UW to Host NCAA Softball Regional
May 15, 2005 | Softball
The Wisconsin softball team received not one, but two sets of good news Sunday evening when the 64-team field for the NCAA tournament was announced. Not only did the Badgers receive an at-large bid, but they were also selected as hosts of one of 16 regional sites this coming Friday through Sunday.
UW will welcome DePaul, Oregon State and UW-Green Bay for the four-team regional. The Badgers will take on DePaul in opening round action at 5 p.m. Friday at Goodman Diamond. Oregon State, the top-seeded team in the regional and the No. 8 seed in the overall field, will face UW-Green Bay in the second contest at 7:30 p.m.
The winner of the double-elimination regional will face the winner of the regional being held in South Bend, Ind., in the Super Regionals which will be held the following weekend.
This is the first year of the Super Regional format for Division I softball. The two teams that face off in the Super Regional will play a best of three series for the right to advance to the Women's College World Series June 2-5.
Wisconsin (31-22, 11-9 Big Ten) earned its spot in the field by winning 18 of 20 games down the stretch before falling to top-ranked Michigan in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament Saturday. UW finished in fifth place in the Big Ten this season. This will be the Badgers' third NCAA tournament appearance and the first since 2002.
DePaul (40-18, 19-5 Conference USA) received an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament by virtue of its 6-2 victory over Louisville in the championship game of the Conference USA tournament. It was the fourth-straight league tournament title for the Blue Demons, who finished second to the Cardinals during the regular season. UW is 1-3 all-time against DePaul, though the teams haven't met since the 1999 season.
UW-Green Bay (26-16, 13-5 Horizon League) couldn't have clinched its first NCAA tournament berth in more dramatic fashion. The Fighting Phoenix won three consecutive games in the Horizon League tournament via walk-off home runs, including in the 10th inning in the title game against Cleveland State. Wisconsin is 17-6-1 all-time against UWGB, with the teams last meeting in 2003 when they split a doubleheader.
Oregon State (40-14, 13-8 Pac-10) finished in a four-way tie for first place in the Pac-10 during the regular season, but earned the league's automatic bid by virtue of their record against the other three teams. It was the first Pac-10 regular season title by any Beaver women's program in school history. Oregon State holds a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series with UW, including an 8-7 eight-inning win on a three-run walk-off homer on Feb. 25 in the Palm Springs Classic.
All-session passes will be available starting Monday at $20 for adults or $14 for youth, students and senior citizens. Single-session passes, which will only be available on gameday, will be available for $7 for adults or $5 for youth, students and senior citizens. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-GO-BADGERS, at the Kohl Center ticket office or at Goodman Diamond on gameday.
A complete tournament bracket is available by clicking here .
