Huskers Earn No. 2 Seed, Will Play Host to NCAA Regionals

Lincoln  -- The 11th-ranked Nebraska softball team will compete in the May 15-18 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament as a No. 2 seed, the NCAA Regional Committee announced Sunday night. The Huskers, who earned their ninth straight and 14th overall NCAA Tournament bid, were selected last week as one of eight regional hosts for the tournament and will play all of their regional games at Bowlin Stadium.

Eight teams will participate at each of the eight regional sites in a double-elimination, 64-team tournament. The regional winners advance to the College World Series May 22-26 at Don Porter ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Huskers have advanced to the WCWS each of the previous six times in which they have hosted regional competition.

NU (36-15) will open NCAA Tournament play against Hofstra (37-15) at Bowlin Stadium on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Hofstra finished the regular season with a 37-15 overall record and a 12-2 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association.The Lincoln, Neb., regional also includes top-seeded Washington (42-14-1), which earned the No. 5 seed overall. The Huskies open regional competition against Creighton (25-22) at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. Other teams in the Lincoln Regional include Iowa (41-13), Mississippi State (33-28), Florida International (37-25) and Pacific. (34-22)

In addition to Washington, No. 1 seeds in the tournament include Arizona, UCLA, Texas, Oklahoma, Cal State Fullerton, DePaul and Alabama.

"We feel really good about this regional," NU Coach Rhonda Revelle said. "Jen (Cline), our assistant coach who played at Washington, just had a gut feeling that they were going to be here. We have tremendous respect for them, and for all of the teams in our regional. I also think its very exciting to have Creighton here. It is very good for the sport in our state."

The Huskers have faced two of the eight teams in their region, going 4-0 with one win over Mississippi State and three over Creighton.

Tickets: Tickets can be purchased through the Nebraska Ticket Office by logging onto www.Huskers.com, or by calling 1-800-8-BIGRED. All-session ticket prices are as follows: reserved ($50), adult general admission ($35), senior/youth general admission ($25). Single-session tickets will also be available, including reserved ($13), adult general admission ($9), senior/youth general admission ($7).

Thursday, May 15, Games Schedule
Game 1 (10 a.m.) No. 4 Mississippi State vs. No. 5 Florida International
Game 2 (12:30 p.m.) No. 1 Washington vs. No. 8 Creighton
Game 3 (3 p.m.) No. 3 Iowa vs. No. 6 Pacific
Game 4 (5:30 p.m.) No. 2 Nebraska vs. No. 7 Hofstra
Game 5 (8 p.m.) Loser G1 vs. Loser G2

Friday, May 16, Games Schedule
Game 6 (10 a.m.) Loser G3 vs. Loser G4
Game 7 (12:30 p.m.) Winner G1 vs. Winner G2
Game 8 (3 p.m.) Winner G3 vs. Winner G4
Game 9 (5:30 p.m.) Winner G5 vs. Loser G8
Game 10 (8 p.m.) Winner G6 vs. Loser G7

Saturday, May 17, Games Schedule
Game 11 (1 p.m.) Winner G9 vs. Winner G10
Game 12 (3:30 p.m.) Winner G7 vs. Winner G8
Game 13 (6 p.m.) Winner G11 vs. Loser G12

Sunday, May 18, Games Schedule
Game 14 (1 p.m.) Winner G12 vs. Winner G13
Game 15 (3:30 p.m., if necessary) Winner G12 vs. Winner G13