Alabama Softball Enters Tournament Play as 10th Seed

The Alabama softball team earned the No. 10 national seed and the top seed in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional; it was announced on the ESPNU NCAA Tournament selection show Sunday night. The Crimson Tide (42-13) will open regional play Friday, May 17, at Rhoads Stadium against Jacksonville State (30-25) starting at 6 p.m.

The opening game of the regional gets underway at 3:30 p.m. and will feature Western Kentucky (41-16) and South Carolina Upstate (41-10). On Saturday, games will get underway at 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start on Sunday with the "if necessary" game slated for 3:30 p.m.

Ticket information is available at RollTide.com or call the Alabama Ticket office at 205.348.BAMA (2262).

The runner-up in the Sun Belt Tournament, Western Kentucky enters the Tuscaloosa regional as the No. 2 seed. South Carolina Upstate won the A-Sun tournament title and will be the third seed. Jacksonville State won the Ohio Valley Tournament championship and will be the fourth seed. Alabama faced Jacksonville State earlier in the season at Rhoads Stadium, coming away with an 11-3 win. 

The 10th seeded Tide is making its 15th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament under the direction of head coach Patrick Murphy. It is the ninth straight year Alabama has been a host site for an NCAA Regional and the 11th time overall. The Tide has captured 10 NCAA Regional titles (2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012) and boasts a 38-9 record in regional play and a 64-29 in all NCAA tournament games.

The winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional will play the winner of the NCAA Knoxville Regional, which includes Tennessee, NC State, James Madison, and Longwood, in NCAA Super Regional play