Hilltoppers to Open NCAA Regional on Wednesday
West Liberty takes on East Stroudsburg in 10 a.m. contest
INDIANAPOLIS – The West Liberty University softball team will open the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tournament bright and early Wednesday morning when they take on East Stroudsburg (Pa.) in a 10 a.m. first-round game on the campus of Kutztown (Pa.) University.
Coach Herb Minch’s two-time defending Mountain East Conference Hilltoppers (35-15) are the No. 5 seed in the six-team regional field while the Warriors (26-14) are seeded No. 4 after being swept by Kutztown in the quarterfinals of the PSAC Tournament.
West Chester (30-14), which knocked off Kutztown and Shepherd on its way to winning the PSAC Tournament championship, earned the No. 3 seed and will play Claflin, S.C. (8-1) in Wednesday’s other first-round game, set for a 12:30 p.m. start. Losers of the two first-round games will return to the diamond at 3 p.m. for an elimination game.
Host Kutztown (32-13) is the No. 1 seed with Shepherd (26-12) being granted the No. 2 seed. Both teams will receive byes through Wednesday’s first-round action in the double-elimination event. Kutztown will play the East Stroudsburg-West Liberty winner on Thursday with Shepherd taking on the winner of the West Chester-Claflin matchup.
Ticket information and COVID protocols will be announced later this week by the Kutztown University Athletic Department.
The 2021 NCAA Division II Tournament field has been reduced from 64 teams to 48 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, eliminating the need for a Super Regional round. The Atlantic Region Tournament is one of eight 6-team double-elimination events being conducted this week with the eight regional champions advancing to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
The 2021 NCAA Division II Softball Championships will be held May 27-31 at the Regency Athletic Complex in Denver, Colo. Metropolitan State University of Denver will be the host institution.
SOFTBALL
NCAA Division II Tournament
Atlantic Region
(at Kutztown, Pa.)
Wednesday, May 19
Game 1: #4 East Stroudsburg (26-14) vs. #5 WEST LIBERTY (35-15), 10 a.m.
Game 2: #3 West Chester (26-12) vs. #6 Claflin (8-1), 12:30 p.m.
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 3 p.m.
Thursday, May 20
Game 4: #1 Kutztown (32-13) vs. Winner Game 1, 10 a.m.
Game 5: #2 Shepherd (30-14) vs. Winner Game 2, 12:30 p.m.
Game 6: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5, 3 p.m.
Friday, May 21
Game 7: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 10 a.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 6, 12:30 p.m.
Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 22
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, 1 p.m.
*Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 10, 3:30 p.m.
*-if necessary