Tulsa, Houston, UAB and UCF will open NCAA Division I Softball Championship play Friday, beginning with a 1 p.m. first pitch for Houston at the Austin Regional. UAB and UCF will get underway at 3:30 p.m. ET at the Knoxville and Gainesville Regionals, respectively. C-USA champion Tulsa will start NCAA action tonight at 5 p.m. CT in the Norman Regional. This is the third straight season that C-USA has earned multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament and the third time in the past five years that the league has earned at least four berths.
Thirteen Conference USA softball players have been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region Teams, as announced Thursday by the organization. Players from league champion Tulsa, Houston, Marshall, UAB, UCF and UTEP were honored.
Four Conference USA teams have been selected to the 2012 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, marking the third straight season that the league has sent multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament. C-USA champion Tulsa is joined by UAB, Houston and UCF in the 64-team field. Regionals will take place May 18-20 and will be hosted by the top 16 national seeds.
The 2012 Conference USA Softball Championship gets underway this Thursday at the UAB Softball Field in Birmingham, Ala. Tulsa is the No. 1 seed at the Championship after winning the C-USA regular season title outright, while host UAB is the No. 2 seed. The C-USA Championship runs from May 10-12 with the final televised live on CBS Sports Network at 1 p.m. CT Saturday.