JWU, Rivier Win Respective Divisions, Will Be Top Seeds in GNAC Softball Championship
WINTHROP, Mass. – Johnson & Wales and Rivier earned the two No. 1 seeds in the 2025 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Softball Championship after successful regular seasons. They will be the two hosts of the tournament's double-elimination pods following the GNAC Play-In games, which are scheduled for Tuesday, April 29.
The Raiders took the top spot in the North Division, finishing with a 9-3 North Division (21-13 overall) record. Meanwhile, the Wildcats won the South Division with a 12-2 South Division (24-14 overall) record.
Before either team will see tournament action, however, they must learn the results of the GNAC Play-In Round on Tuesday. The Play-In games will feature the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in each division. The North Division matchup resulted in No. 4 North seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) (8-4 North, 16-22 overall) against No. 5 North seed New England College (5-7 North, 14-22 overall) at 4 p.m. In the South Division, No. 4 South seed Mitchell (9-5 South, 14-18-1) will face No. 5 South seed Regis (7-7 South, 14-20 overall) at 3 p.m.
After the Play-In Round, the eight remaining teams will be split into two double-elimination pods with each No. 1 seed hosting. Pod A consists of the Rivier, the North Division Play-In winner, No. 2 South seed Albertus Magnus (11-3 South, 25-15 overall), and No. 3 South seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (9-5 South, 18-17 overall). Pod B includes the Wildcats, the South Division Play-In winner, No. 2 North seed Emmanuel (8-4 North, 14-22 overall), and No. 3 North seed Simmons (8-4 North, 18-20 overall).
The league's tiebreaking procedure was needed to break the three-way between Emmanuel, SJC, and Simmons. Head-to-head results between the three broke the first tie as the Saints went 3-1 against the two, thus earning them the two seed. After a reset in tiebreakers, it came down to results vs. higher-ranked teams between the Monks and the Sharks in which the Sharks picked up a sweep over Rivier and dropped two to Emmanuel (2-2) while the Monks collected a 1-3 record after dropping two to Rivier and splitting with Emmanuel, giving Simmons the third seed and Saint Joseph's Maine the fourth seed.
Another tiebreaker was broken for the third and fourth seed in the South Division as the Blue Jays and Mitchell tied up at 9-5 in which USJ got the edge due to a sweep early on in divisional play against the Mariners.
Pod Play will take place from Thursday, May 1 through Sunday, May 4 with two games scheduled for Thursday, three games scheduled for Saturday, and one or two games planned for Sunday.
The winners of the two pods will then meet for a best-of-three GNAC Softball Championship Series, which is schedule for Friday-Saturday, May 9-10. One game will be played on Friday with the second and "if necessary" game scheduled for Saturday.
The winner of the GNAC Softball Championship Series will be named the 2025 GNAC Softball Champion and earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2025 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
2025 GNAC Softball Tournament Schedule
Play-In Games - Tuesday, April 29
(Hosted by #4N and #4S)
#4N Saint Joseph's (Maine) v. #5N NEC, 4 PM
#4S Mitchell v. #5S Regis, 3:00 PM
Pod Play Day 1 - Thursday, May 1
Pod A
(Hosted by Top seeds, Rivier, Albertus Magnus)
Game 3A – Winner of Game 1 at #1N Rivier, 7 PM
Game 4A - #2S Albertus Magnus vs. #3S University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 3 PM
Pod B
(Hosted by Top seeds JWU/Emmanuel)
Game 3B – Winner of Game 2 at #1S Johnson & Wales, 2 PM
Game 4B - #2N Emmanuel vs. #3N Simmons, 5 PM
Pod Play Day 2 - Saturday, May 3
Pod A
(Hosted by No. 1N seed Rivier)
Game 5A - Game 3A Loser vs. Game 4A Loser,
Game 6A - Game 3A Winner vs. Game 4A Winner,
Game 7A - Game 5A Winner vs. Game 6A Loser,
Pod B
(Hosted by No. 1S seed Johnson & Wales)
Game 5B - Game 3B Loser vs. Game 4B Loser, TBA
Game 6B - Game 3B Winner vs. Game 4B Winner, TBA
Game 7B - Game 5B Winner vs. Game 6B Loser, TBA
Pod Finals - Sunday, May 4
Pod A
(Hosted by No. 1N seed Rivier)
Game 8A - Game 6A Winner vs. Game 7A Winner, TBA
Game 9A - Game 8A opponents, If necessary
Pod B
(Hosted by No. 1S Johnson & Wales)
Game 8B - Game 6B Winner vs. Game 7B Winner, TBA
Game 9B - Game 8B opponents, If necessary
Championship Series - Friday, May 9
(Host TBD)
Game 10 - Winner of Pod A vs. Winner of Pod B, TBD
Championship Series Day 2- Saturday, May 10
(Host TBD)
Game 11 - Winner of Pod A vs. Winner of Pod B, TBD
Game 12 - Winner of Pod A vs. Winner of Pod B, TBD (if necessary)
ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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