WALTHAM, Mass. – For the first time in the program's history, the Bentley University softball team has been selected to participate in the NCAA Division II East Regional tournament, which will be held Thursday through Saturday at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y.

The team received the word Monday morning during the NCAA selection show on NCAA.com. Coach Terry McDonough's team was seeded fourth and will face fifth-seeded Caldwell University Thursday at 2:30 pm.  

A total of eight teams were selected for East Regional, with four competing at Adelphi and the other four at Wilmington University (Del.). Each site will conduct a double-elimination tournament and the two winners will advance to the Super Regional, which will be held May 18-19. The finals will be May 25-31 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The fourth team in East 1 will be eighth-seeded Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Spartans will take on top-seeded Adelphi, the Northeast-10 champions, at noon Thursday.

In East 2 at Wilmington, the opening pairings have second-seeded Wilmington against number seven Pace University and third-seeded Georgian Court taking on number six Franklin Pierce.

Bentley, 28-14-1, has broken the school record for wins for the second consecutive season and finished second to Adelphi in the Northeast-10. The Falcons split with Caldwell late in the regular season, winning the first game, 5-4 in 8 innings, before dropping the nightcap, 8-0.

Against the East Region field, Bentley has a 5-4 record, including 1-1 against Adelphi and 0-1 against St. Thomas Aquinas.