Lake Forest College Sports Information
April 27, 2004
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Lake Forest to Host MWC Softball Championship Tournament
Monmouth, Ripon, and Lawrence complete the field
  

LAKE FOREST, IL - The Lake Forest College softball team finished the 2004 regular season with an overall record of 23-11 and a Midwest Conference mark of 11-2. The Foresters earned the right to host this weekend’s (April 30-May 1) 2004 MWC Championship Tournament by placing first in the MWC South Division standings with 19 league points. The two-time defending conference champs swept its four divisional doubleheaders and won three of five games against North Division opponents at the MWC Classic on April 17-18.

Monmouth College is the South’s other representative after placing second in the division with a 6-7 record in MWC games and 11 league points. The Fighting Scots, who are 14-18 overall, posted a 5-3 record in the South and a 1-4 mark against the North Division teams.

Ripon College and Lawrence University each posted a 9-4 record in conference play. Ripon has a league-best 24-8 overall record and placed first in the division with 15 points. The Redhawks were 6-2 against other teams in the North and 3-2 versus the South. Lawrence’s overall record is 18-13 and the Vikings earned 14 points with their 5-3 mark in the divisional and league-high four victories at the MWC Classic.

The MWC Championship Tournament is double-elimination and will begin Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. with a first round game between Ripon and Monmouth. Lake Forest will host Lawrence at noon. The losing teams will face off in an elimination game at 2:00 p.m. and the winners will play at 4:00 p.m. Play will continue on Saturday with games at 10:00 a.m., noon, and 2:00 p.m., if necessary.

Admission to Nick Wasylik Field for tournament games is free. The field itself is located behind the Sports Center and Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse on South Campus. Driving directions can be found on Lake Forest College’s Athletics Web site at www.lakeforest.edu/athletics. Live play-by-play and game stats for all tournament games will also be published on the Web site.

The winner of the conference tournament will also receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. NCAA regional tournaments will be held May 7-10 at sites to be determined and the eight-team national finals will take place May 14-18 in Salem, Virginia.

MWC Championship Tournament Page