University of Massachusets Athletics
Softball To Host NCAA Tournament This Weekend
May 14, 2006 | Softball
May 14, 2006
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- After winning its 18th Atlantic 10 Championship, Massachusetts (37-14) will host one of the 16 softball regionals this weekend in the NCAA Tournament the selection committee announced this afternoon live on ESPNews. The Minutewomen will be seeded second in the Amherst Regional and play No. 3 Albany (36-11-1) in the first round on Friday, May 19 12:00 PM. No. 1 Texas A&M (33-17) will play No. 4 Lehigh (41-12) in the other game at 2:30 PM. This is the ninth time that the Minutewomen have hosted a softball regional and the first since 1999. The double-elimination tournament runs through Sunday, May 21, with the winner advancing to super regional play against the winner of the Evanston, Ill., regional which includes Northwestern, Southern Illinois, UC-Santa Barbara and Notre Dame.
Texas A&M, the overall No. 13 seed in the field of 64, will play Lehigh at 2:30 p.m. EST on Friday. UMass and Albany will play at 12:00 p.m.
Tickets for the NCAA Tournament will go on sale through the UMass Athletics Ticket Office beginning Monday morning. All session passes are available for $12, while individual day tickets will cost $5 for adults and $3 for students and children. Tickets are available day of the game outside the UMass Softball Complex, by calling 1-866-UMASS-TIX or visiting the Mullins Center Box Office.
UMass is making its 16th overall and 12th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Minutewomen are 22-32 all-time in the tournament and have made three trips to the Women's College World Series. This marks the ninth time that Amherst has played host to a regional and first since 1999. All-time, UMass is 14-12 in NCAA Tournament play held in Amherst.
NCAA Regional Tournament Schedule (Amherst, Mass.)
All game times are Eastern and subject to change
Friday, May 19
Game 1: #2 Massachusetts (37-14) vs. #3 Albany 36-11-1) 12:00 p.m.
Game 2: #1 Texas A&M (33-17) vs. #4 Lehigh (41-12) 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 20
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 12:00 p.m.
Game 4: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 2:30 p.m.
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 21
Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5 12:00 p.m.
Game 7: Same teams, if necessary 2:30 p.m.