CENTERVILLE, Mass. – The Neumann University softball team has been selected to participate in the 2012 ECAC South Region Championship, announced on Monday.

The Knights, who finished as the runner-up in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championship, is the No. 4 seed. Neumann will face No. 5 seeded Wilson College on Wednesday a first round game.

Catholic University earned the No. 1 seed, PSU-Altoona No. 2 and Marywood No. 3. The semifinals and Championship will be played this weekend on the campus of Marywood University.

Wilson College was 26-4 overall this season and 20-0 in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) South. The Phoenix finished third in their conference tournament.

The Phoenix are led by NEAC South Pitcher and Player of the Year Leigh Roche and Tara Fields. Roche is 14-2 overall with a 1.84 ERA. In 99.0 innings pitched, she has struck out 130 batters. Fields leads the team, batting .456. She has 47 hits, including nine doubles four triples. Fields also has 46 RBI and 39 runs scored.

Nicole Musser is the other Phoenix in the circle. She is 12-2 with an ERA of 1.93. In 87.0 innings, she has struck out 113. Combined, Messer and Roche have nine shutouts.

The Knights are currently 26-16 overall after finishing as the runner-up in the CSAC. Neumann is being led by freshmen Becca Reinhart and Allie White. Reinhart is batting .529 and has started all 42 games this season. She has three homeruns, three triples and eight doubles as part of her 74 hits. She has knocked in 36 runs while scoring 49. Reinhart also leads the team with 11 stolen bases. White, the CSAC Rookie of the Year, leads the team with eight homeruns. She is batting .469 with 12 doubles and two triples.

Neumann and Wilson will play one game on Wednesday, May 9 at 4:00 PM. The winner will then travel to Scranton, Pa. for the championship weekend.

ECAC Championship Page

ECAC Playoff Schedule:

Wednesday, May 9
#4 Neumann at #5 Wilson, 4:00pm

Saturday, May 12:
Game 1:  #1 Catholic v #4 Neumann/#5 Wilson, 10:00am
Game 2:  #2 PSU-Altoona v #3 Marywood, 12:00pm
Game 3:  Loser Game 1 v Loser Game 2, 2:00pm (Elimination game)
Game 4:  Winner Game 1 v Winner Game 2, 4:00pm

Sunday, May 13:
Game 5: Winner Game 3 v Loser Game 4, 10:00am (Elimination game)
Game 6: Winner Game 4 v Winner Game 5, 12:00pm
Game 7: Winner Game 4 v Winner Game 5, 2:00pm (if necessary)

Seeds

1.      Catholic

2.      PSU – Altoona

3.      Marywood

4.      Neumann

5.      Wilson