Monday, May 10, 2010

Having already posted a school-record 32 victories during the regular season, the Valparaiso softball team will be the fourth seed for the 2010 Horizon League Softball Championship in Cleveland, Ohio and will open tournament play against fifth-seeded Green Bay on Thursday, May 13 at 9 a.m. CDT.

The Crusaders, who closed the regular season 32-19, earned the fourth seed for the championship event by virtue of a 12-9 mark in Horizon League play.  Green Bay, which is 26-18 overall and 11-11 in league action, won the tiebreaker to receive the fifth seed.  The Crusaders and Phoenix met twice in the regular season, with Valpo earning 8-0 and 3-0 victories at the Valparaiso University Softball Field on March 27.

The winner of the first-round matchup between Valpo and Green Bay will face top-seeded Cleveland State (42-13, 22-2), which earned hosting rights due to winning the regular season championship.  On the other side of the double-elimination bracket are second-seeded Wright State (26-27, 16-8), third-seeded UIC (22-33, 15-9) and sixth-seeded Butler (35-17, 11-11).

The three-day tournament concludes with the championship game(s) on Saturday morning.  The winner of the postseason championship receives an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament.  Live stats and live chat for all of Valpo’s tournament games will be available at www.valpoathletics.com, while live video will be available if the Crusaders make it to Saturday’s championship.