INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA Division III Softball Committee has announced the 62 teams that will compete in the Division III Softball Championship, eight of which will compete at the Angola Regional, hosted by Trine University beginning May 9.
The Angola Regional teams selected are:
Trine University
Capital University
John Carroll University
Aurora University
The University of Mount Union
Allegheny College
Thomas More College
Anderson (IN) University
Host Trine University, the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion, will be the No.1 seed with a 36-3 record and face the No. 8 seed Anderson (25-15) who is the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference champion at 10 a.m. Fourth seed Aurora (37-6), an at-large from the Northern Athletics Conference, will play the fifth seed Ohio Athletic Conference champion Mount Union (25-11) at Noon. At 2 p.m., No. 3 seed John Carroll (26-11), an at-large selection from the Ohio Athletic Conference, will face No. 6 seed Allegheny (21-18), the North Coast Athletic Conference champion. Rounding out the first day will be second seeded Capital (34-10), another at-large bid from the Ohio Athletic Conference, playing the Presidents' Athletic Conference champion, Thomas More (24-17) the No. 7 seed, at 4 p.m.
The regional tournament will use a double-elimination format running May 9-13. The finals, hosted by the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, will be held May 17-21 at the Carson Park in Eau Claire, Wis.
Forty-one conferences received automatic qualification (Pool A). Two institutions were selected from Pool B, which includes independent institutions and institutions from conferences that do not meet the automatic qualification criteria. The 19 remaining teams were selected on an at-large basis from automatic qualifying conferences and the remaining institutions in Pool B.