University of Massachusets Athletics
Softball Earns At-Large Bid In NCAA Tournament
May 16, 2004 | Softball
May 16, 2004
AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts softball team will be heading to Athens, Ga. for the 2004 NCAA Tournament, May 20-23. Despite not winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament and securing the automatic bid, the Minutewomen were awarded one of the 38 at-large bids into the 64-team field. Massachusetts, seeded sixth, will face third-seeded Georgia Tech (45-17) in the first round at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 20. Joining UMass at regional number eight will be No. 1 Washington (36-17), No. 2 Georgia (51-14), No. 4 Texas A&M (32-20), No. 5 Michigan State (33-23), No. 7 Eastern Kentucky (41-15) and No. 8 Tennessee Chattanooga (45-23).
"The last 48 hours has been the most difficult time of the year for us," said UMass Head Coach Elaine Sortino. "I was on the phone with the team from an airport and I could hear a pin drop throughout the selection show. When our name was called it was not about just being happy to be there; we have a lot of unfinished business to take care of. There are no easy games in the NCAA Tournament and we are going down there to go for it. It is all about who executes the best and makes the most of the opportunities given to you. We had the table set in the A-10 Tournament but could not come through. This is our second chance and we know what we need to do."
Massachusetts is 33-15 overall and won the Atlantic 10 regular season title for the 14th straight time. It defeated Fordham in the first round of the A-10 Tournament, 1-0, in eight innings on May 13 behind a no-hitter by junior Kelli Arnold (Kalama, Wash.), but was upset twice the next day by Saint Joseph's (3-0) and Temple (4-3).
The winners in each of the eight regional sites will advance to the Women's College World Series, May 27-31, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Overall, the Minutewomen are 21-28 (.429) in NCAA play. UMass is making its 10th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and 14th overall. This ranks as the sixth-longest string in the nation. The Minutewomen have gone on to compete in three Women's College World Series' with the most recent being in 1998. The Minutewomen won their only prior meeting against the Yellow Jackets in last year's NCAA Tournament, 2-0.
All NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast on the radio and Internet. Bob Behler, voice of the Minutemen, and Seth Gerard will call all of the action. Day games will be on WPNI, 1430 AM, while night games will be on WRNX, 100.9 FM, the flagship station for the UMass Sports Radio Network. The games will also be broadcast on the Internet free of charge. You can access the link on www.umassathletics.com.