Gopher Softball Heads To Tucson For NCAA

INDIANAPOLIS (gophersports.com) -- The Minnesota softball team is NCAA Tournament-bound for the third-consecutive season and for the 10th time in program history. The Gophers received an at-large bid to the tournament will travel to 12th-seeded Arizona for regional play, the NCAA Division I softball committee announced Sunday evening. The Maroon and Gold will begin play Friday against New Mexico State in a region that also includes St. John's.

In total, 64 teams were placed at 16 different regionals on campus sites. Each regional is a four-team, double-elimination tournament. The 16 regional winners will advance to super regionals, from which the eight NCAA Women's College World Series teams will emerge.

Coming off its first-ever super regional appearance in 2014, the Gophers enter the tournament with a 46-9 record. Minnesota is 10-15 all-time in NCAA Tournament games. Last season, it defeated Auburn in the Minneapolis Regional before falling to top-seeded Oregon in the next round.

This season, the Gophers are 14-7 against the NCAA Tournament field. They defeated NMSU, 6-1, in Tempe, Ariz. Feb. 20 at the Diamond Devil Invitational.