April 26, 2009

2009 Patriot League Softball Championship Page

Center Valley, Pa.--The 2009 Patriot League Softball Tournament Field became fully set on Sunday, the final day of the regular season. Bucknell, which needed just one win to clinch a tournament berth, did so in its first game against Army on Sunday. Lafayette, which took three of four games in its season-ending series at Colgate, claimed the final spot in the tournament. The Leopards entered the weekend in last place, two games back of Army. Army finished the weekend 1-3 against Bucknell, allowing Lafayette to move into the final position. Lehigh and Colgate, which clinched tournament berths last weekend, round out the field.

Lehigh will host the Patriot League Tournament at Kaufman Field for the eighth straight year Thursday-Saturday, May 7-9 after compiling a 17-3 Patriot League record. Colgate will serve as the No. 2 seed with a 12-8 League mark. Bucknell will compete as the No. 3 seed also with a 9-11 record in League contests, while Lafayette enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed with an 8-12 Patriot League mark.

Lafayette earned the final seed over Amry, both of which have a 8-12 Patriot League record, by winning the tiebreaker. Since the teams went 2-2 against each other and had identical records against top-seeded Lehigh, their records against Colgate were used to break the tie. Lafayette owned a better mark against the Raiders, giving the Leopards the final tournament berth.

Tournament play for the double-elimination competition will begin Thursday, May 7 with top-seeded Lehigh taking on No. 4 Lafayette at 2 p.m. The other first round game will pit No. 2 Colgate against No. 3 Bucknell. Three more games will follow, with the tournament concluding on Saturday, May 9. For more information on the 2009 Patriot League Softball Tournament, including the schedule, directions and team information, click here.