TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama softball team earned the No. 2 national seed for the second straight season and the top seed in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional, it was announced Sunday night. The Crimson Tide was awarded its berth into the NCAA tournament as the field of 64 was announced on the ESPNU selection show.
The Alabama Softball team reacts to their draw in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
The Crimson Tide (50-7) will open regional play Friday, May 18, at Rhoads Stadium against Tennessee-Martin (39-20) starting at 6 p.m. The opening game of the regional gets underway at 3:30 p.m., and will feature South Alabama (39-15) and Georgia Tech (36-21). WVUA-FM will carry all Alabama Softball games live on 90.7 throughout the postseason.
On Saturday, games will get underway at 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. The championship game will go at 1 p.m. on Sunday with the “if necessary” game getting underway at 3:30 p.m. For ticket information visit RollTide.com or call the Alabama Ticket office at 205.348.BAMA (2262).
The Tuscaloosa site is the only regional this season to feature all conference champions. Alabama claimed the Southeastern Conference regular-season title for the third straight year and fourth overall.
Georgia Tech claimed the ACC Tournament title and will enter Tuscaloosa as the No. 2 seed. South Alabama won the Sun Belt tournament title and will be the number three seed, upsetting nationally ranked Louisiana-Lafayette. UT-Martin won the Ohio Valley regular season and tournament championships and will be the four-seed.
Alabama faced both Georgia Tech and South Alabama away from Rhoads Stadium during the 2012 regular season, coming away with wins in both games.
The second-seeded Tide is making its 14th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament under the direction of head coach Patrick Murphy. It is the eighth straight year Alabama has been a host site for an NCAA Regional and the 10h time overall.
The Tide has captured nine NCAA Regional titles (2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011) and boasts a 35-9 record in regional play and a 54-28 in all NCAA tournament games.
The winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional will play the winner of the NCAA Louisville Regional, which includes Louisville, Kentucky, Valparariso, and Michigan, in NCAA Super Regional play.
