CHARLOTTE, N.C.- The NCAA has announced the 2010 Softball Championship field and the Queens University of Charlotte Royals will meet the No. 1 North Georgia Saints in Dahlonega, Ga. in the opening round of regional play at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium. North Georgia is hosting one half of the Southeast Regional while Lenoir-Rhyne is hosting the other four teams.
Joining Queens and North Georgia in their half of the bracket are Francis Marion and Carson Newman. The double-elimination round starts Friday, May 14. North Georgia is the No. 1 seed, Queens No. 8, while Francis Marion earned No. 4 and Carson-Newman is the No. 5 seed.
This is the second consecutive year the Royal have advanced to the NCAA tournament after receiving Conference Carolinas' automatic bid by winning the conference tournament championship and the second time Queens opens play against North Georgia.
The Royals and Saints will face each other at 7:30pm. For more information, please view the official tournament site by
clicking here.
The winner of each regional will advance to the NCAA Super Regional May 21-22, with the Super Regional champion advancing to the NCAA Division II College World Series in St. Joseph, Missouri, May 27-31, at Heritage Park.
Tournament notes:
The Saints enter the NCAA Tournament with an automatic bid from the Peach Belt Conference, capturing their second straight regular season and tournament championship. The Saints have been ranked atop the NFCA Division II Poll in every regular season ranking this season and are currently the only undefeated team in the country at 45-0.
The Patriots enter the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid as the No. 4 seed in the Southeast Regional after finishing the season at 34-14 overall. The Patriots were runner-up in the Peach Belt Conference tournament championship, winning four of their last six games as the Patriots are just two years removed from advancing to the Division II World Series in 2008.
The Eagles enter the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid as the No. 5 seed in the Southeast Region after finishing the season at 36-10 overall. The Eagles were runner-up in the South Atlantic Conference regular season race and SAC Tournament Championship.
The Royals enter the NCAA Tournament with an automatic bid from the Conference Carolinas as the No. 8 seed after capturing their second straight tournament championship. At 26-23 on the season, the Royals are winners of four straight games, including a pair of nine-inning thrillers over Limestone to capture the Conference Carolinas tournament title and head to their second straight NCAA Southeast Regional.
