Spring Sports Round-Up
Florida A&M claims MEAC softball title; Moves on with Miss. Valley State to playoffs
Florida A&M came out of the loser's bracket to win two games as
they defeated Bethune-Cookman 4-0 in game one and 9-1 in game two in
five innings to win their third Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference (MEAC) title in the decade and their ninth overall. The final games were played
Saturday afternoon at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The Lady Rattlers and Southwestern Athletic Conference winner Mississippi Valley State were then among the 64 teams named Sunday to compete for the NCAA Div. I Softball Championship that begins this weekend.
Florida A&M will travel to Gainesville, Fla., to face the No. 1 seed Gators of the University of Florida on Saturday. The Gators, champions of the Southeastern Conference, are 55-3. FAMU earned the NCAA automatic bid as a result of its tournament title.
The Lady Rattlers will be making their fourth regional appearance (1999, 2005, 2006, 2009) all-time and their seventh NCAA postseason appearance all-time including play-in series (1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2009).
The Mississippi Valley State Devilettes six-time defending
SWAC softball champions will take on University of Alabama in their
opening game of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The Devilettes will participate in
the Tuscaloosa, Alabama regional. Action will take place May 15-17
in Tuscaloosa.
Gainesville Regional May 15-17 at Gainesville, Florida
* Indicates host institution
*No. 1 Florida (55-3) vs. Florida
A&M (30-30)
Lehigh (36-16-1) vs. Texas A&M (31-20)
Tuscaloosa Regional May 15-17 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Texas (38-18) vs. Chattanooga (30-22)
Mississippi Val. (37-14) vs. *No. 4 Alabama (47-9)
MEAC Baseball Championship gets under way Thursday
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) will host the 2009 MEAC Baseball Championship beginning Thursday, May 14 through Sunday, May 17 at the Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Florida. The defending MEAC champion Bethune-Cookman Wildcats will enter tournament play as the number one seed.
The Wildcats clinched the top seed and the MEAC regular season title with a 16-2 mark in conference play, 29-26 record overall. Bethune-Cookman has won 12 MEAC baseball crowns and will vie for their fourth consecutive title.
Delaware State and Florida A&M finished the regular season tied at 10-8 in conference play. The Hornets of Delaware State secured the number two seed while the Rattlers earned the third seed following the conference tiebreaker.
Maryland Eastern Shore, North Carolina A&T and Norfolk State all tallied a 9-9 conference mark. The Hawks claimed the fourth seed, while the Aggies of North Carolina A&T and the Norfolk State Spartans finished fifth and sixth, respectively based on the conference tiebreaker.
The 2009 MEAC Baseball Championship Tournament begins at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 14, with #1 Bethune-Cookman against #6 Norfolk State. #2 Delaware State drew #5 North Carolina A&T for game two at 2 p.m., while #3 Florida A&M will take on #4 Maryland Eastern Shore in game three beginning at 6 p.m. The championship finale is set for Sunday, May 17 at 2 p.m.
Only the top six teams qualify to compete for the MEAC tournament title. The winner will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Baseball Regional scheduled for May 29-June 1. Coppin State (0-18) was eliminated from tournament play based on its conference finish.
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