SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The 2016 Southern Conference Softball Championship begins Wednesday and is scheduled to run through Saturday at UNCG Softball Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.
Regular-season champion Samford (37-18, 15-3 SoCon) enters as the tournament’s top seed. The Bulldogs, led by ace pitcher Mollie Hanson, have a bye to Thursday’s action. Samford earned its first SoCon regular-season crown and first conference title in 25 years by beating UNCG this past Saturday.
The first showdown of the double-elimination tournament, which is set for Wednesday at 10 a.m., will see No. 4 seed UNCG (32-24, 9-9 SoCon) take on No. 5 seed ETSU (20-20, 9-9 SoCon). The winner of that game will move on to face Samford on Thursday.
No. 2 seed Furman (29-26, 10-8 SoCon) will square off against No. 7 seed Mercer (21-33, 4-14 SoCon) in Wednesday’s 12:30 p.m. matchup. The Bears are coming off a runner-up finish in last year’s tournament.
No. 3 seed Western Carolina (33-22, 9-9 SoCon) and No. 6 seed Chattanooga (28-27, 7-11 SoCon) will wrap up Wednesday’s action at 3 p.m. The Mocs are the two-time defending champions, and the last active SoCon team other than UTC to win the tournament was Furman in 2007.
First pitch on Thursday is set for 10 a.m., and the packed day of softball will eventually conclude with an 8 p.m. contest. The remaining teams will compete in three games on Friday, which are scheduled for noon, 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Saturday will feature a championship game at 1 p.m., which may be followed by a 3 p.m. contest if the early game represents the first loss of the tournament for one of the teams. ESPN3 will broadcast Saturday’s action.
All games leading up to Saturday will be broadcast on the SoCon Digital Network.
2016 SoCon Softball Championship
UNCG Softball Stadium ▪ Greensboro, N.C.
Wednesday, May 11
Game 1: No. 4 UNCG vs. No. 5 ETSU, 10 a.m., SDN
Game 2: No. 2 Furman vs. No. 7 Mercer, 12:30 p.m., SDN
Game 3: No. 3 Western Carolina vs. No. 6 Chattanooga, 3 p.m., SDN
Thursday, May 12
Game 4: Loser of Game 2 vs. Loser of Game 3, 10 a.m., SDN
Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. No. 1 Samford, 12:30 p.m., SDN
Game 6: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3, 3 p.m., SDN
Game 7: Loser of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4, 5:30 p.m., SDN
Game 8: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 6, 8 p.m., SDN
Friday, May 13
Game 9: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, Noon, SDN
Game 10: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 2:30 p.m., SDN
Game 11: Loser of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10, 5 p.m., SDN
Saturday, May 14
Game 12: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 11, 1 p.m., ESPN3
Game 13: IF NECESSARY, 3 p.m., ESPN3
Note: All times Eastern.
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