BENNINGTON, Vt. – The New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) has announced the seeding for its 2014 postseason softball championship, a playoff that will include Southern Vermont College for the first time.
The Mountaineers took the No. 6 seed after a year in which they went 9-9 in the conference, 11-19 overall, marking the best season in program history. SVC will travel to No. 3 Mitchell College (16-17, 12-6 NECC) on Thursday for a first round elimination game scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
"Throughout this season we have worked hard to turn heads and to really show who Southern Vt. is and what we can do," commented SVC first-year head coach Alyssa Davis. "In doing so, we set out to make playoffs as our top goal. I am extremely proud of this team for changing the history of this program, but we aren't done yet. [Thursday] is just another day on the field, another day for us to prove that we belong and continue to change this program."
SVC split the regular season series with the Mariners, taking the back-end of an April 18 doubleheader 9-4; that was the first time in 10 meetings between the two programs that the Mountaineers were the victor. Mitchell took game one by a 7-2 margin.
"I feel our matchup tomorrow with Mitchell is going to be an exciting one," continued Davis. "We split during the regular season, and both teams are talented. Postseason play comes down to who wants it more and who's willing to do whatever it takes for their team to succeed."
The winner of Wednesday's contest moves on with the day's other two winners to the weekend's double elimination tournament hosted by top-seeded Lesley University at Regis College. The Lynx earned the right to host and a first-round bye with a 17-1 conference record (18-13 overall), their lone loss being to Becker College.
Elsewhere around the league on Wednesday sees No. 5 Elms College (12-15, 10-8 NECC) visit fourth-seeded Newbury College (15-17, 11-7 NECC) for a 3 p.m. first pitch. That is the same scheduled start time for when No. 2 Becker (16-18, 13-5 NECC) hosts No. 7 Regis (9-18, 8-10 NECC).
Double elimination play is slated to start Friday morning at Regis. The champion could be decided on Saturday, but a final 10th game will be played Sunday if necessary. Game dates and times are subject to change; visit neccathletics.com for a complete and up-to-date schedule.