⚾ 🥎 Tide Hosts NCAA Regional as No. 16 National Seed

[UA Press Release]

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – For the 13th-straight season, Alabama softball has earned a top-16 national seed and will host an NCAA Regional as the No. 16 overall seed, welcoming Minnesota, Louisiana Tech and Albany to Tuscaloosa. NCAA Tournament play at Rhoads Stadium begins Friday, May 19.

The NCAA Tournament appearance is the 19th-straight for Alabama, having done so every year since 1999. Alabama has earned a top-16 national seed 15 times, including a hosting streak of 13-straight starting in 2005. The Tide is 84-39 (.659) all-time in NCAA Regional play and has won every regional round since 2005, the longest active streak in Division-I softball. Alabama has not lost a game in regional play since 2007, a streak of 31-consecutive games.

Action at the Tuscaloosa Regional will begin on Friday, May 19 when Minnesota faces Louisiana Tech at 1:30 p.m. CT on WatchESPN.com before Alabama takes on Albany at 4 p.m. CT live on the SEC Network.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (54-3) earned the Big 10's automatic bid after winning their second-straight tournament title. Minnesota was the league's regular-season champion as well, finishing conference play with a 21-1 Big 10 record. Senior pitcher Sara Groenewegen is a top 10 finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year and has a 30-2 record with a 0.59 ERA and 280 strikeouts over 190.0 innings pitched. Minnesota was ranked No. 4 in both national polls heading into last weekend. Alabama has only faced Minnesota once in program history, a 2-0 Crimson Tide win on Feb. 10, 2000 at the Metrodome Classic in Minneapolis.

Louisiana Tech (34-22) won the automatic bid for Conference USA, the program's first league title since 2008 and 10th overall. Six players were named to the all-conference team, including Newcomer of the Year Krystal De La Cruz, a sophomore pitcher who leads the team with a 2.00 ERA over 105.0 innings pitched. Alabama has won all four of its meetings against Louisiana Tech, last facing off in a doubleheader on March 27, 2007.

Albany (27-16) won its sixth America East title this weekend, its second in the last four seasons. Senior utility player Elizabeth Snow was name the league's Player of the Year, leading the team with a .439 batting average and 50 hits, including 13 home runs and 46 RBIs. Alabama has met Albany four times in program history, winning all four. The last meeting came on Feb. 14, 2004, a 12-0 win for the Crimson Tide.

The winner of the Tuscaloosa regional will advance to face the winner of the Gainesville Regional, hosted by top-seeded Florida. Other teams playing in Gainesville include Oklahoma State, Florida International and Florida A&M

Alabama Softball to Host NCAA Regional as No. 16 National Seed

 

[BAMANEWSBOT]

SEC sends 13 teams to NCAA Softball Tournament

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Southeastern Conference set an NCAA Tournament record as all 13 programs earned a spot in the 2017 NCAA Division I Softball Championship.

The SEC earned eight national seeds, as SEC regular season champion Florida (50-6) earned the national No. 1 seed for the third straight year. Auburn (46-10) earned the No. 7 seed, while Tennessee (44-10) was awarded the No. 8 seed. Texas A&M (42-10) is the No. 9 seed, and SEC Tournament Champion Ole Miss (40-18) is the No. 12 national seed. LSU (41-18) is the No. 13 seed, and Kentucky (36-17) was tabbed the No. 14 seed. Alabama (42-16) rounds out the list as the No. 16 seed.

In addition, Arkansas (31-22) will compete in the Norman Regional, its seventh NCAA Tournament bid in program history. Georgia (33-21) earned a spot in the Tallahassee Regional, while Mississippi State (36-20) is slated to play in the Salt Lake City Regional. Missouri (29-26) is set to be a part of the Eugene Regional, and South Carolina (32-23) will make its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance at the Tucson Regional.

Regionals will be held May 18-21, followed by the Super Regionals May 25-28. The Women's College World Series is June 1-7 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium - OGE Energy Field.

Since 1997, the SEC has had eight teams advance to the Women's College World Series: Alabama (2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016), Auburn (2015, 2016), Florida (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015), Georgia (2009, 2010, 2016), Kentucky (2014), LSU (2001, 2004, 2012, 2015, 201), South Carolina (2007) and Tennessee (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015).

Only 12 schools have been crowned the NCAA Division I softball champion since the tournament started in 1982, with two SEC schools among the winners on that list. Alabama claimed the first national championship in SEC history when it downed Oklahoma, 5-4, on June 7, 2012. Florida defeated Alabama in the best-of-three series in 2014 and then became the third program in NCAA softball history to win back-to-back national titles after defeating Michigan in the 2015 WCWS Championship Series.

