Simmons College Softball has been selected to the 2011 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III New England Softball Championship, the ECAC announced on Monday. This is the program's second appearance in the ECAC tournament; the Sharks' first was in the 2008 season. The tournament is a seven-team field with six teams participating in a single-elimination quarterfinal round followed by a double-elimination format for the remaining four teams.

After finishing the regular season with a 27-12-1 record, Keene State was selected as the No. 1 seed, and will receive a bye and host the double-elimination tournament on May 14-15.

In the first-round contests on Wednesday, May 11, No. 2 Brandeis (18-17) will host No. 7 Elms College (22-14) at 4:30 p.m., while No. 3 University of New England (27-17) will face No. 6 Rivier College (26-14) at 4:00 p.m. at UNE. Western New England (27-17) will take on Simmons College (24-15) at 4:00 p.m. in the No. 4/No. 5 match-up at Western New England.

The first-round winners will advance to play on Saturday, May 14, at Keene State College. The winner of No. 4 Western New England/No. 5 Simmons will face No. 1 Keene State at 10:00 a.m. in Game 1 of the double-elimination format, and the winner of No. 3 UNE/No. 6 Rivier will play the winner of No. 2 Brandeis/No. 7 Elms at noon in Game 2. The loser of Game 1 and the loser of Game 2 will play an elimination game (Game 3) at 2:00 p.m. The winner of Game 1 and the winner of Game 2 will square off in a winner's bracket (Game 4) at 4:00 p.m.

On Sunday, May 15, the Game 4 loser and the Game 3 winner will meet in Game 5 in an elimination game at 10:00 a.m. The winner of game 5 will advance to play the winner of Game 4 at noon. If necessary, a Game 7 will be played immediately following Game 6 to complete the double-elimination format.

2011 ECAC Division III New England Softball Championship

First Round – Wednesday, May 11
No. 7 Elms (22-14) at No. 2 Brandeis (18-17), 4:30 p.m.
No. 6 Rivier (26-14) at No. 3 University of New England (27-17), 4:00 p.m.
No. 5 Simmons (24-15) at No. 4 Western New England (27-17), 4:00 p.m.

Double Elimination (Day 1) – Saturday, May 14 at Keene State College
Game 1: No. 1 Keene State (27-12-1) vs. No. 4/No. 5 winner, 10:00 a.m.
Game 2: No. 2/No. 7 winner vs. No. 3/No. 6 winner, Noon
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2:00 p.m.
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4:00 p.m.

Double Elimination (Day 2) – Sunday, May 15 at Keene State College
Game 5: Game 4 loser vs. Game 3 winner, 10:00 a.m.
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Noon
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 2:00 p.m. (if necessary)