ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- The 2001 Sonic Southern Conference Softball Championship begins May 3 in Chattanooga, TN, with eight times all chasing the same goal: an automatic bid to the NCAA Softball Championships. This year, two inaugural teams join five veterans as they attempt to knock off defending champion Chattanooga on the Lady Mocs home field.
Chattanooga (44-16, 18-2) enters the tournament as the top seed for the fifth consecutive year and is the defending champion. UTC has won four tournament titles and has been in five championship finals. The Lady Mocs will face eighth-seeded Appalachian State (12-34, 4-13), one of two teams which defeated UTC this year in SoCon action. The Mountaineers topped Chattanooga 5-4 on April 14 but UTC took the series 2-1.
Furman returns as the #2 seed in an attempt to win its second tournament crown after falling to Chattanooga in last year.s final. The Lady Paladins have appeared in four championship games and won the inaugural SoCon championship in 1994. Furman will take on seventh-seeded UNC Wilmington (20-32, 5-14), which enters the tournament on a five-game losing streak. UNCW is looking for its first SoCon title after it upset fourth-seeded Georgia Southern in the 2000 tournament before falling to Chattanooga and UNC Greensboro. Furman swept the regular season series between these two teams.
Third-seeded Georgia Southern enters the tournament with a 22-31 record, 12-8 in SoCon action. The Lady Eagles won the 1999 title and have appeared in four championship finals. GSU lost in the first round last year to UNCW 3-0 but battled back before falling to Chattanooga in the loser bracket semifinal 1-0. GSU will take on #6 College of Charleston (22-31, 7-13).
Charleston makes its third appearance in the tournament and will look for its first SoCon title. Georgia Southern won the regular season series with College of Charleston 2-1.
The final game of the first round is #4 UNC Greensboro (30-25, 11-9) facing #5 East Tennessee State (14-33, 9-11). Both teams are looking for their first tournament title. ETSU.s nine conference wins is the most of any team in their inaugural year. UNCG swept the regular season series in Johnson City, TN.
The eight-team tournament is a double-elimination format with each team playing a minimum of two games. Competition begins Thursday, May 3 at 10:00am and concludes the with championship on Sunday, May 6 beginning at 5:00pm with the "if necessary" game at 7:00pm. The 5:00 game on Sunday will be live on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast.
2001 Southern Conference Softball Championship
Chattanooga, TN
Thursday, May 3
Game 1: #4 UNCG vs. #5 ETSU- 10:00am
Game 2: #1 Chattanooga vs #8 App State- Noon
Game 3: #2 Furman vs #7 UNCW- 2:00pm
Game 4: #3 Georgia Southern vs #6 College of Charleston- 4:00pm
Friday, May 4
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs Loser Game 2- 10:00am
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs Loser Game 4- Noon
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 2- 2:00pm
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs Winner Game 4- 4:00pm
Saturday, May 5
Game 9: Winner Game 6 vs Loser Game 7-10:00am
Game 10: Winner Game 5 vs Loser Game 8- Noon
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs Winner Game 8-2:00pm
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs Winner Game 10-4:00pm
Sunday, May 6
Game 13: Winner Game 12 vs Loser Game 11-1:00pm
Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs Winner Game 13-5:00pm LIVE on Comcast/Charter
Sports Southeast
Game 15: If needed (if the winner of Game 11 loses Game 14, Game 15 will
be the championship game)