DATES/SITES/PAIRINGS (*Indicates Host Institution):

Gainesville Regional - May 19-21 at Gainesville, Florida No. 1 seed Florida* (50-6) vs. Florida A&M (23-30) - 2:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network FIU (45-13) vs. Oklahoma State (35-23)

Tuscaloosa Regional - May 19-21 at Tuscaloosa, Ala. Minnesota (54-3) vs. Louisiana Tech (37-22) Albany (NY) (27-16) vs. No. 16 seed Alabama* (42-16) - 4 p.m. CT on SEC Network

College Station Regional - May 19-21 at College Station, Texas No. 9 seed Texas A&M* (42-10) vs. Texas Southern (25-19) - 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN3 Texas (31-24) vs. Texas St. (41-15)

Knoxville Regional - May 19-21 at Knoxville, Tennessee Ohio St. (35-16) vs. USC Upstate (44-11) Longwood (28-27) vs. No. 8 seed Tennessee* (44-10) - 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Oxford Regional - May 19-21 at Oxford, Mississippi Arizona St. (30-20) vs. North Carolina (38-19) Southern Ill. (33-22) vs. No. 12 Ole Miss* (40-18) - 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN3

Baton Rouge Regional - May 19-21 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana No. 13 seed LSU* (41-18) vs. Fairfield (26-26) - 5:30 p.m. CT on ESPN3 McNeese (42-16) vs. Louisiana (45-6)

Tallahassee Regional - May 19-21 at Tallahassee, Florida Georgia (33-21) vs. Jacksonville St. (40-10) - 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 Princeton (25-18) vs. No. 4 seed Florida St.* (51-6-1)

Eugene Regional - May 19-21 at Eugene, Oregon No. 3 seed Oregon* (47-6) vs. Ill.-Chicago (38-20) Wisconsin (33-15) vs. Missouri (29-26) - 8 p.m. CT on ESPN

Lexington Regional - May 19-21 at Lexington, Kentucky Illinois (37-18) vs. Marshall (41-10) DePaul (29-21) vs. No. 14 seed Kentucky* (36-17) - 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN3

Salt Lake City Regional - May 18-20 at Salt Lake City, Utah No. 11 seed Utah* (33-14) vs. Fordham (45-15) Mississippi State (36-20) vs. BYU (44-11) - 5 p.m. CT on ESPN3

Auburn Regional - May 19-21 at Auburn, Alabama No. 7 seed Auburn* (46-10) vs. ETSU (29-24) - 3:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU Notre Dame (32-21) vs. California (30-22)

Norman Regional - May 19-21 at Norman, Oklahoma Tulsa (39-15) vs. Arkansas (31-22) - 11:30 a.m. CT on SEC Network North Dakota St. (28-31) vs. No. 10 seed Oklahoma* (50-8)

Tucson Regional - May 19-21 at Tucson, Arizona South Carolina (32-23) vs. St. Francis (PA) (48-9) - 7 p.m. ET on ESPN3 New Mexico St. (29-23) vs. No. 2 seed Arizona* (48-7)

 

[BAMANEWSBOT]

Full Tournament Bracket -- NCAA Softball, 2017

 

[TerryP]

I wouldn't get caught up looking at the Super and thinking about the Tide having to go through Gainesville--Tuscaloosa's Regional is going to be hell to get through.

Minnesota is ranked #2 by the USA Today poll, #3 by ESPN's poll, and they currently sit at #12 in the RPI--all three ahead of Bama.

(I'm left wondering why Minnesota missed out on their opportunity to host a Regional...not going to look and see now)

Before we get into a "Bama getting the screws put to them" imagine the situation if you're a Florida fan. You see your team get through their regional, as the #1 seed, only to face Minnesota (if they get out of Bama's regional.)

 

[PurlJam]

I wouldn't get caught up looking at the Super and thinking about the Tide having to go through Gainesville--Tuscaloosa's Regional is going to be hell to get through.

Minnesota is ranked #2 by the USA Today poll, #3 by ESPN's poll, and they currently sit at #12 in the RPI--all three ahead of Bama.

(I'm left wondering why Minnesota missed out on their opportunity to host a Regional...not going to look and see now)

Before we get into a "Bama getting the screws put to them" imagine the situation if you're a Florida fan. You see your team get through their regional, as the #1 seed, only to face Minnesota (if they get out of Bama's regional.)

It's obvious, they lost 3 games.........

Yeah that ones pretty baffling. :headscratch:

 

[TerryP]

It's obvious, they lost 3 games.........

I couldn't help myself, I had to look.

I'll have to look to be sure, but my gut is telling me it boils down to their record against RPI teams--probably looking at top 25 teams.

