May 13, 2007
The Texas A&M softball team earned the No. 4 national seed and will host an NCAA Regional this weekend at the Aggie Softball Complex, the selection committee announced Sunday.
"I'm really excited that we are getting the opportunity to host," A&M head coach Jo Evans said. "I think our seed reflects the kind of schedule we played this year and that we've beaten a lot of very good teams. I am proud of our kids for a season-long of really focused, competitive softball."
The College Station Regional kicks off on Friday with the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns facing the Houston Cougars at 1 p.m. The Aggies will take on the Bearkats of Sam Houston at 4 p.m.
"It is a really great opportunity for us to get to play in front of our home crowd," Evans said. "I hope we get a lot of support from the Aggies, especially the 12th Man. I hope to see a lot of students at the softball complex."
The Aggies (40-10) are making their 17th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and sixth straight under head coach Jo Evans. A&M earns an at-large bid to the tournament after finishing fourth in the Big 12 this year and remaining in the Top-10 in both national polls for the entirety of the regular season.
Sam Houston (37-24) earned its first NCAA Tournament playoff appearance after winning the Southland Conference Tournament on Saturday with a win over No. 1 seed Texas Arlington in the semifinals and then knocked off No. 3-seed Texas State in the championship game.
Houston (42-16) also earns an automatic bid with their 1-0 victory of East Carolina in Saturday's championship game of the Conference USA Tournament, earning the Cougars first C-USA crown.
ULL's Ragin' Cajuns (46-16) enter the tournament as an at-large bid after finishing second in the Sun Belt Conference. ULL is currently ranked 23rd in the NFCA Top-25 Poll and has been ranked all season.
"It's a very good field," Evans ended. "We've already played Sam Houston and Houston this season and we've played ULL in the past. They are all very good teams. We definitely have to keep our focus and go out there and play hard."
This marks the seventh time that College Station has played host to a regional and first since 2005.
The Big 12 placed six teams in the tournament. Baylor, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M all received bids with Baylor, Oklahoma and A&M receiving top-8 rankings.
Tickets can be purchased through the Texas A&M Athletic Ticket Office at 1-888-99-AGGIE. All tournament tickets will be sold until the competition begins.
Regional Schedule
- FRIDAY, MAY 18 (all times CDT)
Game 1 - Houston vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 1 p.m.
Game 2 - Texas A&M vs. Sam Houston State, 4 p.m.
SATURDAY, MAY 19 (minimum 30 minutes between games)
Game 3 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 12 p.m.
Game 4 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 2:30 p.m.
Game 5 - Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3, 5:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, MAY 20
Game 6 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, 1 p.m.
(if necessary game 30 minutes after)
Ticket Information
Tickets can be purchased through the Texas A&M Athletic Ticket Office at 1-888-99-AGGIE.
All-tournament tickets will be sold until the competition begins.
- All-Tournament Tickets
- $25 Reserved
- $20 General Admission
- $15 Student/youth
*Individual session tickets will only be available once the tournament begins.
- Single Session Tickets*
- $10 Reserved
- $7 General Admission
- $5 Student/youth
- $0 Children 1 and under free
NCAA Selections
- * Indicates host institution
- *No. 1 seed Arizona (39-12-1) vs. N.C. A&T/ Howard
- Pacific (34-22) vs. Mississippi St. (34-25)
Columbus Regional - May 18-20 at Columbus, Ohio
- *Ohio St. (38-16) vs. Canisius (27-19)
- Cal St. Fullerton (34-20) vs. No. 16 seed Virginia Tech (47-14)
Ann Arbor Regional - May 18-20 at Ann Arbor, Michigan
- *No. 9 seed Michigan (43-11) vs. Eastern Mich. (27-20)
- Louisville (36-23) vs. Oregon St. (39-21)
Hempstead Regional - May 18-20 at Hempstead, New York
- *Hofstra (40-13) vs. Harvard (31-13)
- Albany (N.Y.) (33-15) vs. No. 8 seed Baylor (45-13)
Knoxville Regional - May 18-20 at Knoxville, Tennessee
- No. 5 seed Tennessee (54-5) vs. Furman (21-34-1)
- Winthrop (48-16) vs. North Carolina (45-19)
Los Angeles Regional - May 18-20 at Los Angeles, California
- Hawaii (46-11) vs. UC Santa Barb. (30-21)
- Loyola Marymount (45-16) vs. *No. 12 seed UCLA (36-16)
Gainesville Regional - May 18-20 at Gainesville, Florida
- *No. 13 seed Florida (46-20) vs. Stetson (44-20)
- Texas (33-18) vs. Georgia Tech (53-13)
College Station Regional - May 18-20 at College Station, Texas
- Houston (42-16) vs. La.- Lafayette (46-16)
- Sam Houston St. (37-24) vs. *No. 4 seed Texas A&M (40-10)
Amherst Regional - May 18-20 at Amherst, Massachusetts
- No. 3 seed Oklahoma (52-6) vs. Colgate (25-22)
- Long Island (33-20) vs. *Massachusetts (37-12-1)
Carbondale Regional - May 18-20 at Carbondale, Illinois
- Missouri (38-22) vs. *Southern Ill. (40-14)
- Mississippi Valley (29-26) vs. No. 14 seed DePaul (41-11)
Tuscaloosa Regional - May 18-20 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- *No. 11 seed Alabama (51-7) vs. Tennessee Tech (48-17)
- California (33-30) vs. Florida St. (44-23)
Lincoln Regional - May 18-20 at Lincoln, Nebraska
- *Nebraska (37-18) vs. Georgia (43-26)
- Creighton (39-12-1) vs. No. 6 seed Washington (35-16)
Provo Regional - May 17-19 at Provo, Utah
- No. 7 seed Arizona St. (49-15) vs. Southern Utah (29-29)
- *Brigham Young (41-18) vs. Cal Poly (39-15)
Palo Alto Regional - May 17-19 at Palo Alto, California
- *Stanford (33-19-1) vs. Fresno State (46-16)
- Cal St. Northridge (23-21) vs. No. 10 seed LSU (52-10)
Columbia Regional - May 18-20 at Columbia, South Carolina
- No. 15 seed North Carolina St. (41-19) vs. *South Carolina (34-23)
- Penn St. (26-23) vs. Oregon (42-17)
Evanston Regional - May 18-20 at Evanston, Illinois
- Illinois St. (42-15-1) vs. Notre Dame (31-22)
- Wright St. (25-33) vs. *No. 2 seed Northwestern (45-11)
Tucson Regional - May 18-20 at Tucson, Arizona