UAlbany Softball Seeded Fourth in NCAA Tournament's Hempstead Regional

UAlbany Softball Seeded Fourth in NCAA Tournament's Hempstead Regional

Albany, N.Y. – UAlbany will meet Baylor in the opening round of the NCAA Softball Championship on Friday, May 18 at Hofstra Softball Stadium. The Pride will host the three-day regional. Hofstra and Harvard will also play in the weekend’s double-elimination format.

UAlbany (33-15) is making its third consecutive NCAA appearance. The Great Danes defeated UMBC, 6-4, to capture its third straight America East Conference championship. Casey Halloran, the championship’s most outstanding player, struck out 10 to record her 18th victory of the season in the final. Meagan Butsch singled in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning.

“This absolutely the toughest bracket we have had to play in the three years we have been in the tournament,” said UAlbany coach Chris Cannata, whose team is seeded fourth in the regional. “Baylor has been ranked all year long and beat some really good teams. This is a good opportunity for everyone to see us play. Hofstra’s stadium is familiar to us since we played a (pre-season) tournament there last fall.”

Baylor (45-13) received an NCAA at-large berth as the Big 12 Conference regular-season champion. Hofstra (40-13) and Harvard (31-13) earned automatic bids by winning the Colonial Athletic Association and Ivy League titles, respectively.

NCAA Softball Championship – Hempstead Regional

Friday, May 18

Game 1 - #1 Baylor (45-13) vs. #4 UAlbany (33-15), 12:00 p.m.

Game 2 - #2 Hofstra (40-13) vs. #3 Harvard (31-13), 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 19

Game 3 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 10:00 a.m.

Game 4 – Game 2 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 12:30 p.m.

Game 5 – Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 3:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 20

Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 12:00 p.m.

Game 7 – if necessary (30 minutes after Game 6)