Softball Draws Messiah University in NCAA Regional

New York, NY – The NCAA has announced the field of 62 teams to participate in the Division III Softball Tournament. The field is comprised of 43 automatic Qualifiers which come from Conference Champions, while the remaining 19 teams were at-large bids. Hunter Drew Messiah University in the first round of the regional tournament.

The Hunter College Hawks (22-12) earned their way into the NCAA Tournament after going a perfect 20-0 in league action to earn the top seed in the CUNYAC Tournament. After making quick work of # 4 Lehman College in the first round, they advanced to the winners bracket. Due to inclement weather, the league was forced to alter the remaining format and pitted the two teams from the winners bracket against each other in the best of three series to determine the Champions. Hunter defeated # 2 John Jay in the first game, 11-9, but fell by the identical score in the second game to force a third. A come-from-behind, 8-6 win by the Hawks Secured the program’s 12th title, first since 2008, and also punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

Christopher Newport University will be the host for the regional. Located in Newport News, VA, the Captains boast a record of 37-1, are ranked # 1 in Region VI, won the Coast to Coast Conference Championship, and are the # 1 nationally ranked institution. Messiah University sports the 27-13 record and won the Mac Commonwealth Conference Championships. The Falcons are also ranked # 5 in the Region V rankings. Wilson College rounds out the regional bracket. The Phoenix own a 23-11-1 overall record and were the winners out of the CSAC Tournament.

Hunter has never played Messiah or Wilson. They have one game under their belt against Christopher Newport which was played back in March 15 of 2008 when the Captains won 9-1.

Action will begin on Friday, May 13 with Game 1 featuring Hunter squaring off against Messiah at 2pm. Game 2 will be Wilson vs. Christopher Newport at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Winner of game 1 will face the Winner of game 2 in the winners bracket. The loser of game 1 goes up against the loser of game 2. Sunday will determine the regional Champion. The full schedule is below.

The regional tournaments are in double elimination format. The Winner of each region will advance to the super regional where the best of three formats is followed.

Friday, May 13

Game 1 | Hunter vs. Messiah – 2pm
Game 2 | Wilson vs. Christopher Newport – 4:30 pm

Saturday, May 14

Game 3 | Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 12pm
Game 4 | Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – 2:30 pm
Game 5 | Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3 – 4:30 pm

Sunday, May 15

Game 6 | Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5 – 12pm
Game 7 | Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6 (if necessary) – 2:30 pm

Live Stats can be found here. A live video will also be available for each game by clicking here. For the full Interactive NCAA Tournament Bracket, click here.

Hunter College	Wilson College	Messiah University	Christopher Newport College
Record: 22-12	Record: 23-11-1	Record: 27-13	Record: 37-1 ** Host Institution **
New York, NY	Chambersburg, PA	Mechanicsburg, PA	Newport News, VA
CUNYAC Champions	CSAC Champions	MAC Commonwealth Champions	Coast to Coast Champions
Roster / Schedule / Stats	Roster / Schedule / Stats	Roster / Schedule / Stats	Roster / Schedule / Stats

Courtesy of Hunter Sports Information