BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bowdoin College softball team will open play at the NCAA Division III Tournament on Thursday at Moravian (Pa.) College in Bethlehem, Pa. The Polar Bears, who are making their first appearance in the tournament since 2010, will play in a four-team, double-elimination regional, opening at 1:00 p.m. against the host school, Moravian.
REGIONAL SCHEDULE – Regional Bracket | Tournament Home Page
The action starts with Westfield State (Mass.) University playing SUNY Cortland at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday. Bowdoin will battle Moravian at 1:30 p.m. Contests on Friday begin with the winners of the first two games playing at 11:00 a.m., with the winner of that game earning a berth in the championship round on Saturday. The losers of Thursday's two games will play at 1:30 p.m. Friday with the final elimination game to start at 4:00 p.m. Friday. Saturday's championship round has an 11:00 a.m. first pitch.
TICKETS – Purchase Here
Admission to each day of the tournament is $15 for adults and $10 for minors ages 10-17 and seniors 62 and older. Children ages 3-10 are $5 and children two and under are free. There will be an all-tournament pass for $40. All ticketing will be done online and there will be no cash accepted on site. Ticket prices are set by the NCAA.
LIVE COVERAGE
Live statistics and a live broadcast will be available at the NCAA website, beginning with
Thursday afternoon's game against Moravian.
BOWDOIN NOTES
The Polar Bears will be making their second appearance all-time in the NCAA Tournament after going 1-2 at a regional in 2010. That absence hasn't been due to a lack of success as the program has reached the 20-win plateau 15 times in the last 20 years under head coach
Ryan Sullivan. This year's 28-win season is the most in a season for the team since a 31-win campaign in 2018. Bowdoin's offense has led the way this spring, as the Polar Bears led the NESCAC at 7.4 runs per game, more than a half-run clear of the rest of the NESCAC. Bowdoin also stole 112 bases, 43 more than any other team. Three Polar Bears earned All-NESCAC honors, as centerfielder
Anika Ewert and catcher/infielder
Maddie Paschke earned First Team honors and first baseman
Rosie Panenka collected Second Team recognition.
REGIONAL OPPONENTS
Bowdoin and Moravian have never played in softball. The Polar Bears are 1-2 all-time against Westfield State with their last meeting coming in 2019 (a 7-1 Bowdoin win). Cortland and Bowdoin have played once (a 7-6 Red Dragon win in 2024).
