Alabama Softball Earns No. 8 National Seed, Qualifies for 21st-Consecutive NCAA Tournament

For the 21st-consecutive season, Alabama softball will play in the NCAA Tournament. The Crimson Tide earned a No. 8 national seed in this year’s field of 64 and will host Arizona State, Lipscomb and Alabama State this upcoming weekend in Tuscaloosa.

NCAA Regional action at Rhoads Stadium begins Friday, May 17 at 3 p.m. CT with Arizona State facing Lipscomb, followed by Alabama vs. Alabama State at 5:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU. Tickets are available through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262) and via www.RollTide.com/tickets.

The winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional will match up against the winner of the Austin Regional, featuring No. 9 Texas, Houston, Texas A&M and Sam Houston State.

Alabama has qualified for the NCAA Tournament every year since 1999 and has earned a top-16 national seed 17 times, including a streak of 15-straight years starting in 2005. The Crimson Tide is 56-9 (.862) all-time in NCAA Regional play and has won every Regional round since 2005, the longest active streak in Division-I softball. Alabama has not lost a game in regional play since 2007, a streak of 37-consecutive games, and is also the only team in Division-I softball to play in every Super Regional round since its inception in 2005.

Alabama is the Southeastern Conference regular-season champion, owning a 52-7 record. The Tide is 23-3 at home this season, including a 5-0 mark against ranked opponents at Rhoads Stadium.

Arizona State enters the tournament with a 33-18 record, including a 13-11 mark in Pac 12 play. Alabama has faced the Sun Devils 10 times in program history, winning six. The two teams last met in 2012 in the Women’s College World Series, with the Tide winning 2-1. Arizona State previously traveled to Tuscaloosa in 2005 for NCAA Regionals, with Alabama winning the lone meeting 3-1.

Lipscomb earned the ASUN conference’s automatic bid for winning the league tournament, owning a 41-13-1 overall record. Alabama is 7-1 all-time against the Bisons, last meeting in 2017 in Florence, Ala., a 5-0 Crimson Tide victory. Lipscomb last traveled to Tuscaloosa for the 2015 Easton Bama Bash, a 6-1 UA victory.

Alabama State enters the NCAA Tournament with a 24-23 mark, earning the SWAC’s automatic bid. Alabama and Alabama State have met just once in 2004, with the Tide defeating the Hornets 10-0 in Tuscaloosa.

For the latest information on the team, follow @AlabamaSB on Twitter, BamaSB on Instagram and Alabama Softball on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.