Championship Central

BALTIMORE, Md. - The UMass Lowell softball team has clinched a birth into the America East Championship for the third consecutive season, as the No. 4 seeded River Hawks are set to square off against top-ranked UMBC on Thursday, May 13 at 1 p.m.  
 
The double-elimination tournament will be hosted by the Retrievers and will feature just four teams for the first time since 2015. Following the tournament opener between UMass Lowell and UMBC, No. 2 UAlbany, winner of six AE Championships in a row, will take on No. 3 Stony Brook at 3:30 p.m. Three more games are scheduled for Friday, May 14 and the title game that will decide the America East automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament will be played on Saturday, May 15. All games will be streamed on AmericaEast.TV.
 
The River Hawks took two out of three games at Hartford in their final conference series of 2021 to lock up a spot in the league's postseason. UMass Lowell finished the shortened regular season with a 13-16 overall record and a 9-7 mark in conference play.
 
UMBC claimed the America East softball regular-season title for the first time in program history. The team finished 22-11 overall and 11-5 in conference action.
 
The winner of the UMass Lowell vs. UMBC contest will advance to take on the winner of the UAlbany vs. Stony Brook matchup on May 14.