SU softball earns 14th NCAA tournament appearance, first-round field revealed
INDIANAPOLIS - The ninth-ranked Salisbury University softball team will serve as a Division III first-round tournament host as the Sea Gulls make their 14th NCAA tournament appearance as the field was released Monday by the selection committee. The Sea Gulls are the second-seed in the Salisbury, Maryland First-Round Tournament.
The seven teams in the Salisbury, Maryland First-Round tournament in addition to the Sea Gulls include top-seed Lynchburg College, third-seed Emory University, fourth-seed Bridgewater (Va.) College, fifth-seed Christopher Newport University, sixth-seed LaGrange College and seventh-seed Neumann College.
Salisbury (34-4) will take on Neumann (30-10) in the first-round on Thursday, May 7. The Knights are making their third NCAA tournament appearance and second straight as they were named the champions of the Colonial States Athletic Conference after rain canceled the championship game. Top-seed Lynchburg (37-6-1), winners of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, is making its third straight appearance (third overall) and receives a bye. The other first-round games pit Emory (30-10) against Great South champions LaGrange (25-19) and fourth-seed Bridgewater (33-9) against USA South champions Christopher Newport (35-7). This is a double-elimination tournament so each team is guaranteed at least two games.
Salisbury posted a perfect 20-0 record at the SU Softball Complex this season. The Sea Gulls faced two teams in the Salisbury Regional this season and posted a 2-2 record against them. The Sea Gulls swept Lynchburg on March 8 and were swept by Christopher Newport on March 11.
The Sea Gulls are making their 12th NCAA tournament appearance under SU head coach Margie Knight and the first since 2007. The Sea Gulls have a 41-29 career record in the NCAA Division III tournament as their 41 wins rank ninth overall in tournament history. SU was a national finalist in 2003 and '05. SU has advanced to the national championship round five times in program history (1998, 2002, '03, '04, '05).
The other first-round hosts are DePauw University, East Texas Baptist University, Endicott College, Illinois Wesleyan University, Ithaca College, Ramapo College and Simpson College. The national championship round will be held from May 15-19 at Montclair State University.
2009 NCAA Division III Softball Championship Tournament
