INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA Division III Softball Committee has announced the 59 teams that will compete in the Division III Softball Championship.
Seven teams will compete at five first-round sites and eight teams will compete at three first-round sites for a total of eight first-round sites. All sites will use a double-elimination format.
The seven-team first rounds will be held May 7-10 on the campuses of competing institutions. The eight-team first rounds will be held May 7-11 on the campuses of competing institutions. The finals, hosted by Montclair State University, will be held May 15-19 at the Montclair State University Softball Stadium in Montclair, New Jersey.
Thirty-seven conferences received automatic qualification and five independents were selected for the 2009 championship. The 17 remaining teams were selected on an at-large basis from automatic qualifying conferences and the remaining independent institutions.
The conferences and teams that received automatic qualification were:
Allegheny Mountain CC – Pennsylvania State University Erie, the Behrend College
American Southwest – University of Texas at Tyler
Centennial – Muhlenberg College
CUNYAC – College of Staten Island
CCIW – Illinois Wesleyan University
Colonial States – Neumann College
Commonwealth – Messiah College
Commonwealth Coast – Endicott College
Empire 8 – St. John Fisher College
Freedom – King’s College (Pennsylvania)
Great Northeast – Emerson College
Great South – LaGrange College
Heartland Collegiate – Defiance College
Iowa Intercollegiate – Coe College
Little East – Rhode Island College
MASCAC – Bridgewater State College
Michigan Intercol. – Alma College
Midwest – St. Norbert College
Minnesota Intercol. – University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)
NESCAC – Tufts University
NEWMAC – Springfield College
NJAC – William Paterson University of New Jersey
North Atlantic – Husson University
North Coast – Hiram College
North Eastern – Keuka College
Northern Athletics – Concordia University (Wisconsin)
Northwest – Linfield College
OAC – Ohio Northern University
Old Dominion – Lynchburg College
Presidents’ – Thomas More College
Skyline – State University of New York at Farmingdale
SCIAC – University of Redlands
SLIAC – Webster University
Southern Collegiate – DePauw University
SUNYAC – Buffalo State College
USA South – Christopher Newport University
Wisconsin Intercollegiate – University of Wisconsin, La Crosse
SITES: First round at Indianola, Iowa (*Simpson College).
*Indicates host institution
1. St. Thomas (MN) (39-4)
2. Central (IA) (36-6)
3. Washington-St. Louis (24-11)
4. Wartburg (36-6)
5. Wis.-La Crosse (34-10)
6. Luther (33-9)
7. Gustavus Adolphus (35-7)
8. Webster (23-16)
First round at Bloomington, Illinois.
1. Wis.-Whitewater (36-5)
2. *Illinois Wesleyan (34-4)
3. Alma (27-11)
4. Coe (34-10)
5. Wis.-Eau Claire (27-14)
6. Concordia (WI) (24-21)
7. St. Norbert (17-17)
First round at Ithaca, New York (*Ithaca College).
1. Cortland St. (40-6)
2. Rochester (31-10)
3. St. John Fisher (30-10)
4. Buffalo St. (29-12)
5. Penn St.-Behrend (33-6)
6. Keuka (23-6)
7. King’s (PA) (24-12)
First round at Mahwah, New Jersey (*Ramapo College).
1. Messiah (35-4)
2. William Paterson (32-7)
3. Rowan (32-10)
4. Moravian (34-9)
5. Eastern Connecticut (25-11)
6. Farmingdale St. (32-4)
7. Muhlenberg (19-16)
8. Staten Island (23-12)
First round at Greencastle, Indiana.
1. Ohio Northern (35-3)
2. *DePauw (28-7)
3. Adrian (34-6)
4. Trine (29-10)
5. Defiance (29-10)
6. Thomas More (34-9)
7. Hiram (26-14)
First round at Beverly, Massachusetts.
1. Tufts (38-1)
2. Rhode Island Col. (40-5)
3. Coast Guard (36-5-1)
4. *Endicott (37-7)
5. Emerson (32-9)
6. Bridgewater St. (28-9)
7. Springfield (20-22)
8. Husson (26-14)
First round at Salisbury, Maryland.
1. Lynchburg (37-6-1)
2. *Salisbury (34-4)
3. Emory (30-10)
4. Bridgewater (VA) (33-9)
5. Chris. Newport (35-7)
6. LaGrange (25-19)
7. Neumann (30-10)
First round at Marshall, Texas.
1. Linfield (36-4)
2. Louisiana Coll. (36-7)
3. *East Tex. Baptist (37-7)
4. Redlands (30-10)
5. Texas-Tyler (34-8)
6. Claremont-M-S (28-14)
7. La Verne (28-18)
The University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire won the 2008 NCAA Division III Softball Championship. After being down 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs, the Blugolds defeated the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater 4-3 in nine innings with a walk-off home run.
