BELTON, TX — The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor softball team will open play in the 2019 American Southwest Conference Softball Championship Tournament Friday on the campus of East Texas Baptist University. The Cru finished the regular season at 26-14 with a 21-6 mark in conference play. UMHB will enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed and receive a first-round bye. The event runs Thursday, May 2nd – Saturday, May 4th with the championship set for 2 p.m. Saturday.
No. 6 seed Howard Payne will open the tournament in a 10 a.m. contest against No. 7 seed UT Dallas on Thursday with the winner facing No. 3 seed LeTourneau at 4 p.m. No. 5 seed Sul Ross State opens against No. 8 seed Louisiana College at 1 p.m. on Thursday with the winner of that contest advancing to face No. 4 seed Hardin-Simmons at 7 p.m. All four Thursday contests are single-elimination. Friday’s format will open double-elimination play with Thursday’s winners facing No. 2 seed UMHB and No. 1 seed East Texas Baptist. Semifinal contests are scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 11 a.m.
The Cru is making its 20th appearance in the tournament and is currently tied with East Texas Baptist as the conference schools with the most appearances in the event. The Cru is 20-38 overall in the tournament and has advanced to the championship game three times. UMHB is 2-4 against nationally-ranked opponents this season and 10-7 against tournament opponents. The 2019 tournament also features one nationally-ranked opponent in No. 4 East Texas Baptist.
Live coverage of the 2019 ASC Softball Championship Tournament is available at cruathletics.com. This is the 20th year of the ASC Championship Tournament. Admission to the tournament is $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Tickets are available for cash only on game day. The winner of the tournament will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Softball Championships.
