CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL PAGE
NORFOLK, Va. – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) will host its 2017 Softball Championship on Thursday, May 11 through Saturday, May 13 at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex in Ormond Beach, Fla. The Hampton University Lady Pirates and the Florida A&M Lady Rattlers will enter tournament play as the number one seeds.
Only the top four teams from each division will compete in the double-elimination tournament which features a chance to earn the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth.
Florida A&M (13-2 MEAC), the three-time defending MEAC Tournament Champion, won its first MEAC Southern Divisional Title since 2009 with a 13-2 conference record under legendary head coach Veronica Wiggins. The Lady Rattlers took two-of-three from conference rival Bethune-Cookman in their final weekend of league play to secure the division title.
Bethune-Cookman (11-4 MEAC) is the No. 2 seed from the south while North Carolina A&T State (8-7 MEAC) enters as the No. 3 seed. North Carolina Central (6-8 MEAC) will make its MEAC Tournament debut as the No. 4 seed.
Hampton University (17-1 MEAC) rolled to its first Northern Division title since 2013 under first-year head coach Angela Nicholson with a 17-1 mark. The Lady Pirates closed out the 2017 regular season in style as they swept Morgan State in their conference finale. Hampton enters tournament play on a league-best nine-game winning streak.
Due to Hampton's sweep over Morgan State on Sunday, Delaware State (13-5 MEAC) clinched the No. 2 seed in the north. Morgan State (12-6 MEAC) earned the No. 3 seed followed by Coppin State (7-11) at No. 4.
The 2017 MEAC Softball Championship begins Thursday, May 11 at 10 a.m.
Florida A&M (S1) opens play versus Coppin State (N4) while Hampton (N1) squares off against North Carolina Central (S4) in the tourney openers. Hampton and North Carolina Central will meet for the third time this season as the first series ended in a doubleheader split on March 6.
Game three on Thursday features Delaware State (N2) and North Carolina A&T State (S3) while game four pits (S2) Bethune-Cookman versus (N3) Morgan State. Both games are scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.
The elimination round begins at 4:30 p.m. with a pair of games followed by the winner's bracket games at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Friday's schedule opens with two elimination round affairs at 10 a.m. At 1 p.m., the first championship game participant will be determined while the final participant won't be known until a pair of elimination games at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
The championship round is set for Saturday, May 13, beginning at 1 p.m. with the team from the winner's bracket needing only one win to claim the championship trophy. If the team that comes out of the loser's bracket wins the first game on Saturday, a second game will be played 30 minutes after.
A complete schedule of events and a credential application for media interested in covering the tournament can be found on MEACsports.com under the Championships tab.
For more information on MEAC Softball or other sponsored sports, log on to www.MEACsports.com.
THURSDAY, MAY 11
Game Time Teams
1 10:00 a.m. #1 Florida A&M vs. #4 Coppin State
2 10:00 a.m. #1 Hampton vs. #4 North Carolina Central
3 1:30 p.m. #2 Delaware State vs. #3 North Carolina A&T State
4 1:30 p.m. #2 Bethune-Cookman vs. #3 Morgan State
5 4:30 p.m. Game 1 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser (Elimination Round)
6 4:30 p.m. Game 2 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser (Elimination Round)
7 7:00 p.m. Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner
8 7:00 p.m. Game 2 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner
FRIDAY, MAY 12
Game Time Teams
9 10:00 a.m. Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Loser (Elimination Round)
10 10:00 a.m. Game 5 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser (Elimination Round)
11 1:00 p.m. Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner
12 3:00 p.m. Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner (Elimination Round)
13 6:00 p.m. Game 11 Loser vs. Game 12 Winner (Elimination Round)
SATURDAY, MAY 13
Game Time Teams
14 1:00 p.m. Game 11 Winner vs. Game 13 Winner
15 TBA (If necessary if Game 11 winner loses in Game 14)