WE'RE IN!
The Knights are headed to the Gainesville Regional! pic.twitter.com/PSCvq58VXY- UCF Softball (@UCF_Softball) May 16, 2016
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - For the third consecutive season, the UCF softball team has earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Knights are the No. 3 seed at the NCAA Gainesville Regional that begins on Friday at noon against No. 2 Florida Atlantic.
We're excited to have another opportunity to represent UCF at the Gainesville Regional," head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie said. "Our players have worked hard all season. They played a tough schedule, going up against eight of those top 16 seeds. It's prepared us to compete in this regional.
The Knights earned their fourth at-large berth in to the NCAA Tournament, and will make the third consecutive appearance in program history. UCF is making its seventh overall appearance, and sixth at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
UCF (36-20) will open against the No. 2 seed Florida Atlantic (50-7) at noon on Friday on ESPNU. The teams faced off once in the regular season, with the Owls claiming a 2-0 win in eight innings at the UCF Softball Complex.
Host Florida (53-5) was slotted with the No. 1-overall seed and faces Alabama State (27-24) in its first-round game. The winner in the double-elimination bracket will face the team that conquers the Athens Regional, which includes host Georgia, Maine, Northwestern and Oklahoma State, on May 26-29.
Ticket information will be posted on UCFKnights.com once it becomes available.
The Knights are one of 64 teams to earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament. The 16 regionals are played at campus sites beginning on Thursday. The winner of the Gainesville Regional will face the winner of the Athens Regional on May 26-29. The NCAA Women's College World Series is set for June 2-8 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Story by Megan Herboth; Photo by Brad Helton