May 11, 2008
The Texas A&M softball team earned the No. 5 national seed and will host an NCAA Regional this weekend at the Aggie Softball Complex, the selection committee announced Sunday. Traveling to College Station for the three-day, double elimination regional will be Auburn, Louisiana Tech and Stephen F. Austin.
"We are excited to be hosting regionals," A&M head coach Jo Evans said. "Our team has fought hard all season for the right to host a regional and a super regional. The committee has rewarded us for our consistency and our strength of schedule."
The College Station Regional kicks off on Friday with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs facing the Auburn Tigers at 3:30 p.m. The Aggies will take on the Ladyjacks of Stephen F. Austin at 6:30 p.m.
"Being able to host a regional means having the opportunity to play in front of your home crowd," Evans said. "There is no greater crowd in the country than that of the 12th Man. I hope to duplicate the type of atmosphere this weekend that we had against Texas at the end of April."
The Aggies (49-7) are making their 18th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and seventh straight under head coach Jo Evans. A&M earns an automatic bid to the tournament after winning both the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles and remaining in the Top-10 in both national polls for the entirety of the regular season.
SFA (36-23) also earned an automatic bid into the field of 64 after winning the Southland Conference Tournament championship. The 2-1 victory over Nicholls State gave the Ladyjacks their second SLC Tournament title in program history and their first-ever trip to the NCAA Championships.
Auburn (37-20) is making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers earned an at-large bid posting a 13-14 mark in Southeastern Conference play, finishing sixth overall in the league standings.
Louisiana Tech (35-27) is making its ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament but first since 1995. Tech took an automatic bid into the tournament after winning four-straight games over ranked opponents en route to the Western Athletic Conference Tournament title.
"This is a great field," Evans ended. "We've already played SFA this season and know how deep and talented the WAC and SEC teams are, so our kids are going to have to remain focused and continue to do what they've been doing all season to win ballgames."
This marks the eighth time that College Station has played host to a NCAA Regional.
The Big 12 placed four teams in the tournament. Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M all received bids with Oklahoma and A&M receiving top-10 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.
College Station Regional Schedule:
Game one is Friday at 3:30 p.m. (Auburn vs. Louisiana Tech)
Game two is Friday at 6:30 p.m. (A&M vs. SFA)
Game three is Saturday at 12 p.m. (Friday winners)
Game four is Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (Friday losers)
Game five is Saturday at 5 p.m. (game three loser vs. game four winner)
Game six is Sunday at 1 p.m.
Game seven is Sunday 30 minutes following game six, if necessary.
Ticket Information:
All Session - Youth $15
All Session - GA $20
All Session - Reserved $25
Single Session - Youth $5
Single Session - GA $7
Single Session - Reserved $10
DATES/SITES/PAIRINGS:
Gainesville Regional - May 16-18 at Gainesville, Florida
* Indicates host institution *No. 1 seed Florida (62-2) vs. Georgia Tech (31-29)
Central Florida (46-18) vs. South Florida (44-18)
Fresno Regional - May 16-18 at Fresno, California
San Diego State (43-15) vs. California (40-24)
Sacramento State (32-19) vs. *No. 16 seed Fresno St. (51-11)
Baton Rouge Regional - May 16-18 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana
*No. 9 seed LSU (42-16) vs. Mississippi Valley St. (28-26)
East Carolina (36-28) vs. La.-Lafayette (46-12)
Houston Regional - May 16-18 at Houston, Texas
Washington (28-23-1) vs. Texas (28-21-2)
Delaware State (29-23) vs. *No. 8 seed Houston (50-9)
College Station Regional - May 16-18 at College Station, Texas
*No. 5 seed Texas A&M (49-7) vs. Stephen F. Austin (36-23)
Louisiana Tech (35-27) vs. Auburn (37-20)
Amherst Regional - May 16-18 at Amherst, Massachusetts
* Massachusetts (36-11) vs. Princeton (25-22)
Lehigh (38-15-1) vs. No. 12 seed Stanford (46-12)
Knoxville Regional - May 16-18 at Knoxville, Tennessee
*No. 13 seed Tennessee (47-14) vs. Winthrop (36-17)
Louisville (30-21) vs. Virginia Tech (44-15)
Ann Arbor Regional - May 16-18 at Ann Arbor, Michigan
Notre Dame (37-20-1) vs. Kent State (44-10)
Wright State (33-24) vs. *No. 4 seed Michigan (48-6)
Tuscaloosa Regional - May 15-17 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama
*No. 3 seed Alabama (51-6) vs. Chattanooga (41-20)
Jacksonville St. (38-14) vs. Florida St. (37-26)
Iowa City Regional - May 16-18 at Iowa City, Iowa
Missouri (44-15) vs. *Iowa (40-18)
Creighton (43-15) vs. No. 14 seed Long Beach St. (39-15)
Evanston Regional - May 16-18 at Evanston, Illinois
*No. 11 seed Northwestern (37-13) vs. Western Illinois (14-31)
Drake (29-24) vs. DePaul (48-16)
Tempe Regional - May 16-18 at Tempe, Arizona
Mississippi St. (40-20) vs. Hawaii (38-18)
Stony Brook (33-21-1) vs. *No. 6 seed Arizona St. (56-5)
Hempstead Regional - May 16-18 at Hempstead, New York
No. 7 seed Arizona (36-16) vs. Canisius (38-12)
Long Island (34-15) vs. *Hofstra (43-11)
Norman Regional - May 16-18 at Norman, Oklahoma
Arkansas (36-27) vs. Tulsa (34-23)
Oregon (33-27) vs. *No. 10 seed Oklahoma (43-12)
Chapel Hill Regional - May 15-17 at Chapel Hill, North Carolina
No. 15 seed Georgia (43-22) vs. Campbell (41-23)
Brigham Young (42-18) vs. *North Carolina (50-10-1)
Los Angeles Regional - May 16-18 at Los Angeles, California
Nevada (42-16) vs. Purdue (34-21)
Cal St. Fullerton (27-26-1) vs. *No. 2 seed UCLA (45-7)