MSU Softball Earns Seventh NCAA Berth; Meets Hawai'i In Opening Round Of Tempe Regional
May 11, 2008 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? A 40-20 regular season record has earned the Mississippi State softball team its seventh selection to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship. The Bulldogs will face Hawai'i in the opening round of the Tempe, Ariz., regional that will be hosted by No. 6 national seed Arizona State.
State's selection is the fifth in head coach Jay Miller's six seasons at MSU. The Bulldogs will be venturing to a regional in Arizona for the second straight season, as last year's contingent was placed in the Tucson Regional hosted by top seed and eventual national champion Arizona.
"We're looking forward to going out to Tempe," Miller said. "It's going to be a tough regional. Arizona State plays very well at home, and Hawai'i has a very good team. It will be a good test for us. We're playing really good softball right now, and if we can continue that, I like our chances out there."
MSU will meet the Rainbow Wahine for the second straight season in Friday's opener at 6:30 p.m. CST. Hawai'i, who enters the postseason with a 38-19 record, defeated State 3-2 last Feb. in the UNLV Desert Classic in Las Vegas. Host Arizona State will meet Stony Brook in the other first round match-up.
State is one of eight SEC teams to earn bids to this year's field of 64. Florida earned the No. 1 overall seed and will be one of four teams from the league (Tennessee, LSU and Alabama) hosting a four-team regional. Georgia, Auburn and Arkansas also earned selections.
