BOSTON -- Four teams. Boston University, Stony Brook and Maine, that have combined to win the last 10 America East softball titles will compete for the 2012 crown starting Friday.
Due to rain and unplayable field conditions, Thursday's games have been postponed until tomorrow. The top-seeded Terriers, the regular-season champions, will kick off the tournament against fourth-seeded Maine at 11 a.m. on Friday. Second-seeded Stony Brook will then play third-seeded Albany at 1:30 p.m.
Saturday's schedule will follow Friday's orginal schedule with games at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. The championship game will be Sunday at 10 a.m. with a second game immediately following if necessary. The championship is double elimination.
Boston U. (37-14) will try to do something no America East team has done since 2004, win the conference title on their home field. The Terriers, who have won 13 of their last 14 games, are seeking their third conference title in four years. Boston U., which swept three games from the Black Bears during the regular season, leads America East and ranks 19th nationally with a 1.85 team ERA.
Maine (17-28-1) won six of its final eight games to get back to the tournament for just the second time in six seasons. First-year head coach Lynn Coutts will try to lead the Black Bears to their first crown since 2004.
Stony Brook (35-15-1) have 15 more wins than it did a year ago and return to the tournament as the No. 2 seed after missing out in 2011. The Seawolves' .806 win conference win percentage is the third-best in league history for a team that did not finish first. SBU leads the conference in both hitting (.307 team average) and fielding percentage (.975).
Albany (34-14) is trying to repeat as champion and win their fifth title overall since 2005. Led by the America East Player of the Year Charlise Castro, the Great Danes are 29-7 since a 3-5 start. Their .712 conference winning percentage is the third-best for a third-place team.
The Terriers swept the Black Bears during the regular season while Stony Brook took two of three from Albany just last weekend.
Visit Championship Central for links to live stats, WTBU radio coverage of games involving Boston University and the complete tournament schedule.