The road to Oklahoma City has begun for Mississippi State and Ole Miss, with each team being featured in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs’ softball club (38-18, 9-15 SEC) is postseason-bound for the eighth time in the last nine tournaments, with this year’s landing spot being in the Eugene regional, with No. 14 overall seed Oregon hosting. Saint Mary’s and Idaho State are the two other teams in the regional. Mississippi State will open its double-elimination regional on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT against Saint Mary’s at Jane Sanders Stadium.
The winner of the Eugene regional will advance to the super regional round to face the winner of the Norman regional, hosted by No. 3 overall seed Oklahoma. Also competing in the Norman regional are Kansas, Michigan, and Binghamton.
“We are excited to be back in the postseason and be one of the remaining 64 teams competing across the country,” Mississippi State head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “We’re looking forward to getting out to Eugene and preparing for three quality opponents that we may face in the regional.”
Meanwhile, the Rebels (34-24, 6-18 SEC) are looking to return to the Women’s College World Series after last year’s historic run. Ole Miss will battle in the Lubbock regional, with No. 11 seed Texas Tech, which defeated the red and blue in the World Series a season ago, serving as the host team. The other two teams in the regional are Marist and Boston. Ole Miss will get things started versus Boston on Friday at 1 p.m. CT.
The winner of the Lubbock regional will advance to the super regional round to face the winner of the Gainesville regional, hosted by No. 6 overall seed Florida. Other teams competing in the Gainesville regional are Texas State, Georgia Tech, and Florida A&M.
The full NCAA Tournament bracket can be found here.
