It came down to the final day of the regular season but for the fifth time in program history, Albany is the America East regular-season softball champion as the Great Danes captured the title with a win over Binghamton Sunday.
The Great Danes earned the top seed for the 2013 America East Championship, which will also feature Binghamton, Hartford and Stony Brook, which will seeded second, third and fourth, respectively.
The three-day, double-elimination tournament will take place May 9-11 at Binghamton University's Bearcats Softball Complex as Albany waived its right to host.
Albany (35-15, 15-2 AE), whose 35 regular-season wins are its second-most in program history, won two out of three at Binghamton this weekend to claim its second regular-season crown in three years. The Great Danes scored twice in the top of the sixth Sunday to beat Binghamton, 2-1, for the series win. Albany, which sports a league-best 2.33 team ERA, will seek their sixth America East title this weekend.
Binghamton (29-15, 14-4 AE) will aim for its first-ever league title in the midst of its best season in program history. The Bearcats, whose No. 2 seed is their best-ever, set program records for overall victories and conference wins this season behind an offense that leads the league in average (.296), on-base percentage (.384) and slugging (.475).
Hartford (21-32, 10-8 AE) is in the championship for the first time since 2007. The Hawks won two out of three at Maine this weekend, capped by a 2-1, 11 inning win Sunday, which earned them the No. 3 seed. Hartford earned the tiebreaker over Stony Brook based on winning the season series over the Seawolves.
Stony Brook (31-22, 10-8) is in the tournament field for fifth time in six years. Seeking its first league crown since 2008, the Seawolves will enter the tournament on a six-game win streak after sweeping Boston U. this weekend.
On Thursday, Albany will face Stony Brook at 1 p.m. and Binghamton will take on Hartford. Following Thursday's doubleheader, three games will be played Friday, while the championship game (games if necessary) will take place Saturday. The league champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Softball Championship.
Visit Championship Central for complete updates throughout the tournament.
2013 America East Softball Championship
At Binghamton University
Thursday, May 9
Game 1: No. 1 Albany vs. No. 4 Stony Brook, 1 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Binghamton vs. No. 3 Hartford, 3:30 p.m.
Friday, May 10
Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 11 a.m.
Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 1:30 p.m. (elimination game)
Game 5: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner, 4 p.m. (elimination game)
Saturday, May 11
Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 12 p.m. (championship game)
Game 7: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser, 2:30 p.m. (if necessary)