SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Endicott College has claimed the top seed for the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) baseball championship, which begins with opening-round games on Thursday, May 1. The Gulls (26-12 overall) captured the top seed in the conference tournament after posting a league-best 13-3 record in CCC play.

Three games are slated for Thursday, May 1. Top-seeded Endicott will host sixth-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology (15-16 overall, 7-9 CCC) at 4:00 p.m., second-seeded Roger Williams University (22-14, 12-4) will host fifth-seeded Gordon College (18-14, 7-9) at 3:00 p.m., and third-seeded Western New England University (16-18-1, 11-5) will host fourth-seeded Salve Regina University (24-12, 11-5) at 3:00 p.m.

CCC tiebreaking procedures were used to break deadlocks for third place and fifth place in the regular-season conference standings.

As both Salve Regina and Western New England posted identical 11-5 CCC records, the third seed tiebreaker was awarded to WNE based on the Golden Bears' sweep of the two-game split series against the Seahawks on March 29 and April 7.

For the fifth seed, Gordon and Wentworth both compiled identical 7-9 CCC records.  Gordon captured the tiebreaker as a result of sweeping a doubleheader between the two clubs on March 29.

The highest seed will host each CCC tournament game played during the first two days of the tournament. The highest remaining seed following the first two full days of play will host all games played on the final two days, unless five teams remain following game six.  In that scenario, the second-highest remaining seed will host one additional home game.  All times and are tentative and subject to change.

Tournament action will continue throughout the week, culminating with the final day of the tournament scheduled for Sunday, May 4. The CCC tournament champion will earn automatic qualification to the upcoming 2014 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, which begins Wednesday, May 14 with regional competition in Harwich, Mass.  The eight regional champions will advance to the finals in Appleton, Wisc. May 22-27.

Meeting for the second season in a row in the first round, Wentworth is 9-27 all-time against Endicott, however has won two of the last three meetings between the two teams. The Leopards and Gulls split a doubleheader on April 18 as Endicott took the first game, 5-0, and the Black & Gold earned a split with a 2-1 win in the nightcap. Thursday's game will mark the sixth time the two schools have met in the CCC Tournament with Endicott leading, 3-2.

Last season the fifth-seeded Leopards upended the eventual conference champion and second-seeded Gulls, 5-1. In six post-season games – including a meeting in the 2010 ECAC Tournament – the series is even at 3-all.

Click HERE for the Printable Tournament Schedule.

2014 CCC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE 

Thursday, May 1 -- Games 1, 2 and 3 (3:00 p.m. / 4:00 p.m.)
Friday, May 2 -- Games 4, 5 and 6 (3:00 p.m. / 4:00 p.m.)
Saturday, May 3 -- Games 7 (11:00 a.m.), 8 (11:00 a.m.) and 9 (3:30 p.m.)
Sunday, May 5 -- Games 10 (12:00 p.m.) and 11 (3:00 p.m., if necessary)

SCHEDULE NOTES

Games 1 through 6
- Games 1-6 will be hosted by the higher seed.
After Game 6
- If four teams remain, the highest remaining seed will host Games 7, 8 and 9.
- If five teams remain, the highest remaining seed (after Game 6) will host the early game on Saturday in which it plays, plus Game 9,
and the other early game will be hosted by the higher seed playing in that game.
After Game 9
- Highest Remaining Seed Hosts Games 10 and 11.

Thursday, May 1 

Game 1 - #6 Wentworth at #1 Endicott, 4:00 p.m.
Game 2 - #5 Gordon at #2 Roger Williams, 3:00 p.m.
Game 3 - #4 Salve Regina at #3 Western New England, 3:00 p.m.

Friday, May 2

Game 4 Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 3:00 p.m.*
Game 5 Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 3:00 p.m.*
Game 6  Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3 3:00 p.m.   
*4:00 p.m. start at Endicott

Saturday, May 3

If four teams remain after Game 6:
Game 7 - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 11:00 a.m.
Game 8 - Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 6, 11:00 a.m.
Game 9 - Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 3:30 p.m.
Note: The 11:00 a.m. game involving the host team will be played on the host team's field,
while the other game will be played at an alternate site.

If five teams remain after Game 6:
Game 7 - Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 11:00 a.m.
Game 8 - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 11:00 a.m.
Game 9 - Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7, 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 4

If four teams remain after Game 6:
Game 10 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, 12:00 p.m.
Game 11 - If necessary, same teams as in Game 10, 3:00 p.m.

If two teams remain after Game 9:
Game 10 - Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9, 12:00 p.m.
Game 11 - If necessary, same teams as in Game 10, 3:00 p.m.

If three teams remain after Game 9:
Game 10 - Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9, 12:00 p.m.
Game 11 - Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game, 3:00 p.m.

All dates and times are tentative and subject to change due to inclement weather. 

(Portions of this release courtesy of the Commonwealth Coast Conference)