Alabama Softball Earns No. 6 National Seed in 2016 NCAA Tournament
Alabama softball has qualified for its 18th-straight NCAA Tournament, earning a No. 6 national seed to host its 12th-straight NCAA Regional round.
Joining Alabama in the Tuscaloosa Regional round are Cal (32-21-1), Texas State (39-20) and Samford (40-18). Action at Rhoads Stadium begins on Friday, May 20 at 1:30 p.m. CT as Cal takes on Texas State before Alabama faces Samford at 4 p.m. live on the SEC Network.
Alabama has played in the NCAA Tournament every season since 1999, owning an 81-39 (.675) all-time record. Alabama has won every regional round since 2005, the longest active streak in Division-I softball. This marks the 14th season that Alabama has earned a national seed, including a streak of 12-straight.
Cal, receiving votes outside the Top 25 in the latest polls, finished its season ranked fifth in the Pac 12, owning a 32-21-1 overall record and a 12-10-1 conference record. Alabama and Cal have met seven times in program history, with three of those meetings coming in the postseason. Most recently, Alabama defeated Cal, 5-2, in the 2012 Women’s College World Series en route to winning its first national title. Cal previously traveled to Tuscaloosa for the 2007 NCAA Regional, falling to the Tide, 13-1.
Texas State earned a 39-20 record this season with a 15-9 mark in Sun Belt play. The Bobcats made it to the Sun Belt Tournament game, falling to Louisiana-Lafayette. Texas State and Alabama have only met twice in program history with Alabama winning both contests at the season-opening tournament in San Marcos, Texas in 2007. Former Tide All-American Kelly Kretschman is an assistant coach with the Bobcats.
Samford, led by former Tide player Mandy Burford, is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance after earning the Southern Conference’s automatic bid by winning its conference tournament. Alabama and Samford have met 23 times in program history with the Tide winning 21 of them. Most recently, the teams played earlier this season in Tuscaloosa with Alabama winning 10-0 on March 8.
The winner of the Tuscaloosa will advance to face the winner of the Seattle Regional, hosted by No. 11 seed Washington (36-13). Other teams in Seattle include Minnesota (41-12), North Dakota State (38-18) and Weber State (37-17).