Suffolk, JWU Earn Share of GNAC Softball Regular-Season Title; Rams to Host Tournament Weekend

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WINTHROP, Mass. – Suffolk University and Johnson & Wales University (RI) have both earned a pair of byes in the 2018 GNAC Softball Tournament, which gets underway with first-round, single-elimination action in the state of Connecticut on Wednesday afternoon. Both programs went an impressive 22-2 against league competition, including a head-to-head split back on March 29. 

After tiebreaks, Suffolk will serve as the top seed in the tournament and has earned the right to host two games on Thursday afternoon and all remaining playoff contests this Saturday-Sunday, May 5-6, at East Boston Memorial Park. Second-seeded JWU, which has claimed the last three GNAC Championships and defeated the Rams on Championship Sunday last spring, will also host a pair of Thursday contests before competition shifts entirely to East Boston. 

Wednesday's single-elimination matchups will feature fifth-seeded Albertus Magnus College hosting eighth-seeded Lasell College at 4:00 PM. Just a bit north in West Hartford, Conn., sixth-seeded University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) will host seventh-seeded Emmanuel College at 3:30 PM. The losers will be eliminated from the tournament. 

The Lasell/Albertus winner will be at Suffolk on Thursday to take on fourth-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine at 3:00 PM. That winner will then take on host Suffolk at 5:30 PM. The Emmanuel/USJ winner will travel to JWU to play third-seeded Simmons College Thursday, also at 3:00 PM, with the winner earning the right to play JWU, also at 5:30 PM. None of the six participating playoff teams will face elimination at either site on Thursday afternoon. 

SJC finished a halted game on Tuesday afternoon against Mount Ida College, winning by a 3-2 final, which created a four-way tie from the No. 3 through No. 6 spots in the regular-season standings, as Simmons, SJC, Albertus and USJ all went 15-9 in league play. Simmons earned the tiebreak amongst those four programs, while the Monks' season-finale win on Tuesday allowed them to avoid having to play a single-elimination game on Wednesday. 

For the complete tournament details and schedule, please see below. Saturday's action at East Boston will get underway with an elimination game at 10:00 AM, followed by another elimination contest at 12:30 PM. The other games are slated for 3:00 PM and 5:30 PM. Sunday's final day of the tournament will also have a 10:00 AM first pitch in Eastie, with an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament up for grabs. 

First Round - Wednesday, May 2 (single elimination)
Game 1: #8 Lasell at #5 Albertus Magnus - 4:00 PM
Game 2: #7 Emmanuel at #6 Saint Joseph (CT) - 3:30 PM

Second Round - Thursday, May 3 (double-elim begins)
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. #4 Saint Joseph's Maine (at #1 Suffolk) - 3:00 PM
Game 4: Game 2 winner vs. #3 Simmons (at #2 JWU) - 3:00 PM
Game 5: Game 3 winner at #1 Suffolk - 5:30 PM
Game 6: Game 4 winner at #2 JWU - 5:30 PM

Semifinals - Saturday, May 5 (hosted by #1 Suffolk)
Game 7: Game 4 loser vs. Game 5 loser (elim game) - 10:00 AM
Game 8: Game 3 loser vs. Game 6 loser (elim game) - 12:30 PM
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner - 3:00 PM
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner (elim game) - 5:30 PM 

Championship - Sunday, May 6 (hosted by #1 Suffolk)
Game 11: Game 9 loser vs. Game 10 winner (elim game) - 10:00 AM
Game 12: Game 11 winner vs. Game 9 winner - 12:30 PM
Game 13: if necessary - 3:00 PM

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

– #TheGNAC –