salve Regina, but Curry had a win over No. 2 seed Western New England to give it the edge.

Following tomorrow's play-in phase, the tournament will enter a double-elimination format. Four games will be played on Saturday, April 29, with Salve Regina and WNE each hosting two games. The rest of the tournament will be at Salve Regina the following weekend. Four games will be played on Friday, May 5 followed by at least two games, including the championship game, on Saturday, May 6.

The winner of the 2017 CCC Softball Tournament will be named the CCC Tournament Champion and will earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2017 NCAA Division III Softball Championship Tournament.

Tournament Schedule

PLAY-IN PHASE

Friday, April 28
(Hosted by higher seeds)

Game 1 - #8 Gordon at #5 University of New England, 3 p.m.
Game 2 - #7 Curry at #6 Nichols, 3 p.m.

DOUBLE-ELIMINATION PHASE

Saturday, April 29

Game 3 - Game 1 Winner vs. #4 Endicott, TBA (at Salve Regina)
Game 4 - Game 2 Winner at #3 Roger Williams, TBA
Game 5 - Game 3 Winner vs. #1 Salve Regina, TBA (at Salve Regina)
Game 6 - Game 4 Winner at #2 Western New England, TBA

Friday, May 5
(at Salve Regina)

Game 7 - Game 3 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser, TBA
Game 8 - Game 5 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser, TBA
Game 9 - Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, TBA
Game 10 - Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, TBA

Saturday, May 6
(at Salve Regina)

Game 11 - Game 10 Winner vs. Game 9 Loser, TBA
Game 12 - Game 11 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner, TBA
Game 13 - Game 12 Opponents (if necessary), TBA

Click Here for the Full Release

Click Here for the interactive bracket

(Release Courtesy of the Commonwealth Coast Conference)