by Brian Hoffman
The University of Lynchburg is the top seed and Roanoke College is the fourth seed for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference softball tournament, scheduled for this weekend at the James I. Moyer Complex in Salem.
ODAC softball has lived up to its moniker as one of the top conferences for the sport in Division III, as evidenced by three nationally ranked programs for much of the campaign. Each of those teams found themselves part of one of three ties that needed solving on the final day of the regular season to determine the eight-team field of the 2022 ODAC Softball Tournament.
Play begins on Friday, April 29, and continues through the championship and possible “if game” in the double elimination format on Sunday, May 1.
Roanoke College, the 20th ranked team in Division III, will open Friday at noon against fifth seeded Bridgewater. The Maroons enter the tournament with a 26-10 overall record after sweeping Eastern Mennonite in a doubleheader in Harrisonburg to end the regular season last weekend. Roanoke won 6-5 eight innings and 2-0.
The entire ODAC schedule is as follows.
Friday, April 29
Game 1: #1 Lynchburg vs. #8 Eastern Mennonite – Field 1 – 12:00 p.m.
Game 2: #4 Roanoke vs. #5 Bridgewater – Field 3 – 12:00 p.m.
Game 3: #2 Randolph-Macon vs. #7 Shenandoah – Field 1 – 2:00 p.m.
Game 4: #3 Virginia Wesleyan vs. #6 Ferrum – Field 3 – 2:00 p.m.
Game 5: Loser G1 vs. Loser G2 – Field 1 – 5:00 p.m.
Game 6: Loser G3 vs. Loser G4 – Field 3 – 5:00 p.m.
Game 7: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2 – Field 1 – 7:00 p.m.
Game 8: Winner G3 vs. Winner G4 – Field 3 – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 30
Game 9: Winner G5 vs. Loser G8 – Field 1 – 11:00 a.m.
Game 10: Winner G6 vs. Loser G7 – Field 3 – 11:00 a.m.
Game 11: Winner G7 vs. Winner G8 – Field 1 – 2:00 p.m.
Game 12: Winner G9 vs. Winner G10 – Field 1 – 5:00 p.m.
Game 13: Winner G12 vs. Loser G11 – Field 1 – 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 1 Championship Game
Game 14: Winner G11 vs. Winner G13 – Field 1 – 1:00 p.m.
If necessary…
Game 15: Rematch of Game 14 – Field 1 – 4:00 p.m.