Lady Wildcats and Sun Devils Heading to NCAA Tournament in Softball
By Francisco Romero. – The Arizona Wildcats softball team is heading to their 30th straight NCAA Tournament. The Lady Cats will face Ohio State on Friday (1:30 PM MST). Arizona will travel to Tennessee to compete in the Knoxville Regional, along with the host Volunteers, Ohio State and Marist.
The Sun Devils will compete in the Baton Rouge Regional, hosted by LSU, where the will face McNeese State on Friday. The Sun Devils are making their 28th NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Cats open the event on Friday, May 20 vs. Ohio State, an at-large selection from the Big Ten. The Buckeyes went 33-18-1 (13-9-1 Big Ten) in 2016. If the Wildcats win they will likely face the regional host Tennessee; Arizona defeated the Volunteers 1-0 on Feb. 27 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Tennessee finished the season 41-14 (16-7 SEC).
The Wildcats finished the regular season 36-19 (13-11 Pac-12). UA is led by a dominant pitching staff that finished second in the Pac-12 in ERA (2.73). Danielle O’Toole leads the conference in victories (22) and is third with a 2.14 ERA. Offensively, the Wildcats are led by a very productive top-half of the order that includes the Pac-12 co-leader in home runs – Katiyana Mauga (20) – and Mo Mercado, who leads the team with a .387 average.
Picture Courtesy: ASU Athletics
Arizona has advanced out of 26 of the 29 regionals since 1987 and owns an 85-10 record in the round overall. Arizona has advanced to the super regional round in 10 of the 11 seasons since they began in 2005.
The Sun Devils (30-24) earned one of 32 at-large bids to the tournament. ASU is making its second straight appearance in Baton Rouge.
The Baton Rouge Regional field features host LSU (45-15), Arizona State, Southland Conference champion McNeese State and Northeast Conference champion LIU Brooklyn (30-25).
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