Christopher Newport Selected to Host NCAA Softball Regional; Salisbury Earns At-Large Bid
CAC champion Christopher Newport will host an NCAA Softball Tournament regional while runner-up Salisbury earned an at-large bid, announced by the NCAA on Monday afternoon.
CNU, which overcame a game one deficit to defeat Salisbury in the best-of-three CAC Championship series, will host a four-team regional beginning Friday at Captains Park. The Captains will play Messiah on Friday while top-ranked Virginia Wesleyan will take on Gettysburg in the double-elimination regional.
CNU will be making its 12th straight appearance in the NCAA field, and 16th overall. The Captains are 35-8 this year and will be playing a Messiah squad that is 27-16 entering the tournament.
Virginia Wesleyan, the defending National Champions, is 45-2 and will play a 24-14 Gettysburg team. Play will continue at Captains Park on Saturday and Sunday.
Salisbury will head north to New Jersey to TCNJ, which will host a four-team regional. The Sea Gulls (28-13) will meet Moravian (32-5) in their opening contest, with host TCNJ (31-8) taking on Johnson & Wales (31-11) in the other opening-round matchup.
The Sea Gulls are making their 22nd NCAA tournament appearance.
The team advancing from each regional will compete in the super regional round May 18 and 19. The finals, hosted by the University of Central Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City All-Sports Association, will be held May 24-29 at USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. All rounds will use a double-elimination format.