Francis Marion, King Qualify for NCAA Division II Softball Championship For Second Straight Season
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INDIANAPOLIS — King and Francis Marion will represent Conference Carolinas in the 2023 NCAA Division II Softball Championship. King will play in Southeast Region No. 1 hosted by North Georgia while Francis Marion will play in Southeast Region No. 2 hosted by Wingate.
Francis Marion, the 2023 Conference Carolinas tournament champion, is making its fourth-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. A Division II World Series participant in 2008, Francis Marion will square off against host Wingate on Thursday, May 11 at 1 p.m. at the Wingate Softball Complex. The Patriots lead the all-time series, 32-15, but are 5-5 in the last 10 meetings which includes a pair of Wingate victories last season.
The winner from Thursday's contest will play at 10:30 a.m. on Friday against the winner of three-seed Lenoir-Rhyne and six-seed Carson-Newman, while the losers will play at 1 p.m. A second elimination game will follow at 3:30 p.m. The championship game is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. with the if necessary contest slated for 3:30 p.m.
The Conference Carolinas regular season champion, King is the No. 8 seed and will face off against No. 1 North Georgia at 2:30 p.m. at the Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium on Thursday, May 11.
King, who is making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, was swept by the Nighthawks on Feb. 12-13 and are 0-8 all-time against the Dahlonega, Georgia program.
The winner from Thursday's contest will play at noon on Friday against the winner of four-seed Columbus State and five-seed Lincoln Memorial, while the losers will play at 2:30 p.m. A second elimination game will follow at 5 p.m. The championship game is set for Saturday at noon.
The 64-team NCAA Tournament field, which includes 23 automatic qualifiers and 41 at-large selections, was announced on Monday, May 8.
Four teams will participate at each of 16 sub-regional sites in double-elimination tournaments, with all competition taking place May 11-13.
The two winners of the Southeast Regionals will advance to a two-out-of-three Super Regional, slated for May 18-19. The teams that advance from the super regionals to the final site — Frost Stadium at Warner Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee — will compete for the national championship from May 25-31.
To learn more about all of the selections to the 2023 NCAA Division II Softball Championship, please visit here.
2023 NCAA Division II Southeast Region #1 Schedule
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Thursday May 11
Game 1: #1 North Georgia vs. #8 King, 2 p.m.
Game 2: #4 Columbus State vs. #5 Lincoln Memorial, 4:30 p.m.
Friday May 12
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 12 p.m.
Game 4: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 2:30 p.m.
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 5 p.m.
Saturday May 13
Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5, 12 p.m.
Game 7: Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6 (If Necessary), 2 p.m.
2023 NCAA Division II Southeast Region #2 Schedule
Thursday, May 11 (Wingate, N.C.)
Game 1: #2 Wingate vs. #7 Francis Marion, 1 p.m.
Game 2: #3 Lenoir-Rhyne vs. #6 Carson-Newman, 3:30 p.m.
Friday, May 12 (Wingate, N.C.)
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 10:30 a.m.
Game 4: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 1 p.m.
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 3:30 pm.
Saturday, May 13 (Wingate, N.C.)
Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5, 1 p.m.
Game 7: Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6 (If Necessary), 3:30 p.m.