BATON ROUGE, La. – After putting a cap on a strong end to the regular season, the No. 25 LSU Tiger softball team learned where it was headed on Sunday night as the NCAA announced the sites for the 2014 Division I Softball Tournament, as the team will travel to desert and the Tucson Regional where it will face the American Athletic Conference Tournament champion Louisville Cardinals at 7 p.m. CT (change from 7:30 p.m.) on ESPN3.
The game will be streamed online on www.ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app, with the LSU Sports Radio Network broadcast free in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net/live and on 104.5/104.9 FM in Baton Rouge starting at 6:45 p.m. CT (change from 7:15).
Coming in last week 20th in the RPI and with one of the toughest schedules in the country, the Tigers (35-22) received an at-large bid to the tournament and will be in the postseason for a ninth-straight season which is currently the longest run in program history. LSU is heading to “The Grand Canyon State” for a regional for the fourth time in team history, returning to the site of the 2006 Super Regional clash against the Wildcats.
“Our team has worked hard all year to get to this point, and we will do everything we can to get them prepared for a tough challenge in Louisville and the regional field as a whole,” head coach Beth Torina said.
Head Coach Beth Torina talking with the media following selection to the Tucson Regional pic.twitter.com/KsESykMh0i
— LSU Softball (@LSUsoftball) May 12, 2014
The Tigers will open the regional against a tough Cardinals squad that went 36-20 on the season and is coming off of a 3-2 win over the UCF Knights in the AAC tournament title game on Sunday. Louisville is in the tournament for the 11th consecutive year, as the clash between the two teams will be the third in the all-time series.
Earning one of the top 16 national seeds, Arizona, the No. 11 seed at 41-13 overall, will take on the Boston University Terriers who claimed the Patriot League title and will be making its seventh NCAA trip in the night game on ESPNU at 10 p.m. The Terriers are 35-19 overall and had a PL record of 13-5.
The double-elimination format opening round will take place Friday-Sunday, May 16-18, at Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in Tucson, with the winner of the four-team event advancing to the NCAA Super Regional round and will take on the winner of the Lafayette, Louisiana Regional and features No. 6 seed Louisiana-Lafayette, Mississippi State, Texas and Texas Southern.
For all of the latest news and information on Tiger softball, visit www.lsusports.net/softball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball along with @lsusoftball and @BethTorina on Twitter and @lsusb on Instagram.
2014 NCAA Softball Regional in Tucson, Ariz.
May 16-18, 2014
Tucson, Ariz.
Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium
| Friday | Time (CT) | Matchup | TV | Streaming | Live Stats |
| Game 1 | 7 p.m. | Louisville vs. LSU | N/A | ESPN3 | Live Stats |
| Game 2 | 10 p.m. | Boston U. vs. #11 Arizona | ESPNU | WatchESPN | Live Stats |
| Saturday | ||||
| Game 3 | 3:30 p.m. | Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner | ESPN | WatchESPN | Live Stats |
| Game 4 | 6 p.m. | Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser | ESPN | WatchESPN | Live Stats |
| Game 5 | 8:30 p.m. | Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner | ESPN | WatchESPN | Live Stats |
| Sunday | ||||
| Game 6 | 3:30 p.m. | Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner | ESPN2 | WatchESPN | Live Stats |
| Game 7 | 6 p.m. | Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser (if nec.) | ESPN2 | WatchESPN | Live Stats |
NCAA Super Regional Pairings
All times Central
Friday, May 16
Tucson, Ariz.
LSU (35-22) vs. Louisville (36-20), 7 p.m. ESPN3
11 Arizona (41-13) vs. Boston U. (35-19), 10 p.m. ESPNU
Friday, May 16
Lafayette, La.
Texas (33-21) vs. Mississippi St. (38-19), 3 p.m. ESPN3
6 UL-Lafayette (44-8-1) vs. Texas Southern (31-18), 6 p.m. ESPN3