MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin softball team will open the 2022 NCAA Softball Championship on Friday with a showdown against Georgia Tech. First pitch at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, is set for 1 p.m. CT and the game will air live on ESPNU.
Florida, the No. 14 seed in the NCAA tournament, will play Canisius at 3:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
With the double-elimination format, the winners from day one will advance to the winner's bracket while the defeated teams will fall into the loser's bracket. The eventual regional champion must avoid suffering two losses in regional play to advance to the Super Regional round, May 26-29, at a location determined by Regional outcomes.
A full copy of the Gainesville Regional Bracket can be found
here.
1. LAST TIME OUT: The Badgers faced a pair of tough challenges in the Big Ten softball tournament, facing two teams that ultimately made the NCAA tournament. UW blanked Minnesota, 2-0, thanks to a dazzling performance by
Maddie Schwartz in the circle. The Badgers went toe-to-toe with Northwestern, the Big Ten regular-season champions, but ultimately fell 5-2 to the Wildcats.
2. TOURNEY TIDBITS: The Badgers are making their ninth trip to the NCAA tournament and their sixth trip under head coach
Yvette Healy. The Badgers are making their fourth trip in a possible five NCAA tournaments after making three straight tournaments from 2017-19. The Badgers have advanced to the regional final in four of their last five NCAA appearances and have NCAA tournament wins over Oklahoma, Missouri and Notre Dame.
3. LAST TIME IN THE DANCE: The Badgers made noise the last time they were in the NCAA tournament back in 2019 when they were sent to the Norman Regional that featured No. 1 Oklahoma. The Badgers earned two wins against Notre Dame, including a walk-off win thanks to a home run by
Stephanie Lombardo, and UW snapped OU's 41-game win streak and earned the program's second-ever win against a top-ranked opponent.
4. ABOUT THE FIELD: The Badgers are 3-0 all time against Georgia Tech, but the two teams haven't met each other since 2000. The Yellow Jackets enter the weekend with a 37-16 record and went 11-13 in ACC play en route to a seventh-place showing. Tricia Awald and Emma Kauf lead the Georgia Tech attack as the duo earned first-team All-ACC honors.
The Badgers are 1-4 against Florida and haven't faced the Gators since the 2014 season. The lone Badger win came in the 2007 season as UW earned a 4-3 nine-inning win against UF in Tempe, Arizona. Florida finished fourth in the SEC this season and were runners-up in the SEC tournament, falling to Arkansas in the semifinals. Skylar Wallace was named a top-25 finalist for the 2022 USA Softball Division I Collegiate Player of the Year and leads all Gators with 68 runs.
Canisius enters the weekend with a 32-16 record and earned its spot in the big dance by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Softball Championship. Winners of 12 straight, the Griffins are led by MAAC Player of the Year Erin Hufford and MAAC Pitcher of the Year Megan Giese. The Badgers won the only meeting between the two teams, an 8-0 five-inning game, during the 2001 season.
5. BIG TIME BIG TEN: The Badgers were one of seven Big Ten Conference teams to make the tournament, matching a league-best mark. Northwestern, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Illinois and Minnesota are in the big dance along with the Badgers.
