NORFOLK, Va. – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) will host its 2018 Softball Championship on Wednesday, May 9 through Saturday, May 12 at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex in Ormond Beach, Fla. The Morgan State University Lady Bears and the Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats 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 berth to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship.
Bethune-Cookman (15-3 MEAC) won its first MEAC Southern Division Title since 2014 with a 15-3 conference record under head coach Laura Watten. The Wildcats wrestled away the title from rival Florida A&M as they swept the Rattlers on the final weekend of the regular season.
Four-time defending champion Florida A&M (11-4 MEAC) is the No. 2 seed from the south while Savannah State (8-7) makes it return to postseason play as the third seed. North Carolina Central (8-7 MEAC) enters as the fourth seed as the Lady Eagles clinched their second consecutive MEAC softball postseason berth since rejoining the league.
Morgan State (15-3 MEAC) made history during the regular season as the Lady Bears won their first Northern Division title in school history. Led by head coach Larry Hineline, the Lady Bears tied with Bethune-Cookman for the most regular season wins (27) amongst MEAC teams while also setting a school record for wins.
Hampton (11-7 MEAC) earned its way to the No. 2 seed by taking two-of-three over Delaware State this past weekend while Delaware State (10-8 MEAC) emerged as the No. 3 seed after claiming a three-way tiebreaker over Coppin State and Norfolk State. Coppin State (10-8) claimed the No. 4 seed after recording the second-best record in the tiebreaker with DSU and NSU.
The 2018 MEAC Softball Championship begins Wednesday, May 9 at 12 p.m.
At noon, Bethune-Cookman (S1) will battle Coppin State (N4) while Morgan State (N1) and N.C. Central (S4) will face each other on the opposite field. Florida A&M (S2)/Delaware State (N3) and Hampton (N2)/Savannah State (S3) round out the first day of action as both games are slated to start at 3 p.m.
The elimination round begins Thursday at noon with a pair of games followed by the winner's bracket games at 3 p.m. The winners of the 12 p.m. contests will square off against the losers of the 3 p.m. games on Thursday evening at 5 p.m.
On Friday, the first championship game participant will be determined following the 12 p.m. contest while the final participant won't be known until a pair of elimination games at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
The championship round is set for Saturday, May 12, beginning at 12 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.