SPRINGFIELD, Mass. Western New England has claimed the top seed for The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) baseball championship, which begins with opening-round games on Tuesday, May 3. The Golden Bears (32-8 overall) captured the top seed in the conference tournament after posting a stellar 20-2 record in TCCC play.

Four games are slated for Tuesday, May 3 at 3:00 p.m.  Top-seeded Western New England will host eighth-seeded Colby-Sawyer (14-20, 8-14), second-seeded Roger Williams (21-19, 15-7) will host seventh-seeded Curry (17-22, 9-13), third-seeded Endicott (27-13, 15-7) will host sixth-seeded Anna Maria (22-17, 13-9) and fourth-seeded Wentworth (22-13, 14-8) will host fifth-seeded Salve Regina (20-19, 14-8) at Northeastern University's Friedman Baseball Diamond.

TCCC tiebreaking procedures were used to break deadlocks for second place and fourth place in the regular-season conference standings.  Both Roger Williams and Endicott tied for second place with identical 15-7 conference records.  RWU was awarded the #2 seed based on a 2-0 record in the teams' conference series.  Both Wentworth and Salve Regina tied for fourth place with identical 14-8 TCCC records.  While the teams did split two games this season (step one), Wentworth earned the #4 seed by virtue of a victory over top-seeded Western New England (step two).

Tournament action will continue through the week, culminating with the championship game on Sunday, May 8 at 1:00 p.m.  The TCCC tournament champion will earn an automatic berth in the upcoming 2011 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

This marks the second straight season the Leopards and Seahawks have squared off in the opening round.  Last season Salve Regina opened tournament play with a 14-6 win.  Wentworth battled back through the loser's bracket to defeat the Seahawks, 17-5, forcing a winner-take-all game in which Salve Regina prevailed, 8-3.

Wentworth is seeking its fourth conference championship (1989, 1990, 1996), while Salve Regina is after its seventh title (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2005).  Tuesday's game will be the 49^th meeting between the two schools with Salve Regina holding a 32-16 advantage, including a 5-3 mark in post-season play.  The two schools split the season matchup, as the Leopards took a 13-6 win last Thursday and the Seahawks posting a 6-3 win this past Saturday.  Salve Regina holds a 5-3 edge in tournament games.

The winner of this game will play the winner of the Western New England/Colby-Sawyer contest, while the two losers will square off in an elimination round game.  Both those games will be played on Wednesday.

The highest seed will host each TCCC tournament game.  The complete tournament schedule appears below.

2011 TCCC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
All Times Subject to Change

Tuesday, May 3
Game 1:  #8 Colby-Sawyer (14-20) at #1 Western New England (32-8), 3:00 p.m.
Game 2:  #7 Curry (17-22) at #2 Roger Williams (21-19), 3:00 p.m.
Game 3:  #6 Anna Maria (22-17) at #3 Endicott (27-13), 3:00 p.m.
Game 4:  #5 Salve Regina (20-19) at #4 Wentworth (22-13), 3:00 p.m. (at Northeastern University)

Wednesday, May 4
Game 5:  Game 1 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner, 3:00 p.m.
Game 6:  Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner, 3:00 p.m.
Game 7:  Game 1 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser, 3:00 p.m.
Game 8:  Game 2 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser, 3:00 p.m.

Friday, May 6
Game 9:  Game 7 Winner vs. Game 5 Loser, 3:00 p.m.
Game 10:  Game 8 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser, 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 7
Game 11:  Game 5 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner, 11:00 a.m.
Game 12:  Game 6 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner, 11:00 a.m.
Game 13:  Game 11 Winner vs. Game 11 Loser,  2:00 p.m. *
Game 14:  Game 12 Winner vs. Game 12 Loser, 2:00 p.m. *
* If Necessary

Sunday, May 8
Championship Game (Two remaining teams), 1:00 p.m.

[NOTE: A second Sunday game will be played if both teams have the same number of losses after the first Sunday game.]

-Portions of this Release Courtesy The Commonwealth Coast Conference-