Alabama Softball 23 Begins Their NCAA Journey

Early games are already underway in several locales across the country. The Tuscaloosa Regional gets underway Friday evening with the Crimson Tide taking center stage at 5:30pm CT.

Alabama will first face Alabama State who made the field by winning the SWAC Tournament. Should the Tide disperse of the Hornets, they will face the winner of Arizona State vs. Lipscomb on Saturday.

Ariz St: During the regular season, the Sun Devils lost to Mizzou 8-0 and Florida 7-2, but beat the worst team in the SEC, Texas A&M, by the slim margin of 5-4. They were also swept three games by both Arizona and UCLA - five in which they were shutout.

LIPS: The Bison fell to Arkansas 5-0 and twice to FSU 13-0 and 14-2. Their one kinda impressive win was a 5-4 extra innings victory at Louisville.

You never want to disrespect or look past your opponents but the Tide should skate through the Regional without a loss. The other bracket to keep an eye on is in Austin, TX whose winner will be a potential foe for Alabama in the Super Regional.

TUSCALOOSA REGIONAL

(All times CT)

FRIDAY:
Game 1: Arizona St. 4, Lipscomb 3 - F
Game 2: Alabama St. (24-23) vs. No. 8 seed Alabama (52-7) | 5:30 p.m. ESPNU

SATURDAY:
Game 3: Arizona St. vs. Game 2 winner | 1 p.m.
Game 4 : Lipscomb vs. Game 2 loser | 3:30 p.m.
Game 5 : Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner | 6 p.m.

SUNDAY:
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 1 p.m.
Game 7 (if necessary): Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser | 3:30 p.m.

THE REST - FRIDAY ONLY

(All times ET)

Austin Regional

Game 1: Houston 3, Texas A&M 1 - F
Game 2: Sam Houston St. 2, No. 9 seed Texas 1 - F

Norman Regional

Game 1: Notre Dame (36-16) vs. Wisconsin (40-12) | 7pm | ESPN
Game 2: No. 1 seed Oklahoma (49-2) vs. UMBC (30-22) | 9:30pm | ESPN2

Evanston Regional

Game 1: Southern Ill. (33-13) vs. Louisville (33-21) | LIVE | ESPN3
Game 2: Detroit Mercy (31-26) vs. No. 16 seed Northwestern (43-10) | 3:30pm | ESPN3

Gainesville Regional

Game 1: Boise St. 9, Stanford 1 - F
Game 2: No. 5 seed Florida 3, Boston U. 0 - F

Knoxville Regional

Game 1: Ohio St. 1, North Carolina 0 - F
Game 2: No. 12 seed Tennessee 8, Longwood 0 - F

Stillwater Regional

Game 1: Tulsa 5, Arkansas 0 - F (Thurs.)
Game 2: No. 13 seed Oklahoma State 3, BYU 1 - F (Thurs.)
Game 3: Tulsa vs. Oklahoma State | LIVE
Game 4: BYU 6, Arkansas 3 - F, Arky is eliminated.

Tallahassee Regional

Game 1: South Fla. 3, South Carolina 2 - F
Game 2: Bethune-Cookman (26-29) vs. No. 4 seed Florida St. (51-8) | LIVE | ESPNU

Seattle Regional

Game 1: Mississippi State (33-21) vs. Seattle U. (39-15) | 7:30pm | ESPN3
Game 2: No. 3 seed Washington (45-7) vs. Fordham (29-24) | 10pm | ESPN3

Lexington Regional

Game 1: Virginia Tech 6, Illinois 2 - F
Game 2: No. 14 seed Kentucky 7, Toledo 2 - F

Oxford Regional

Game 1: Louisiana (50-4) vs. Southeast Mo. St. (45-16) | 4:30pm | ESPN3
Game 2: No. 11 seed Ole Miss (37-17) vs. Chattanooga (37-15) | 7pm | ESPN3

Tucson Regional

Game 1: Auburn (37-19) vs. Colorado St. (38-10) | 9pm | ESPN
Game 2: Harvard (25-17) vs. No. 6 seed Arizona (42-12) | 11:30pm | ESPN2

Minneapolis Regional

Game 1: Georgia (40-17) vs. Drake (42-14) | 7pm | ESPN2
Game 2: No. 7 seed Minnesota (41-12) vs. North Dakota St. (42-14) | 9:30pm | ESPN3

Baton Rouge Regional

Game 1: Texas Tech (39-14) vs. Louisiana Tech (44-14) |
Game 2: Monmouth (36-16) vs. No. 10 seed LSU (40-16) | LIVE | ESPN3

Ann Arbor Regional

Game 1: James Madison (47-7) vs. DePaul (34-14) | LIVE | ESPN3
Game 2: No. 15 seed Michigan (43-11) vs. Saint Francis (PA) (29-29) | 4:30pm | ESPNU

Los Angeles Regional

Game 1: Missouri (32-23) vs. Cal St. Fullerton (38-16) | 8:30pm | ESPNU
Game 2: Weber St. (26-19) vs. No. 2 seed UCLA (46-5) | 11pm | ESPNU