University of Massachusets Athletics
Softball To Host Arizona State, LIU, BU In NCAA Regionals
May 16, 2010 | Softball
May 16, 2010
AMHERST, Mass. - For the fifth-straight year, UMass will be hosting an NCAA Softball Regional in Amherst. The Minutewomen (42-8-1) will host No. 1 seed Arizona State (41-15), Boston University (34-20), and Long Island (37-16). UMass will face Long Island in the first round on Friday, while the Sun Devils and Terriers will play.
This will be UMass' 16th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 20th overall. The Minutewomen have advanced to one Super Regional and three Women's College World Series.
This will be the 13th time UMass has hosted an NCAA Regional and fifth-straight. The Minutewomen are 25-19 in NCAA games they have hosted. Last season, UMass went 3-2, with wins over Cornell and Sacred Heart, and a record of 1-2 against top-seed Washington. The Minutewomen dropped their second round game against the Huskies, but in the Regional Finals won game one and went 15 innings with the eventual national champs before falling in an epic second game.
Tickets will be available at the ticket booths outside the UMass Softball Complex on game day or by calling 866-UMASS-TIX. Tickets can also be purchased at the Mullins Center Box Office Monday-Thursday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
UMass clinched the Atlantic 10's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament by winning the conference championship, held last week at the UMass Softball Complex. After winning their opening game over Saint Joseph's, the top-seeded Minutewomen fell to Fordham, 7-5, but after a 9-4 victory over Charlotte put UMass in the finals, the home team took two games from the second-seeded Rams, 3-0 and 8-3, on Sunday to win the program's sixth A-10 title in a row and 22nd overall.
UMass' 20 NCAA Tournament berths is the ninth-most of all Division I programs. The Minutewomen have a 34-40 record all-time in NCAA play, including Women's College World Series trips in 1992, 1997, and 1998.
The NCAA Division I Softball Championship is comprised of a 64-team field with four teams at each of 16 regional sites. Each regional is a double-elimination tournament format, with the winner of each advancing to the following week's Super Regionals, a best-of-three series at eight campus sites. The eight Super Regional winners advance to the Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City on June 3-9.
