MADISON, Wis. - Desperate times call for desperate measures. In an attempt to get their entire Northern Athletics Conference season completed, the Edgewood College softball team will be playing an nearly unprecedented “quadrupleheader” tomorrow. The Eagles will play both Concordia University Chicago and Dominican University in road doubleheaders with first game beginning at 4:00 p.m.
The unique arrangement was made necessary due to both doubleheaders getting rained out over the weekend. With only two days remaining in the regular season and the Eagles scheduled to play Rockford College on Monday, there were no other viable options. It was made possible by the fact that Concordia Chicago and Dominican are next door neighbors, located literally across the street from one another.
Tuesday will be all the more interesting since the Eagles are vying for the sixth and final berth in the NAC Tournament. The Eagles at 9-9 with six games to play, trail Concordia University Wisconsin at 12-10 with two games to play. If CUW sweeps Wisconsin Lutheran College on Tuesday afternoon, the Eagles would need to win all six games to pass the Falcons and claim the final spot. The Falcons hold the tiebreaker over Edgewood College by virtue of their two-game sweep over the Eagles on April 2.
Only once in Eagle history has the softball team ever played four games in a single day. That occurred on April 25, 1993 when Edgewood College hosted both Marian College (now Marian University) and Cardinal Stritch University. The Eagles lost the first game to the Sabres and then won the final three games of the day.
The Northern Athletics Conference Tournament begins on Thursday at Alverno College in Milwaukee. The top six schools in the final conference standings will qualify for the double-elimination event. The champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.