Screams of pure joy filled the Wisconsin softball watch party room on Sunday night, as the Badgers rejoiced after their season was given new life with a berth in the 2018 NCAA Softball Tournament. For the second-straight season, the Badgers earned a spot in the Big Dance, marking the seventh appearance in school history and the fourth bid under head coach Yvette Healy.
Wisconsin (28-21) was selected for the Alabama Regional and will face Oregon State (28-26) on Friday night at 6 p.m. CT live on ESPN3. Regional host No. 12-seeded Alabama (33-18) opens against Middle Tennessee (39-20) on Friday at 8:30 p.m. live on ESPN3.
Thirty-two conferences were awarded an automatic qualification to the NCAA tournament, while the remaining 32 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and will play at campus sites beginning Thursday.
The Big Ten Conference saw five of its softball programs earn a spot in this year's 64-team NCAA tournament. Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State and Wisconsin will all begin their respective postseason journeys this weekend at regional sites around the country.
via press release
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