All Four Teams from 2007 Championship Return for Shot at 2008 Title

HADLEY, Mass. - Defending NESCAC Softball Champion Tufts University will look to earn a second-straight title when the Jumbos compete in the 2008 NESCAC Softball Championship against Trinity, Wesleyan and Williams at the Wesleyan Softball Field in Middletown, Conn. The three-day, double-elimination tournament begins on Friday, May 2 with Trinity facing host Wesleyan at 2:30 p.m., followed shortly afterwards with Williams taking on Tufts at 5:00 p.m. The 2008 NESCAC Softball Championship continues throughout the weekend and will conclude on Sunday, May 4 with the championship game beginning at 10:00 a.m.

After making its first-ever appearance in the NESCAC Softball Championship last spring, Wesleyan (18-14, 10-2 NESCAC West) finished atop the West Division standings for the first time in program history and earned the right to host this year’s championship. The Cardinals picked up series sweeps over Hamilton and Middlebury this season while also taking 2-of-3 games from Amherst and Williams to claim the West’s top seed. After Wesleyan locked up hosting duties on April 18 with an 11-2 win over Amherst, the Cardinals have gone 2-3, most recently splitting a two-game set with rival Trinity on Saturday, April 26, winning the first game 7-3 before falling in the second outing 6-5. Before the Cardinals face the Bantams in the first game of the 2008 Championship, they will have a pair of tune-up contests at Eastern Conn. St. Tuesday afternoon. Against this year’s championship field, Wesleyan is 4-2.

Tufts (25-8, 11-1 NESCAC East) also secured the top seed in its division last weekend by taking 2-of-3 from East Division foe Trinity in Medford, Mass. The Jumbos are in the midst of another stellar spring season, having gone 18-3 since the start of April. Tufts finished out the conference slate over the weekend with a three-game sweep of Bates in Lewiston, Maine, winning Friday’s contest 8-0 in five innings before taking two on Saturday, 7-3 and 19-0. Before the defending champs begin their pursuit of an unprecedented fifth NESCAC title, they will travel to face Springfield in a doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon. Against this year’s championship field, Tufts is 2-3.

While Trinity (15-13, 8-4 NESCAC East) fell short in its quest for the top spot in the East Division, the Bantams did make the tournament field for the fourth consecutive season. Trinity managed a program first during last year’s championship by reaching the championship game before falling to Tufts by a 5-0 score. The Bantams had a rocky end to the regular season, going 3-7 over their last 10 games but still managed to forge a split with Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon. Trinity has only faced Wesleyan once in tournament play, coming during last year’s first elimination game which the Bantams won 8-5. Trinity is 2-3 against the championship field, having not yet faced Williams this season.

The final playoff spot came down to the wire for Williams (19-18, 7-5 NESCAC West) on Saturday. The Ephs faced NESCAC rival Amherst during the final weekend of play, needing to win only one game to earn a berth in the 2008 championship. After dropping the first two games of the weekend to Amherst, Williams rebounded by winning the third meeting 10-6. The Ephs will be making their eighth-consecutive appearance in the NESCAC Softball Championship, a figure matched only by Tufts. Williams has won three NESCAC Softball crowns, all coming in a row between 2004 and 2006. During last year’s championship at Tufts, the Ephs picked up a day one victory over Trinity before eventually being knocked out on day two by the Bantams. Friday’s meeting between the Ephs and the Jumbos will be the 13th in championship history, with the all-time playoff series deadlocked at 6-6. Williams is 2-2 against this year’s championship field.

2008 NESCAC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Day 1 - Friday, May 2 at Wesleyan
Game 1 - E2 Trinity at W1 Wesleyan - 2:30 p.m.
Game 2 - W2 Williams vs. E1 Tufts - 5:00 p.m.

Day 2 - Saturday, May 3 at Wesleyan
Game 3 - Loser of GM 1 vs. Loser of GM 2 - 10:00 a.m.
Game 4 - Winner of GM 1 vs. Winner of GM 2 - 12:30 p.m.
Game 5 - Winner of GM 3 vs. Loser of GM 4 - 3:00 p.m.

Day 3 - Sunday, May 4 at Wesleyan
Game 6 - Winner of GM 4 vs. Winner of GM 5 - 10:00 a.m.
Game 7 - If Necessary - Immediately Following