BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Mississippi Valley State (SWAC East) and Texas Southern (SWAC West) will occupy the No. 1 seeds in the upcoming SWAC Softball Tournament, scheduled for Thursday-Sunday, May 5-8. The double elimination tournament will be held at Shea Brothers Softball Complex in Irondale, Ala. Sunday’s championship game will be televised tape-delayed by ESPNU, while live stats for each game will be available at SWAC.org.
Mississippi Valley State, which was picked in the preseason poll to finish second in its division, won its third consecutive SWAC Eastern Division crown by posting a 15-2 league mark to finish one game ahead of runner-up Jackson State (JSU). JSU (21-19, 14-3 SWAC), winners of nine-straight decisions, earned the No. 2 seed in the east.
The Devilettes will match up against No. 4 Grambling State (11-24, 4-13 SWAC) at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 5.
Texas Southern won the SWAC Western Division title with a 14-3 league record. The Lady Tigers will face defending SWAC Champion Alcorn State at 2:00 pm. on May 5. The Lady Braves (15-30, 6-11 SWAC) finished the regular season in fourth place in the Eastern Division, but posted impressive non-conference wins over Ole Miss and nationally ranked Texas Tech.
Bracket play pits No. 2 Southern (18-21, 12-5 SWAC) against No. 3 Alabama State (10-31, 6-11 SWAC). The Lady Jaguars are riding a nine-game win steak and last won the SWAC Championship in 2003. Jackson State and No. 3 Arkansas-Pine Bluff (6-25, 6-11 SWAC) will battle at 11:30 a.m. on May 5.
First pitch for Sunday’s championship game is 1:00 p.m. The matchup will air on ESPNU on Sunday, May 8 at 9:00 p.m. CST.
