May 14, 2006
The Texas A&M softball team (33-17) earned a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will travel to Amherst, Massachusetts for this weekend's regional round, the selection committee announced Sunday.
The Aggies (33-17) will be the top seed in the four-team regional and will face Lehigh (41-12) in the second first-round game on Friday at 1:30 p.m. (CDT). Albany (36-11-1) and host UMass (37-14) will meet in the other game scheduled at 11 a.m. (CDT).
| GAME INFO |
| Friday, May 19, 1:30 p.m. (CDT) UMass Softball Complex, Amherst, Mass. NCAA Amherst Regional () |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 33-17 Lehigh: 41-12 |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is ranked 16th in both the USA Today/NFCA poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. |
| RADIO |
| Matt Simon, play-by-play Clint Netherland, commentary (available inside UMass Softball Complex on 89.9 FM) |
| INTERNET |
| Live Stats: (umassathletics.com) Live Audio: (aggieathletics.com-free broadcast) |
| SERIES |
| first meeting |
| UP NEXT |
| vs. UMass/Albany Saturday, May 20, 11 a.m./1:30 p.m. (CDT) UMass Softball Complex, Amherst, Mass. RADIO: Sports Radio 1150 The Zone |
"I'm excited for our team to get to go back East," commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. "We talk about wishing we could take our team some place different every year during the regular season. But you certainly can't go back East in the beginning of the season when it's cold; so it's an opportunity for us to play in a different place. I think we have a good regional. I believe that if we play to our potential we should be able to get out of that regional."
"I have the utmost respect for UMass and Elaine Sortino. She's a legend in the game in terms of coaching and what she's done with her teams," Evans said. "We need to go in there and really play focused and intense and really take care of business. I want our kids to stay focused on our goals and move through this regional with a lot of poise and class in the way we handle ourselves."
The Aggies are making their 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fifth straight under head coach Jo Evans. A&M, which earned an at-large bid to the tournament after finishing fourth in the Big 12 this year, advanced to the Super Regional round last season.
Lehigh earned the Patriot League's automatic bid into the field of 64 after winning their eighth league tournament championship. With Saturday's 5-1 win over Army, the Mountain Hawks (41-12) tied its own school and Patriot League record set last year for wins in a season.
UMass (37-14) won its 18th Atlantic 10 Championship with a 4-1 win over Fordham on Saturday and will be making its 12th consecutive trip to the NCAAs. The Minutewomen have made three trips to the Women's College World Series.
UAlbany (36-11-1) won its second consecutive America East Conference championship with a 5-2 victory against Boston University on Saturday. The Great Danes, who set a single-season standard for victories, were also in the NCAA field one year ago.
This marks the ninth time that Amherst has played host to a regional and first since 1999.
The Big 12 placed six teams in the tournament. Baylor, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M all received bids with Texas and A&M receiving top-16 rankings.
Fans can follow all Aggie softball postseason action by tuning into Sports Radio 1150 The Zone. Live stats, audio as well as updated Amherst Regional information will also be available on AggieAthletics.com.
Tickets for the NCAA Tournament will go on sale through the UMass Athletics Ticket Office beginning Monday morning. All session passes are available for $12, while individual day tickets will cost $5 for adults and $3 for students and children. Tickets are available day of the game outside the UMass Softball Complex, by calling 1-866-UMASS-TIX or visiting the Mullins Center Box Office.
NCAA Amherst Regional Schedule (all times Central)
- FRIDAY, MAY 19
- Game 1: UMass (37-14) vs. Albany (36-11-1), 11:00 a.m.
- Game 2: Texas A&M (33-17) vs. Lehigh (41-12), 1:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, MAY 20
- Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 11 a.m.
- Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1:30 p.m.
- Game 5: Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 5 p.m.
SUNDAY, MAY 21
- Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, 11 a.m.
- Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 (if necessary), 1:30 p.m.
NCAA Regional Pairings
- Los Angeles Regional - May 19-21 at Los Angeles, California
*No. 1 UCLA (43-7) vs. Missouri State (40-15)
Long Beach State (30-20) vs. San Diego State (32-13)
Gainesville Regional - May 19-21 at Gainesville, Florida
North Carolina (48-17) vs. South Florida (47-23)
Florida Atlantic (33-23) vs. *No. 16 Florida (42-23)
Ann Arbor Regional - May 19-21 at Ann Arbor, Michigan
*No. 9 Michigan (40-13) vs. Youngstown State (22-25)
Kent State (32-22) vs. Oklahoma (38-19-1)
Knoxville Regional - May 19-21 at Knoxville, Tennessee
Virginia Tech (38-19) vs. Louisville (42-8)
Tennessee Tech (50-13) vs. *No. 8 Tennessee (53-9)
Tuscaloosa Regional - May 19-21 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama
*No. 5 Alabama (49-9) vs. Mississippi Valley (23-28)
Florida A&M (39-23) vs. Georgia Tech (46-20)
Fresno Regional - May 19-21 at Fresno, California
Cal State Fullerton (36-22) vs. *Fresno State (35-17)
Tulsa (34-22) vs. No. 12 Stanford (38-15)
Amherst Regional - May 19-21 at Amherst, Massachusetts
No. 13 Texas A&M (33-17) vs. Lehigh (41-12)
Albany (New York) (36-11-1) vs. *Massachusetts (37-14)
Evanston Regional - May 19-21 at Evanston, Illinois
Notre Dame (38-19) vs. UC Santa Barbara (24-20)
Southern Illinois (34-11) vs. *No. 4 Northwestern (42-12)
Austin Regional - May 19-21 at Austin, Texas
*No. 3 Texas (49-7) vs.Texas-San Antonio (37-12)
Utah (38-19) vs. Indiana (29-23-1)
Provo Regional - May 18-20 at Provo, Utah
Kansas (34-24) vs. *Brigham Young (42-20)
Southern Utah (34-30) vs. No. 14 Washington (32-23)
Athens Regional - May 19-21 at Athens, Georgia
*No. 11 Georgia (51-13) vs. Georgia Southern (34-33)
Coastal Carolina (39-20) vs. Florida State (41-26)
Hempstead Regional - May 19-21 at Hempstead, New York
Penn State (37-15) vs.*Hofstra (36-18)
Long Island (34-21) vs. No. 6 Arizona State (46-13)
Corvallis Regional - May 19-21 at Corvallis, Oregon
*No. 7 Oregon State (38-13) vs. Nevada (33-31)
Portland State (37-18) vs. Baylor (36-20)
Iowa City Regional - May 19-21 at Iowa City, Iowa
Nebraska (42-10) vs. *Iowa (39-20)
Illinois State (37-14) vs. No. 10 California (44-12)
Baton Rouge Regional - May 19-21 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana
*No. 15 LSU (51-12) vs. Princeton (34-17)
Louisiana-Lafayette (48-10) vs. North Carolina State (48-19)
Tucson Regional - May 18-20 at Tucson, Arizona
Auburn (34-20) vs.Ohio State (38-21)
Marist (33-11) vs. *No. 2 Arizona (44-9)