 

[UAgrad93]

When I saw Minnesota travelling at 54-3, I immediately wondered about the state of their facilities, renovation, etc. BAMA definitely would have been better off travelling themselves rather than hosting. Minnesota has one or two that are up for national player of the year. It would be nice if the offense would score some runs to help out the pitching. Hard to no hit everybody you play.

 

[252BAMA]

I wouldn't get caught up looking at the Super and thinking about the Tide having to go through Gainesville--Tuscaloosa's Regional is going to be hell to get through.

Minnesota is ranked #2 by the USA Today poll, #3 by ESPN's poll, and they currently sit at #12 in the RPI--all three ahead of Bama.

(I'm left wondering why Minnesota missed out on their opportunity to host a Regional...not going to look and see now)

Before we get into a "Bama getting the screws put to them" imagine the situation if you're a Florida fan. You see your team get through their regional, as the #1 seed, only to face Minnesota (if they get out of Bama's regional.)

Very reminiscent of the year Bama was seeded #1 and Hawaii was seeded #16. We all know how that worked out.

 

[252BAMA]

I couldn't help myself, I had to look.

I'll have to look to be sure, but my gut is telling me it boils down to their record against RPI teams--probably looking at top 25 teams.

2-2 against Top 25.

 

[PurlJam]

I couldn't help myself, I had to look.

I'll have to look to be sure, but my gut is telling me it boils down to their record against RPI teams--probably looking at top 25 teams.

2-2 against Top 25.

Only 4 games against the top 25? 2 out of their 3 losses were to Washington... Kind of a James Madison type deal there even thought JM did beat awburn earlier in the year.

 

[TerryP]

BAMA definitely would have been better off travelling themselves rather than hosting.

Would it be? If Bama is a spot lower, they are likely in Minnesota's spot.

Mississippi State doesn't have that difficult of a bracket (unless you're Mississippi State, of course.) I could see Bama making it out of that easily but it would have meant dropping several more games.

Minnesota may be the "warm-up" the ladies need. Their ERA trails only Florida.

To me, it's an easy "out" to throw "they have to hit" out there in the conversations. There isn't a great deal of difference in Bama's hitting average and #1 Florida's (@.300 vs .285.) When I've watched games--quite a few this year--they've gotten the barrell on the ball, it just hasn't fallen. I can't tell you how many times I've looked at the box score and the first thing I'm checking is LOB.

**To have Demi, and Callie, back in the batting rotation full time would do wonders. I knew Demi was messed up but she's still having issues with blurry vision?!? That must have been one hell of a hit.

 

[252BAMA]

Minnesota is at #11 in current RPI ranking. Bama at #15.

College DI Softball Rankings - NCAA Women's Softball RPI | NCAA.com

 

[TerryP]

Baton Rouge Regional - May 19-21 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana No. 13 seed LSU* (41-18) vs. Fairfield (26-26) - 5:30 p.m. CT on ESPN3 McNeese (42-16) vs. Louisiana (45-6)

There's a tough one for LSU. LaLa is no joke.

 

[TerryP]

Minnesota is at #11 in current RPI ranking. Bama at #15.

College DI Softball Rankings - NCAA Women's Softball RPI | NCAA.com

This is one of the worse selection committee years I've seen when trying to figure out what they were thinking.

UK- 17th in the RPI, behind Bama in the SEC and lost in the tourney quarters but finished as a 14 seed.
Ole Miss- 18th RPI and is listed as a 12 seed.
Utah- 19th RPI and is a 11 seed.
Minn- RPI of 11 and they're a 17 seed.

• 
  

 

[252BAMA]

This is one of the worse selection committee years I've seen when trying to figure out what they were thinking.

UK- 17th in the RPI, behind Bama in the SEC and lost in the tourney quarters but finished as a 14 seed.
Ole Miss- 18th RPI and is listed as a 12 seed.
Utah- 19th RPI and is a 11 seed.
Minn- RPI of 11 and they're a 17 seed.

Oregon must have pics!
Barring any major upset(s), the Super Regionals will have
#1 Florida facing either RPI #11 Minn or #15 Ala.
#2 Arizona will face either RPI #10 Baylor or #13 James Madison.
#4 Florida State will face either RPI #14 LSU or #16 LaLa

#3 Oregon will face either RPI #17 KY, #27 Ill, or #28 Marshall :eyeroll:

 

[TerryP]

 

[TerryP]

A very legitimate point from a high school program (which should equally apply to the playoff committee.)

 

[alabama mike]

That looks like a tough row to hoe.

 

[252BAMA]

 

[alagator]

Florida did lose in the tourney, but there's got to be a few coaches making a statement here.