For the eighth time in the last nine years, Mississippi State’s softball team is NCAA Tournament bound.
On Sunday the Bulldogs (38-18, 9-15 SEC) were named the No. 5 seed of the Eugene Regional to begin their trek toward the Women’s College World Series. They are joined in the double-elimination tournament by No. 14 overall seed and host school Oregon, Idaho State and St. Mary’s (Ca.)
“We are excited to be back in the postseason and be one of the remaining 64 teams competing across the country,” head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “We’re looking forward to getting out to Eugene and preparing for three quality opponents that we may face in the regional.”
State opens up tournament play at 6:30 p.m. Friday against St. Mary’s in just the second-ever meeting between the two teams. The first contest was a 2-1 win for the Gaels during the 1997 season. Oregon and Idaho State battle at 9 p.m. Friday. The winners of the first two games will collide at 4 p.m. Saturday in Game 3 while the losers battle at 6:30 p.m. in Game 4. The loser of Game 3 and the winner of Game 4 end the action on Saturday with a 9 p.m. contest for Game 5. The tournament closes on Monday with the winner of Game 3 taking on the winner of Game 5 at 6:30 p.m. If needed, Game 7 begins at 9 p.m.
The winner of the Eugene Regional moves on to face the winner of the Norman Regional, which features No. 3 overall seed Oklahoma, Kansas, Michigan and Binghamton.
The tournament appearance for State is its 20th overall. In 2022, the Bulldogs reached the Super Regionals for the first time in program history and won the Tallahassee Regional to earn the right to host the Starkville Super Regional.
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