Lenoir-Rhyne, Carson-Newman, Mars Hill Earn Bids To NCAA Softball Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Lenoir-Rhyne University Softball Team will host one-half of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament. The four-team tournament, which begins on Friday, May 14, will consist of L-R (50-7), Augusta State (38-15), Armstrong Atlantic State (33-18) and Mars Hill (28-16) and is double elimination.

Lenoir-Rhyne enters the tournament ranked eighth in NCAA Division II and seeded second. L-R faces South Atlantic Conference-foe Mars Hill, the seventh seed, on Friday at 4 p.m. Third-seeded Augusta State and sixth-seeded Armstrong Atlantic State, a pair of Peach Belt Conference teams, play in the first contest on Friday beginning at 1:30 p.m.

The Bears earned their sixth playoff berth in school history and are hosting the regionals for the second consecutive season. L-R won both the 2010 South Atlantic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships.

Mars Hill is making its first ever trip to the NCAA tournament.

Tickets are $7.00 each day and $4.00 for children 12 and under and students will proper identification.

North Georgia, the No. 1-ranked team in the country and undefeated at 45-0, hosts the other half of the regional tournament which includes Francis Marion (34-14), Carson-Newman (36-10) and Queens (26-23).

Carson-Newman received the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional 2 Tournament and will face second-seeded Francis Marion on Friday in Dahlonega, Ga.

Top-ranked North Georgia (45-0), the regional host, will face Queens (N.C.) (26-23) on the other side of the bracket on Friday.

The Lady Eagles (36-10) are making their sixth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, which is a South Atlantic Conference record. The berth is C-N's 11th under head coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield, who enters the tournament with 885 career victories. C-N is coming off of a runner-up finish in the SAC Tournament.

Francis Marion (34-14) enters the regional on the heels of a second-place finish in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. The Lady Eagles and Lady Patriots last met in the postseason in 2008 in the NCAA South Regional. Francis Marion defeated C-N, 4-3, in the matchup.

C-N will be playing in familiar territory over the weekend. The Lady Eagles won the Southeast Regional 2 Tournament last season in Hickory, N.C., and advanced to the Super Regional in Dahlonega, where they fell to top-ranked North Georgia.

The winners of each regional tournament will meet in the Super Regionals on May 21-22. The 2010 NCAA Division II Women's College World Series will take place on May 27-31, 2010, in St. Joseph, Mo.

2010 NCAA DIVISION II SOFTBALL SOUTHEAST REGIONAL 2 TOURNAMENT
at Hickory, N.C. (Bears Field)
FRIDAY, MAY 14
Game One: No. 3 Augusta State (38-15) vs. No. 6 Armstrong Atlantic State (33-18), 1:30 p.m.
Game Two: No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne (50-7) vs. No. 7 Mars Hill (28-16), 4 p.m.

SATURDAY, MAY 15
Game Three: Game One winner vs. Game Two winner, 1:30 p.m.
Game Four: Game One loser vs. Game Two loser , 4 p.m.
Game Five: Game Three loser vs. Game Four winner, 6:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, MAY 16
Game Six (Championship): Game Three winner vs. Game Five winner, 1:30 p.m.
Game Seven (if necessary): 4 p.m.

NCAA DIVISION II SOUTHEAST REGIONAL 2 TOURNAMENT
At Dahlonega, Ga.
FRIDAY, MAY 14
Game 1: North Georgia (45-0) vs. Queens (N.C.) (26-23), TBA
Game 2: Francis Marion (34-14) vs. Carson-Newman (36-10), TBA

SATURDAY, MAY 15
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, TBA
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, TBA
Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3, TBA

SUNDAY, MAY 16
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, TBA
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6, TBA (If Necessary)