From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The third-ranked Case Western Reserve University softball was selected as one of the 16 hosts for the Regional Round of the 2023 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
The Spartans will welcome three teams to Cleveland for a three-day regional from Thursday, May 18 - Saturday, May 20.
CWRU, seeded first in the regional, will face fourth-seeded Penn St.-Altoona (25-12) on the first day of the four-team double-elimination tournament. Second-seeded Mount Union (36-9) will play third-seeded Hiram (24-14) in the first game on Thursday. The winners of the two opening round games will face off on Friday, followed by an elimination game between the losers of the first two games. A second elimination game will follow on Friday evening, setting up the regional championship on Saturday, with a potential second game if necessary to follow.
Case Western Reserve (37-3) earned automatic selection to the NCAA Tournament by winning the University Athletic Association with a 17-2 record in conference play, the second consecutive league title for the program. The 37 wins are second most in a single season in Spartan history, trailing only the 38 wins by the 2018 squad.
CWRU is making its fourth all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, previously receiving invitations to the championship in 2022, 2018, and 2001. The Spartans reached the Super Regional Round last season and have placed as high as fifth in the country during the 2018 season. The team has an all-time record of 13-9 in postseason play. Last season, the team hosted the Regional Round for the first time in program history after traveling for postseason play the previous two appearances.
Mount Union enters the tournament as champions of the Ohio Athletic Conference, defeating Baldwin Wallace in the championship game last weekend. The Purple Raiders are making their third all-time appearance in the NCAA Championship after previously appearing in 2013 and 2008. CWRU and Mount Union split a doubleheader on April 30 at Mount Union, and the two teams have split 34 games in the all-time series.
The Terriers won the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament and will be making their fourth all-time appearance in the NCAA Championship with previous appearances in 2009, 2011, and 2022. CWRU holds a 23-2 advantage in the all-time series with Hiram, last facing off in 2021.
The Lions, champions of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, are making their third all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament after previously making the field in 2013 and 2014. CWRU swept a doubleheader from Penn State Altoona in 2012, the teams' only meeting in the programs' histories.
The winner of the four-team regional will advance to the 16-team Super Regional on Friday, May 25 and Saturday, May 26 against the winner of the Whitewater, Wisconsin Regional.
All games will be played at Mather Park on the CWRU campus. More information about the regional, including ticket information and links to live stats and video, will be available on athletics.case.edu later in the week.