WEST COLUMBIA, S.C., May 2, 2023 – It has been four years since the last time the Monroe College Mustangs softball team competed in the postseason, but the Mustangs are back in the playoffs, joining the Region 10 Championship tournament in West Columbia, S.C., looking to reach the Mid-Atlantic District Championship for the first time. The Mustangs from Region 15 join the Carolina-based region's postseason tournament, along with Region 20's Harford Community College, to form a seven-team, double-elimination championship this weekend.
 
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
2023 Region 10 Division I Softball Championship
Pine Grove Sports Complex – West Columbia, S.C.
Thursday, May 4 – Saturday, May 6
Region 10 Championship Central
 
Tournament Seeding:

1. Gaston College (15-1, 38-8)
2. USC Union (10-6, 19-22)
3. Region 20 (MD): Harford Community College (25-6)
4. Spartanburg Methodist College (8-8, 19-23)
5. Florence-Darlington Technical College (6-10, 23-18)
6. Region 15 (NY): Monroe College (26-22)
7. USC Sumter (1-15, 2-26)

 
Tournament Coverage:
Monroe College is planning to provide live stats and a live stream for all its games at the Region 10 Championship.
Live Video: Monroe Mustangs YouTube Channel
Live Stats: MonroeCollegeMustangs.com/SBLiveStats
 
Tournament Schedule:
Championship Bracket
 
Thursday, May 4
Game 3 at 11:00am; Field 2: #2 USC Union vs. #7 USC Sumter
Game 1 at 12:00pm; Field 1: #4 Spartanburg Methodist vs. #5 Florence-Darlington
Game 2 at 1:30pm; Field 2: #3 Harford vs. #6 Monroe
Game 4 at 3:00pm; Field 1: #1 Gaston vs. Winner Game 1
Game 5 at 4:00pm; Field 2: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3
 
Friday, May 5
Game 6 at 11:00am; Field 2: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3
Game 9 at 11:00am; Field 1: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7 at 1:30pm; Field 1: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 5
Game 8 at 1:30pm; Field 2: Loser Game 4 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 10 at 4:00pm; Field 1: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8
 
Saturday, May 6
Game 11 at 11:00am; Field 1: Loser Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10
Championship Game at 1:30pm; Field 1: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11
If Necessary Game at 4:00pm; Field 1: If Winner of Game 9 loses in Championship Game
 
What's at Stake?
Winner of the Tournament is the Region 10 Champion and will play at the Region 22 (Alabama) Tournament Runner-up on May 12-13 at Central Alabama Community College in Alexander City, Ala., for the Mid-Atlantic District Championship and a bid the DI National Tournament at the Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama on May 23-27, 2023. 

HOW WE GOT HERE
The path for the Mustangs to reach the Region 10 Championship is actually quite simple. The Mustangs needed to finish the regular season with a record above .500, and despite putting together one of the more challenging schedules in the team's history since jumping up to NJCAA Division I, the Mustangs still accomplished this feat, and set a new program record with 26 wins on the year.
 
The path was not easy for Monroe, which began its season with a trip to Texas to face off with some of the best teams in the country. The challenging journey down south resulted in the Mustangs coming home with a 2-11 overall record, giving them a lot of ground to make up if they wanted to make the postseason.
 
The Mustangs then gave themselves a preview of the Region 10 tournament with a trip to the Carolinas, where they took on three teams they may potentially face in this weekend's tournament. Monroe swept a doubleheader at USC Union, but took a narrow 7-6 loss to Spartanburg Methodist College the next day in a neutral-site game. The Mustangs visited the team that would eventually claim Region 10's Regular-Season Championship, Gaston College, on the last day of that trip. The Mustangs split a doubleheader with the Rhinos, handing them one of just eight defeats on the season thanks to a 13-strikeout performance by Sarah Wall and a go-ahead grand slam off the bat of Zoe Rivera.
 
The Mustangs still challenged themselves when returning to the northeast, playing four of their next six games against two of the top-ranked teams in NJCAA Div. III. Monroe lost both games of a doubleheader against Div. III No. 1 Corning Community College before bouncing back to sweep Orange County Community College. They then visited Div. III No. 6 Rowan College South Jersey-Gloucester, dropping a 3-2 decision in extra innings before falling by a score of 1-0 in Game 2 on a seventh-inning walkoff.
 
Things turned around from there for the Mustangs, as they needed to climb back from an 8-17 record. The Mustangs managed to win 18-of-23 games from that point forward to get above .500 for the season. During this run, they split a doubleheader at Div. III No. 2 Brookdale Community College, with the loss that day being a 1-0 final in a one-hit performance from Wall. The Mustangs' final six games of the season saw them outscore their opponents, 72-9.
 
QUICK GLANCE AT REGION 10
All five of Region 10's Div. I softball teams will participate in this weekend's championship tournament. Gaston rolled through the region, going 15-1 in conference play during the Rhinos' first season at the Div. I level. USC Union finished second at 10-6 overall. Gaston and USC Union occupy the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the tournament, respectively. After Region 20's Harford takes the No. 3 seed, Spartanburg Methodist comes in at No. 4 after finishing third in Region 10 at 8-8. Florence-Darlington is the No. 5 seed after placing fourth at 6-10. Monroe represents Region 15 with the No. 6 seed, and then USC Sumter plays as No. 7 after finishing fifth in Region 10 at 1-16.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 35 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band and the newly added esports and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 11 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).