Horizon League Releases Pairings, Times for 2006 Softball Championship

May 8, 2006

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INDIANAPOLIS -- University of Illinois at Chicago claimed the top seed for the 2006 Horizon League Softball Championship after edging Cleveland State University by a half game in the final regular-season standings. The title was the Flames' third-straight and ninth in the last 11 seasons.

The tournament is scheduled to begin on Thursday (May 11) at McCune Park in Canfield, Ohio. Opening-round action has (#2 seed) Cleveland State (14-7 in the League, 35-13 overall) facing (#7 seed) Wright State University (6-15, 6-39) at 9 a.m., followed by (#3 seed) University of Detroit Mercy (13-7, 17-26) going up against host and sixth-seeded Youngstown State University (10-10, 18-25) at 11 a.m. Action continues at 1 p.m. when (#4 seed) University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (10-10, 13-19) takes on (#5 seed) Loyola University Chicago (10-10, 18-39), while UIC (14-6, 24-31) plays (#8 seed) Butler University (4-16, 17-28-1) at 4 p.m. to wrap up the opening round.

The final standings featured one tie, a three-way draw between Loyola, Youngstown State and UW-Green Bay for fourth place. The teams all finished the 2006 campaign with 10-10 records in League play. In head-to-head competition, the Phoenix prevailed as the fourth-seed with a 3-2 mark against the Penguins and Ramblers. Loyola secured the fifth-seed with a 3-3 mark against the other two clubs, while YSU were seeded sixth with a 2-3 ledger against UWGB and LU.

Free, live stats of all tournament games will be available via the League's website. For more information regarding the 2006 Horizon League Softball Championship, visit the softball championship page.

Opening-Round Schedule (May 11):

Game 1: No. 2 Cleveland State vs. No. 7 Wright State - 9 a.m.
Game 2: No. 3 Detroit vs. No. 6 Youngstown State - 11 a.m.
Game 3: No. 4 UW-Green Bay vs. No. 5 Loyola - 1 p.m.
Game 4: No. 1 UIC vs. No. 8 Butler - 4 p.m.