Badgers Set For NCAA Regional
May 19, 2005 | Softball
The Wisconsin softball team will make its third NCAA tournament appearance this weekend as it hosts one of 16 four-team, double-elimination regionals at Goodman Diamond. Action gets underway at 5 p.m. Friday when the Badgers take on 23rd-ranked DePaul.
The winner of the regional will take on the winner of the South Bend regional in a Super Regional next weekend for the right to advance to the Women's College World Series.
The Badgers are 1-4 in their two previous NCAA appearances. UW won its first-ever NCAA game against Fresno State in 2001 before losing the next two games that year and both contests in 2002. One of Wisconsin's losses in the 2002 tourney was a 1-0 decision to Oregon State, the top-seeded team in this year's Madison regional.
In addition to the Beavers, DePaul is the No. 2 seed, UW is the third seed and UW-Green Bay is seeded fourth.
Oregon State (40-14) is the No. 8 seed overall and earned an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament by tying for first place in the Pac-10. DePaul (40-18) got an automatic bid by winning its fourth-consecutive Conference USA tournament, while UW-Green Bay (26-16) got in by winning the Horizon League tourney.
Wisconsin finished 5-11 during the regular season against teams that are in the 64-team tournament field. The Badgers were 3-4 against seven different non-conference foes in the tourney and 2-7 against the four other Big Ten teams that advanced to the postseason. Included in the games was an 8-7 eight-inning loss to Oregon State Feb. 25 in the Palm Springs Classic.
All-session passes are currently on sale for $20 for adults or $14 for youth, students and senior citizens. Single-session passes, which will be available Friday at Goodman Diamond, are $7 for adults or $5 for youth, students and senior citizens.
For complete regional coverage, visit the regional tournament page . Live stats will be available at uwbadgers.com for those unable to attend in person.
To view a complete PDF version of this week's Wisconsin Softball news release, click on the link below.
