West Liberty was named the fifth seed for the Atlantic Region in the NCAA Division II softball championships, which get underway Wednesday at the home of the eight No. 1 seeds in the eight regions.
The Atlantic Seed top team is Kutztown (30-11). The Golden Bears captured the PSAC regular season championship before falling to eventual tournament champion West Chester in the semifinal round.
Shepherd, another PSAC school, was voted the second seed and will join Kutztown in enjoying a first-round bye. The Rams, a former MEC member, were also defeated by West Chester in the quarterfinal round of the PSAC tournament.
West Chester grabbed the third seed in the Atlantic and opens with No. 6 Claflin, the CIAA champs.
The Hilltoppers will face No. 4 seed East Stroudsburg, the fourth PSAC entry in the tournament. East Stroudsburg fell to Kutztown in the PSAC quarterfinals.
West Liberty, which leads the nation in sacrifices offensively, hosted Shepherd for an out-of-conference doubleheader toward the end of the regular season. The Hilltoppers fell in the first game 2-0 before coming back and hammering the Rams in the second, 7-1.
Schedule
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
