BIDDEFORD, Maine – Suffolk softball is set for its second trip to the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament and enters the 2023 field as the seventh seed.
In their third year in the conference the Rams finished with a 7-11 league ledger, the same as Gordon. Suffolk and the Fighting Scots split their doubleheader. To break the tie, results against other conference opponents in rank order came to play. Neither the blue-and-gold nor Gordon defeated the top three seeds, but the Rams sweep of fourth-seed Nichols April 15 gave them the seventh spot in the eight-team field.
The 2023 CCC Softball Championship will feature pods of double elimination action. As the seventh seed, Suffolk will play in Bracket B, hosted by second-seed Western New England, alongside third seed Wentworth and sixth seed the University of New England.
Bracket A features top seed Endicott, fourth seed Nichols, fifth seed Salve Regina and eighth seed Gordon.
The two brackets are scheduled to begin with four games on Wednesday, May 10. In each bracket the host will play the lowest seed in the opener at 10 a.m., with the two other teams facing one another at 12:15 p.m. Game 3 on either side will then pit the winners of the first two games against each other, followed by an elimination game between the losers of Game 1 and Game 2.
The tournament continues Thursday, May 11 with two games at each site. The Game 3 losers will play the Game 4 winners in an elimination game to begin the day followed by a matchup between the Game 5 winner and the undefeated team in the bracket. If the undefeated team is handed a loss, then the foes will meet the following day, Friday, May 12 at the higher seed's home field to determine who advances out of pool play into the championship round.
The championship round will pit the winners of each bracket against one another at the higher seed on Saturday, May 13. It will be a continuation of the double-elimination tournament with losses carrying over. If neither team has two losses after the opening game on Saturday, a second game will be played. If both teams end Saturday with one loss a final game will be played on Sunday, May 14.
Weather may impact the planned scheduled.
The winners of the 2023 CCC Softball Championship will be named the CCC Softball Tournament Champion and earn the conference's automatic qualifier into the 2022 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
Suffolk's second CCC postseason trip is the program's 22nd trip to a conference tournament. The Rams look to raise a conference trophy for the first time since its inaugural campaign in 1996 when it won the first-ever GNAC crown. Despite owning a conference championship, the blue-and-gold has yet to make its way to the national stage and aims to change that fate this year when it meets second-seed Western New England Wednesday, May 10 at 1000 a.m.
2023 CCC Softball Tournament
Wednesday, May 10
Bracket A – Hosted by No. 1 Endicott at Softball Complex, Beverly, Mass.
GAME 1A - #8 Gordon at #1 Endicott – 10 a.m.
GAME 2A - #5 Salve Regina vs. #4 Nichols – 12:15 p.m.
GAME 3A – Winner of GAME 1A vs. Winner of GAME 2A, 30 minutes after GAME 2A
GAME 4A – Loser of GAME 1A vs. Loser of GAME 2A, 30 minutes after GAME 3A
Bracket B – Hosted by No. 2 Western New England at Golden Bear Park, Springfield, Mass.
GAME 1B - #7 Suffolk at #2 Western New England – 10:00 a.m.
GAME 2B - #6 University of New England at #3 Wentworth – 12:15 p.m.
GAME 3B – Winner of GAME 1B vs. Winner of GAME 2B, 30 minutes after GAME 2B
GAME 4B – Loser of GAME 1B vs. Loser of GAME 2B, 30 minutes after GAME 3B
Thursday, May 11
Bracket A - Hosted by No. 1 Endicott at Softball Complex, Beverly, Mass.
GAME 5A – Loser of GAME 3A vs. Winner of GAME 4A
GAME 6A – Winner of GAME 3A vs. Winner of GAME 5A
Bracket B - Hosted by No. 2 Western New England at Golden Bear Park, Springfield, Mass.
GAME 5B – Loser of GAME 3B vs. Winner of GAME 4B
GAME 6B – Winner of GAME 3B vs. Winner of GAME 5B
Friday, May 12 – Hosted by Higher Seed
GAME 7A – GAME 6A Teams, if necessary
GAME 7B – GAME 6B Teams, if necessary
Saturday, May 13 – CCC Championship Round – hosted by higher seed
GAME 8 – Winner of Bracket A vs. Winner of Bracket B
GAME 9 – If necessary, 30 minutes after GAME 8
Sunday, May148 – CCC Championship Round – hosted by higher seed
GAME 10 – if necessary