No. 24 Upstate Opens Tuscaloosa Regional Friday Against No. 21 South Alabama
5/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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Spartanburg, S.C. – The 2014 NCAA Tournament will lead off with a bang Friday when the 24th-ranked USC Upstate softball team takes on 21st-ranked South Alabama in the first round of the Tuscaloosa Regional in an early battle of nationally-ranked teams. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. CT and 4:30 p.m. ET.
Alabama is the No. 2 national seed and is playing host to the Tuscaloosa Regional. The game between Upstate and South Alabama begins the action at the regional with Alabama and SIU Edwardsville following at 6:00 p.m. CT, 7:00 p.m. ET.
Upstate is making its second consecutive trip to the Tuscaloosa Regional. The Spartans went 1-2 last year, with a win over Jacksonville State and two losses to Western Kentucky. The Spartans enter the 2014 regional with a 45-7 record. They went 1-2 in the A-Sun Tournament after winning eight in a row and 21 of their last 22 games to close out the regular season with the only loss coming at nationally-ranked Georgia by a score of 3-1.
South Alabama enters the weekend with a 40-12 record and advanced to the championship game of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Jaguars fell to Louisiana-Lafayette, 4-1, to end their two-year run as conference tournament champions.
Alabama advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament before being ousted by eventual tournament champion Georgia. The 5th-ranked Crimson Tide stands 45-11 on the year and boasts the SEC Pitcher of the Year in Jaclyn Traina.
SIU Edwardsville won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and is the only team in the Tuscaloosa Regional appearing as conference tournament champions. The Cougars are 30-21 entering the weekend.
Fans can follow the action online at upstatespartans.com with links to free coverage with live stats on Gametracker and live video on ESPN3. Complete postgame coverage with game recaps, stats and photos will also be available.
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