JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 27, 2008) - The ETSU softball team will open the 2008 Atlantic Tournament hosted by Holiday Inn against Mercer at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 8 in DeLand, Fla. Games will be played at Patricia Wilson Field and is hosted by Stetson University.

The Lady Bucs secured the No. 4 seed after splitting with Kennesaw State Saturday afternoon and Mercer - who could have moved into a number two seed - received the No. 3 slot after being swept by USC Upstate Sunday afternoon at Sikes Field in Macon, Ga.

ETSU and Mercer squared off this past weekend in Macon with the Lady Bucs taking game one, 5-4, before falling in game two, 5-3. Marissa Hardy (Rocklin, Calif.) earned the win in the circle for the Softball Bucs - tossing a complete-game - and allowing four runs on four hits. Sophomore catcher Trisha Massenzo (Russellville, Tenn.) and junior outfielder Vicki McCoy (Ringgold, Ga.) attacked the Bears' pitching as the duo combined to hit 7-for-13 (.538) in the series. Massenzo went 3-for-6 with a home run and three RBI, while McCoy was 4-for-7 with four stolen bases, two runs scored, and one RBI.

Mercer leads the all-time series 4-2, but both teams have split the last two doubleheaders.

Below is a breakdown of the tournament match-ups:

#1 Lipscomb vs. # 6 Gardner-Webb

#2 Stetson vs. #5 Campbell

#3 Mercer vs. # 4 ETSU

The winner of ETSU/Mercer will face the winner of Stetson/Campbell on Thursday; while the loser between ETSU/Mercer gets the winner Lipscomb/Gardner-Webb - which will also be played Thursday.

Stay tuned to www.ETSUBucs.com for more information regarding the conference tournament and all other Buccaneer athletic news.