May 1, 2007

Erie, Pa. - Although the Mercyhurst softball team tied for fifth in the regular season GLIAC standings, the Lakers will enter the GLIAC Softball Tournament Friday as the No. 7 seed. The tournament will be played at Emerson Park in Midland, Mich.

Although Mercyhurst tied Northwood and Ashland for fifth place, the Lakers lost out on the tiebreakers to both of those teams and will meet No. 2 seed Ferris State in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament. Mercyhurst will play at 10 a.m. Friday at Currie Stadium and will then play at either 2 p.m. with a loss or 4 p.m. with a win.

The GLIAC was a balanced league this year and Wayne State is the top seed after going 15-5 during the regular season. The Warriors will play No. 8 seed Saginaw Valley State in the opening round. No. 3 seed Gannon will play No. 6 seed Ashland, while No. 4 seed Grand Valley State will play No. 5 seed Northwood.

Despite the No. 7 seed, Mercyhurst has fared well against some of the favorites this year. The Lakers split a doubleheader with Wayne State earlier this year, outscoring the Warriors 12-4 combined in the two games. The Lakers also took three of four games from Gannon and swept Grand Valley State less than a week ago.

Mercyhurst finished the season with an 11-9 record in conference, the best GLIAC performance for the team since the 2002 squad went 11-8. The Lakers are also 22-21 overall, the most wins in the history of the program.

GLIAC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

Friday
G1 - No. 2 Ferris State vs. No. 7 Mercyhurst, 10 a.m.
G2 - No. 3 Gannon vs. No. 6 Ashland, 10 a.m.
G3 - No. 4 Grand Valley State vs. No. 5 Northwood, noon
G4 - No. 1 Wayne State vs. No. 8 Saginaw Valley State, noon
G5 - Loser G1 vs. Loser G2, 2 p.m.
G6 - Loser G3 vs. Loser G4, 2 p.m.
G7 - Winner G1 vs. Winner G2, 4 p.m.
G8 - Winner G3 vs. Winner G4, 4 p.m.

Saturday
G9 - Loser G8 vs. Winner G5, 10 a.m.
G10 - Loser G7 vs. Winner G6, 10 a.m.
G11 - Winner G7 vs. Winner G8, noon
G12 - Winner G9 vs. Winner G10, noon
G13 - Loser G11 vs. Winner G12, 2 p.m.

Sunday (Tournament Championship)
G14 - Winner G11 vs. Winner G13, 10 a.m.
G15 - Winner G11 vs. Winner G13, noon (If necessary)