NU Earns No. 2 Seed, Will Play Host to NCAA Regional

The 14th-ranked Nebraska softball team will compete in the May 20-23 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament as a No. 2 seed in the Lincoln, Neb., regional, the NCAA Regional Committee announced Sunday night. The Huskers, who earned their 10th straight and 15th overall NCAA Tournament bid, were selected last week as one of eight regional hosts for the tournament and will play all of their regional games at Bowlin Stadium.

NU (42-15), the Big 12 regular-season and tournament champion, will open the NCAA Tournament against seventh-seeded Lehigh (40-15-2) at Bowlin Stadium Thursday at 12:30 p.m. The Mountain Hawks clinched their first NCAA berth since 2001 by winning the Patriot League Tournament title.

The Lincoln, Neb., regional also includes top-seeded California (46-11), which earned the No. 5 seed overall in the tournament. The Bears open regional competition against Maine (27-21) at 5:30 Thursday. Other teams in the Lincoln regional include sixth-seeded Creighton (41-15-1), which faces third-seeded Florida Atlantic (54-16) at 10 a.m., and fifth-seeded Iowa (36-22), which faces fourth-seeded Mississippi State (38-24) at 3 p.m.

The Huskers have faced two the eight teams in their region already in 2004, going 3-0 with two wins over the Bluejays and one over the Bears.

"I feel really good about this regional. It is very balanced and will be competitive," NU Coach Rhonda Revelle. "We’ve seen two great teams already this year in Creighton and Cal, and Iowa is always very good. I don’t know as much about the rest of the teams, but I know that it is going to be a very exciting week here."

In addition to Cal, No. 1 seeds in the tournament include Arizona, UCLA, LSU, Florida State, Michigan, Stanford and Washington. Other Big 12 teams earning a bid were Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Missouri and Baylor.

Twenty-six Division I conferences receive automatic berths in the field of 64, along with 38 at-large selections. Each regional field will feature eight teams, playing a double-elimination format. All regional games are scheduled to be conducted Thursday, May 20, through Sunday, May 23. The eight regional sites, with host institutions, are as follows: Tucson, Ariz. (University of Arizona); Waco, Texas (Baylor University); Los Angeles, Calif. (University of California, Los Angeles); Tallahassee, Fla. (Florida State University); Athens, Ga. (University of Georgia); Ann Arbor, Mich. (University of Michigan); Lincoln, Neb. (University of Nebraska, Lincoln); and Stanford, Calif. (Stanford University).

The 23rd NCAA Women’s College World Series begins Thursday, May 27, at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. All of the games will be broadcast live on ESPN or ESPN2, and the television schedule, as well as more information on the championship, is available at www.ncaasports.com. Check Huskers.com for more information about the Nebraska regional as it becomes available.

Tickets: Tickets to the Lincoln, Neb., regional can be purchased online at Huskers.com, or by calling 1-800-8-BIGRED. All-session ticket prices are as follows: Reserved - $50, Adult General Admission - $40, Senior/Youth General Admission - $30. Single-session ticket prices are as follows: Reserved - $10, Adult General Admission - $9, Senior/Youth General Admission - $7.

Schedule

Thursday, May 2010 a.m. Game 1: Creighton (6) vs. Florida Atlantic (3)12:30 p.m. Game 2: Lehigh (7) vs. Nebraska (2)3 p.m. Game 3: Mississippi State (4) vs. Iowa (5)5:30 p.m. Game 4: Maine (5) vs. California (1)8 p.m. Game 5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Friday, May 2110 a.m. Game 6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser12:30 p.m. Game 7: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner3 p.m. Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner6 p.m. Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 loser8 p.m. Game 10: Game 7 loser vs. Game 6 winner Saturday, May 22Noon Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner2:30 p.m. Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner7 p.m. Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 11 loser Sunday, May 23Noon Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 13 winner2:30 p.m. Game 15: Game 14 winner vs. Game 14 loser
(if necessary)