Liberty Earns No. 1 Seed for 2nd Straight Year at Big South Softball Championship
5/6/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Official Big South Release
Tournament Bracket
Bringing a 14-game winning streak into the conference tournament, Liberty (44-12, 18-3) has earned the top seed for this week's 2018 Big South Softball Championships, held Wednesday through Saturday in Radford, Va. The Lady Flames have received a bye, and will play on Thursday at noon against the winner of Wednesday's noon game between No. 4 seed Campbell (26-25, 12-9) and fifth-seeded Gardner-Webb (28-27, 8-13).
Liberty swept both Campbell (March 17-18) and Gardner-Webb (March 30-31) in three-game series at Liberty Softball Stadium this season, outscoring the Camels, 22-6, and the Runnin' Bulldogs, 19-3. All-time in conference tournament play, Liberty is 4-0 against Gardner-Webb and 0-2 versus Campbell.
For the second year in a row, the Big South Softball Championship will feature a six-team field, with the top two seeds receiving byes to the second day. Also, for the second straight year, the tournament will be played to its conclusion, with the "if necessary" game played should the loser's bracket champion win the first game of the final on Saturday. From 2011-16, the championship game was winner-take-all.
Liberty earned the No. 1 seed for the fourth time in program history, capturing its fifth regular-season title and second in a row with a program-record 18 conference wins. The Lady Flames are 5-6 all-time in Big South Tournament play as the top seed, which includes runner-up finishes in 2000 and 2017.
This marks Liberty's third outright Big South regular-season championship in softball, and fifth overall. The Lady Flames took first place outright in 2000 and 2017, while sharing the regular-season crown in both 1999 and 2007.
Liberty will look for its third Big South Tournament title, as the Lady Flames won the championship in 2002 and again in 2011.
Three-time defending conference tournament champion Longwood earned the second seed, going 17-4 in Big South play. Radford (13-8) finished third in the conference, marking the second straight year that the tournament host will also serve as the third seed.
Campbell (12-9) and Gardner-Webb (8-13) followed in fourth and fifth, respectively. Winthrop (7-14) and Charleston Southern (7-14) finished in a tie for sixth place, with the Eagles taking the sixth and final spot in the tournament due to their 2-1 series victory over the Buccaneers.
The 2018 Big South Softball Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting begins on Wednesday, with three games scheduled, and concludes with the championship round on Saturday at noon, live on ESPN3.com. The Big South's tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I Softball Championship. All games from the first two days of the conference tournament will be video streamed live on the Big South Network. Thursday's games will stream live, for a charge, on ESPN+. Friday's semifinal contests and Saturday's final game(s) will all appear live on ESPN3.com.
2018 Big South Softball Championship
presented by Musco Sports Lighting
Radford Softball Stadium
Radford, Va.
Wednesday, May 9
Game 1: No. 4 Campbell vs. No 5 Gardner-Webb, Noon
Game 2: No. 3 Radford vs. No. 6 Winthrop, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser, 5 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Thursday, May 10
Game 4: No. 1 Liberty vs. Game 1 Winner, Noon (ESPN+)
Game 5: No. 2 Longwood vs. Game 2 Winner, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 6: Lowest seeded loser from Games 4/5 vs. Game 3 Winner, 5 p.m. (ESPN+) (loser eliminated)
Friday, May 11
Game 7: Highest seeded loser from Games 4/5 vs. Game 6 Winner, Noon (ESPN3.com) (loser eliminated)
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN3.com)
Game 9: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser, 5 p.m. (ESPN3.com) (loser eliminated)
Saturday, May 12
Game 10 (Championship Round): Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner, Noon (ESPN3.com)
Game 11: if necessary, 2:30 p.m. ** (ESPN3.com)
** - Game 11 will be necessary if the winner of Game 9 defeats the winner of Game 8, with the winner of Game 11 declared the champion.
