Updated Championship Bracket (JPG)


FINDLAY, Ohio – Eight games in the bracket were successfully completed and six teams remain in contention at Marathon Diamonds to stamp a wild day at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Softball Championship tournament hosted by Findlay on Thursday.
 
The first round was a moment captured by the underdogs as three of the four outcomes were upsets in terms of seeding. In a double-elimination format, the margin for error just becomes that much slimmer after being handed the first defeat.
 
It was rainy weather for part of the day while the all-conference team and individual award winners were recognized in front of their peers at Anderson Field in a special ceremony. The graduating seniors also were celebrated as they were presented caps on the field and lined up in the outfield.
 
No. 8 Cedarville ended up stunning top seed and regular season champion Trevecca Nazarene, 2-1. No. 7 Ursuline rocked the bracket with an incredible comeback against two-time defending tournament champion and second-seeded Hillsdale. No. 6 Ohio Dominican was able to send No. 3 Malone down to the consolation bracket.
 
No. 4 Tiffin handed the host Oilers their first loss of the tournament by a final of 4-2 on the scoreboard.
 
In the second round, the Dragons manufactured some late-inning magic to edge Cedarville, 2-1. Ohio Dominican stayed hot in the championship bracket by sending Ursuline to the play-in game with a 13-1 victory in a shortened five-inning affair.

The road traveled back in the consolation bracket is not so easy as Malone and Findlay's prospects of tournament title hopes were dashed by Hillsdale and Trevecca Nazarene as the first teams officially eliminated from playoff contention. 
 
As it stands, Tiffin and Ohio Dominican are the two programs that went 2-0 on day one. The Dragons and Panthers will clash at 12:30 PM ET in Game 11 on the tournament bracket.
 
Elimination games are on the line for Ursuline/Trevecca Nazarene and Cedarville/Hillsdale to lead off Friday's lineup at 10 am ET on Anderson and Iriti fields. Both TNU and Hillsdale entered the tournament regionally ranked in the Midwest Region.
 
There will be two other games played on Friday, including the winner of UC/TNU and CU/HC at 12:30 pm ET and then the winner of that contest vs. the loser of Tiffin/Ohio Dominican in the afternoon at 3 pm ET.
 
All games are being streamed live on the Great Midwest Digital Network by production staffing from the host Findlay Oilers.