East Texas Baptist, Hardin-Simmons, Howard Payne, Louisiana College, Mary Hardin-Baylor and Texas-Tyler each finished in one of the top three spots in their respective divisions and will battle for the league title at the 2012 American Southwest Conference Softball Championship Tournament, to be held Thursday-Saturday at Oran Good Park in Farmers Branch, Texas.
All games in the double-elimination tournament will be available for fans to follow through free live statistics. The link can be found on the conference’s website, http://www.ascsports.org/ . HPU live audio can be found at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/hpu.portal. Click here for a Printable bracket.
No. 8-ranked Texas-Tyler (32-7) and Mary Hardin-Baylor (24-15) each received first-round byes after winning the East and West Division titles, respectively. Head coach Mike Reed’s UT Tyler Patriots, who advanced to the league title game last year and went on to finish third in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship finals, went 20-4 in league play to claim their second East title. UT Tyler won the league crown in 2009. Head coach Larry Hennig’s UMHB Cru, who have qualified for the conference tournament a record 13 seasons, also went 20-4 in conference play to win their seventh division crown and fifth in the last six seasons.
UT Tyler will open at 5 p.m. Thursday against the winner of West No. 2 seed Hardin-Simmons (23-15, 16-8 ASC) and East No. 3 seed East Texas Baptist (23-14, 14-10 ASC), who get the tournament underway that day with a noon first pitch. HSU (2006-07) and defending champion ETBU (also 2000-04) have combined for eight league championships.
UMHB will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against the victor of East No. 2 seed Louisiana College (25-11, 14-10 ASC) and West No. 3 seed Howard Payne (19-19, 13-11 ASC), who are scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. tilt. LC is a three-time league champion (2005, 08, 10), while HPU returns to the event after a two-year absence.
Friday’s slate begins at 11 a.m. with an elimination game followed by another win-or-go-home situation at 1:30 p.m. Winners bracket play gets going again at 4 p.m., with the third elimination game of the day following at 6:30 p.m.
Another win-or-go-home game gets Saturday’s action started at 11 a.m. with the winner advancing to the championship game at 1:30 p.m. If a second and deciding title game is needed, it will follow after a 30-minute break.
The ASC champion earns the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division III tournament.
NOTES: This is the 14th year of the ASC softball tournament. The East Division has won 10 ASC titles and the West has claimed three. This is the first year the conference tournament will be held at Oran Good Park. All games will be played on Field #5. The league’s annual First Pitch Tournament has been held at the facility for the past nine years. Returning all-tournament performers from 2011 are East Texas Baptist senior utility player Ashton Brey and Hardin-Simmons senior shortstop Amy Meyer. ETBU won the league’s only national title in 2009. City of Farmers Branch National Sports Sales Manager Anne Stokes will throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Thursday. Admission prices will be: $5 for adults (age 18 and older), $3 for children (age 6 through high school) and $3 for ASC students (with valid ID). Only cash will be accepted (no credit cards/checks). Children under age 5 will not be charged. No animals are allowed at Oran Good Park. Coolers, glass bottles, alcohol and tobacco products are also not permitted at the park. The address is: 13411 Tom Field Rd.; Farmers Branch, TX. Official tournament short-sleeved T-shirts will be available for $15 each, while souvenir programs will be $1 (cash only; no credit cards/checks). Each day’s results, a photo gallery and post-game video interviews will be available on the conference’s website, Facebook Page, and Twitter Feed (@ASC_sports).
2012 AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
April 26-28/ Oran Good Park / Farmers Branch, TX
All games will be played on Field #5
Thursday, April 26
Game 1: (W2) Hardin-Simmons vs. (E3) East Texas Baptist, Noon
Game 2: (E2) Louisiana College vs. (W3) Howard Payne, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: (E1) Texas-Tyler vs. HSU/ETBU winner, 5 p.m.
Game 4: (W1) Mary Hardin-Baylor vs. LC/HPU winner, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 27
Game 5: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3, 11 a.m.
Game 6: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 4, 1:30 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 28
Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 11 a.m.
Game 10 (Championship): Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, 1:30 p.m.
Game 11 (Championship II): If necessary, start 30 minutes after Gm. 10 conclusion
Sunday, April 29 for Inclement Weather, if needed.
