Saint Louis is the No. 4 seed for the 2016 Atlantic 10 Conference Softball Championship and will face No. 5 Saint Joseph’s in the opening round Wednesday, May 11, at the George Washington University Softball Field in Washington, D.C. First pitch is slated for 11 a.m. (CT).
Saint Louis (24-24, 14-8 A-10) is making its fourth consecutive A-10 Championship appearance and eighth in 11 years of league membership. The 2014 and 2007 Billikens made the program’s most successful tournament runs, finishing second to Fordham and Massachusetts, respectively.
Saint Joseph’s finished the regular season 22-24-1 overall and 10-12-1 in A-10 play. The Billikens swept a three-game series against the Hawks late last month at the Billiken Sports Center, winning 3-1, 3-2 (eight innings) and 6-5.
Defending tournament champion Fordham (35-18, 18-4) captured the regular-season title and No. 1 seed. The Rams and No. 2 seed Dayton (26-19-1, 14-5-1) receive first-round byes. Massachusetts (24-22, 15-6) is the No. 3 seed, while George Washington (23-27, 10-13) is the No. 6 seed in the double-elimination tournament.
The SLU-Saint Joseph’s winner advances to face Fordham Thursday at 11 a.m. (CT). Massachusetts and George Washington square off in a first-round game Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. (CT), with the winner set to take on Dayton Thursday at 1:30 p.m. (CT).
Tournament play continues through Saturday, with the championship game slated for noon (CT). If a second game is necessary, it will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first contest. The tournament champion receives the A-10’s automatic NCAA Championship bid.
Free live statistics will be provided for all tournament games, and free video streaming is available for all games Wednesday and Thursday. Friday’s and Saturday’s games will be televised by American Sports Network. Click on the A-10 Softball Championship Central link in the Related Links box for complete tournament information.
