Westminster's Chelsea Brown, Geneva's Samantha Johnson, W&J's Kelsey Cunningham and Thomas More's Alex Walter lead their respective programs into this week's PAC Softball Championship Tournament Westminster Earns Top Seed, Hosting Rights for PAC Softball Championship Tourney 4/28/2013 11:15:14 AM Championship website GREENVILLE, Pa. – Head coach Jan Reddinger and the Westminster College softball program have played their way into the number one seed and host school for this week’s 2013 Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Softball Championship Tournament. The four-team, double-elimination tournament will take place this Thursday-Friday, May 2-3, in New Wilmington, Pa. Top-seeded Westminster (21-13, 14-4 PAC) will take on fourth-seeded Thomas More College (21-17, 12-6 PAC) in Thursday’s opener (11 a.m.), followed by the other opening-round game between third-seeded Washington & Jefferson (24-12, 13-5 PAC) and number two seed Geneva College (20-14, 14-4 PAC) at 1 p.m. The winners of Thursday’s first-round contests will meet in Game C at 3 p.m., followed by the losing teams in the opening-round contests facing off in an elimination Game D at 5 p.m. On Friday, May 3 the loser of Game C will face the winner of Game D in an elimination game at 11 a.m. for the right to play for the conference crown against the Game C winner at 1 p.m. If both teams have one loss at that point, the "if necessary" game is scheduled to be contested at 3 p.m. The 2013 PAC Championship Tournament winner will earn the PAC's automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division III Softball Playoffs, with regional round play beginning on Tuesday, May 9. Westminster will play its 2013 regular-season finale on Monday, April 29 when it hosts Pitt-Greensburg for 3:30 p.m. doubleheader. The Titans were the top vote-getter in the 2013 PAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, released February 16. Westminster collected just two of the first-place votes but accumulated a total of 77 points. The program has made the conference championship tournament in seven of the last eight seasons, winning its first title in 2005 as the number three seed. Second-seeded Geneva and 10th-year head coach Van Zanic rolled through the 2012 PAC championship tournament as the number four seed, completing a perfect 3-0 run with wins over top-seeded Saint Vincent College, second-seeded Thiel College and third-seeded Westminster to capture the school’s first-ever PAC softball title. Third-seeded Washington & Jefferson and sixth-year head coach Nicole Vitello earned a spot in the PAC championship tournament for the first time since 2009 after closing out the regular season with eight wins in its final 10 PAC games. W&J’s 24 victories in 2013 are the fourth-highest total in school history and most since the 2008 Presidents rattled off a school-record 28 wins. The program’s last PAC softball title came in the 2006 season. Fourth-seeded Thomas More, under the direction of fifth-year head coach Lindsay Bramhall, has seven PAC Championship Tournament appearances in its eight years as a conference member. Despite not advancing to the PAC’s championship tournament in 2012, Bramhall and the Saints have played to a pair of conference titles (2010, 2009). The tournament is being held one day earlier than previously announced due to the participation of Geneva, which has an institutional policy prohibiting athletic competition on Sundays. Therefore, the tournament has been moved up one day to allow for Saturday as the tournament rain date. 2013 PAC Softball Championship Tournament Hosted by Westminster College – New Wilmington, Pa. Thursday, May 2 Game A: (4) Thomas More (21-17, 12-6 PAC) vs. (1) Westminster (21-13, 14-4 PAC) – 11 a.m. Game B: (3) Washington & Jefferson (24-12, 13-5 PAC) vs. (2) Geneva (20-14, 14-4 PAC) – 1 p.m. Game C: Game A winner vs. Game B winner – 3 p.m. Game D: Game A loser vs. Game B loser – 5 p.m. Friday, May 3 Game E: Game C loser vs. Game D winner – 1 p.m. Game F: Game C winner vs. Game E winner – 3 p.m. Game G: if necessary – 5 p.m. Saturday, May 4 Rain date (note: play cannot continue past Saturday due to Geneva institutional policy on Sunday play)