Golden Rams Softball Squad Headed To Postseason

West Chester University’s women’s softball team qualified for the 2012 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) postseason softball tournament as the third seed out of the Eastern Division. It marked the third consecutive campaign in which West Chester qualified for the conference tournament.
 
West Chester (28-23) will take on the third-seed out of the Central Division, which has yet to be determined, on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Jake Kislan Complex in Drifton, Pa. Lock Haven and Mansfield, battling for that third seed and maybe more in the Central, are scheduled to complete their seasons against one another in a doubleheader on Sunday.
 
The Golden Rams will play again on Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. in the double-elimination tournament. If West Chester wins, it will play Western Division champ California (Pa.). If WCU loses, it will play the loser of Kutztown vs. the third seed in the West.
 
As it stands right now, the Lady Eagles hold a two-game lead on the Mountaineers for third place. If the Lock Haven-Mansfield doubleheader cannot be played Sunday due to weather, the two schools still have Monday to try to get the regular-season completed. However, all regular-season games need to be completed 48 hours before the postseason tournament, making Monday the last possible day.
 
The 2012 PSAC Softball Tournament will take place between Wed., Apr. 25 and Sat., Apr. 28. The eventual winner of the conference tournament earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
Last year, West Chester advanced all the way to the PSAC Championship Game, falling to nationally ranked Indiana (Pa.) in the title game. It was the Golden Rams’ first appearance in the conference finals in school history.
 
Seven of the nine participants have been decided with two more still to be determined either Sunday or Monday. Kutztown (43-2) won the Eastern Division and is the top seed. The Golden Bears, ranked fifth in the country, are the favorites entering the postseason. Shippensburg (18-24) finished in a tie for second place with West Chester in the East. However, the Raiders took the season series, 3 games to 1, to earn the tie-breaker and the second seed.
 
Both IUP (24-12-1) and Bloomsburg (30-12) have clinched a postseason bid out of the Central Division. Their seeding has not yet been determined. Cal (32-6) has nailed down the top seed in the West. Gannon (28-15) has also clinched a spot in the playoffs out of the West. Their seeding has not yet been determined. Mercyhurst and Edinboro are still alive for postseason possibilities.