2012 Softball Tournament Preview

ST. LOUIS - Fontbonne University's softball team claimed their second consecutive and eighth overall regular season conference championship to earn the #1 seed in the 2012 SLIAC Tournament. The remainder of the field is set with Webster University, Blackburn College and Greenville College joining Fontbonne in the battle for this year's tournament crown. First round action begins Thursday, May 3, at ABC Park in St. Ann, Mo. The championship will be played on Friday, May 4, or Saturday, May 5, according to the double elimination bracket.

Top-seeded Fontbonne will host fourth-seeded Greenville at 5:00pm on Thursday. Fontbonne (24-10) suffered only one loss in conference play at 13-1 this season. Greenville (14-23) was 8-8 in the conference and owned the tie-breaker over Westminster College (Mo.) with a sweep over the Blue Jays.

Second-seeded Webster will take on third-seeded Greenville at 5:00pm on Thursday. Webster (17-20) went 11-4 in league play, with losses to Westminster, Greenville, Fontbonne and Spalding University during the regular season. Greenville (19-19) finished 9-5 in the conference, including 4-2 and 14-5 losses to Webster on April 4.

Fontbonne is 22-10 in 12 SLIAC softball tournament appearances. Fontbonne is the defending tournament champion after defeating Webster 2-1 in the 2011 championship game. They have also won a softball record five tournament championships.

Webster is 21-11 in 10 SLIAC softball tournament appearances. The Gorloks have claimed two tournament championships in the past five years. Their last tournament crown was in 2009 as the #3 seed, and they have won four tournament championships overall.

Blackburn is 7-14 in 12 SLIAC softball tournament appearances. The Beavers will be looking for their first conference tournament championship. They have also made three conference tournament appearances in the past seven years.

Greenville is 5-12 in eight SLIAC softball tournament appearances. This marks the third consecutive year that Greenville will enter the tournament as the #4 seed. The Panthers claimed their one and only tournament championship in 1997 as the #2 seed when they defeated Fontbonne 5-1 in the title game.

SLIAC Women's Tournament Bracket:
Thursday, May 3
Game 1 - #4-Greenville at #1-Fontbonne, 5:00pm
Game 2 - #3-Blackburn vs. #2-Webster, 5:00pm
Game 3 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 7:00pm
Game 4 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 7:00pm
Friday, May 4
Game 5 - Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 5:00pm
Game 6 - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 7:00pm
Saturday, May 5
Game 7 - If necessary, 6:00pm