2014 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament Bracket (PDF)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - The Bridgewater State University softball team will begin NCAA Division III Tournament play on Friday as the Bears will compete at a four-team Regional hosted by Wellesley College. The Bears will take on host Wellesley on Friday afternoon at 3:30.
Bridgewater won the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Tournament championship for the second straight year and ninth time overall on Sunday with an 8-1 victory over Framingham State University in the finals. The Bears received the league's automatic berth into the NCAAs. Head coach Chrissy Semler's team is 29-12 overall, including a 13-1 finish in MASCAC regular season play.
The Bears are competing in the NCAAs for the second consecutive year and 22nd time in program history.
Different this year, the NCAA Division III Softball Championship will use a format that includes a super regional round of competition. The regional rounds will be held May 9-11. Four teams will compete at 14 regional sites and three teams will compete at two regional sites. The team advancing from each Regional will compete in the super regional round May 16-17. The finals, hosted by Texas-Tyler, will be held May 22-27 at Suddenlink Field in Tyler, Texas. All rounds will use a double-elimination format.
Joining BSU and Wellesley (27-9) in the double-elimination regional tournament are Saint Joseph's College of Maine (33-4) and Western Connecticut State University (31-10). Three of the four teams captured their respective conference tournament titles to earn the automatic qualifier to the national tournament. Wellesley won the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) crown, while Saint Joseph's won the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship. West Conn earned an at-large bid after finishing third in the Little East Conference Tournament.
The site winner will advance to a best two out of three Super Regional against the Williams College Regional winner. The Ephs are hosting Endicott College, Lesley University and defending national champion Tufts University.
Notes: Bridgewater and Wellesley faced each other in 2008 in the NCAA regional tournament hosted by Rhode Island College. The Blue won 11-0 in six innings....The last time the two teams met was in 2010 during the regular season. Wellesley took both ends of a doubleheader by identical scores of 9-3.