NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University softball team saw its name slotted in at No. 5 as the first official NCAA Regional Rankings were announced on Wednesday.
The 2022 National Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday, May 8 with eight teams from each region advancing to the Regional Tournament. The Regional Tournament is a four-team double-elimination format, with two sites per region. There are still two more official ranking release dates.
NCAA Division II Softball utilizes an automatic qualification process with winners from their conference tournament automatically advancing to the Regional Tournament. If the Wildcats do not win the 2022 CACC Tournament, they will need to be one of the five at-large bids picked by the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC). The East Region consists of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), the East Coast Conference (ECC), and the Northeast 10.
The Wildcats are 24-16 overall and are 12-4 in CACC play. More importantly to the RAC, the Wildcats are holding a 21-11 in-region record.
The Wildcats have four more CACC doubleheaders prior to the start of the 2022 CACC Tournament on Thursday, May 5. A champion will be crowned on Saturday, May 7 at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, New Jersey.
Wilmington hosts Bloomfield on Saturday in a CACC doubleheader at Asbury Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
2022 NCAA East Region Rankings – Week 1
1 – Adelphi (26-10 overall, 23-5 in-region)
2 – Georgian Court (25-11, 23-5)
3 – Caldwell (26-7, 26-4)
4 – Franklin Pierce (16-4, 16-4)
5 – Wilmington (23-15, 20-10)
6 – St. Anselm (19-12, 14-6)
7 – Pace (20-9, 18-8)
8 – Bridgeport (25-12, 21-10)
9 – St. Thomas Aquinas (19-15, 18-13)
10 – New Haven (14-14, 12-9)