Ball State University Athletics
Softball Heads To South Bend For NCAA Regional Play
May 10, 2015 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State softball team learned it would be traveling to the South Bend Regional to open play in the 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Championships, the NCAA announced Sunday night on ESPNU.
The Cardinals (33-23), the Mid-American Conference Tournament Champions, will open the South Bend Regional with a game versus in-state rival and No. 16 seed Notre Dame (40-13) at 5 p.m. at Melissa Cook Stadium. The other half of the bracket will see Northwestern (28-21), out of the Big Ten, battle Kentucky (29-24), out of the Southeastern Conference, at 2 p.m..
The 64-team championship field was selected from 283 NCAA Division I institutions sponsoring the sport of softball. Of the 64 teams, 32 received automatic qualification as conference champions with the remaining best 32 teams selected on an at-large basis. Sixteen teams were seeded and each of the seeded teams will be placed at one of the regional sites.
The tournament opens with 16 four-team double-elimination regionals held at campus sites (May 15-17). The 16 regional champions advance to the best-of-three Super Regionals, which will also be held at eight campus sites (May 21-24). The eight Super Regional champions punch tickets to the 2015 NCAA Women's College World Series, which will be held at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium - OGE Energy Field in Oklahoma City, May 28 to June 3.
Ball State will be making its third appearance in the NCAA Division I Softball Championships and first since the 2010 season. The Cardinals' first NCAA Championship appearance came in 1998, when Ball State suffered losses to Michigan (12-1 in 5) and Illinois-Chicago (6-1) in Ann Arbor. Ball State traveled to the Knoxville Regional in 2010, falling to host Tennessee (5-0) and Louisville (5-1).
The Cardinals advanced to the NCAA Championship by winning last week's MAC Tournament with a perfect 4-0 record in the event. Ball State senior outfielder Hanne Stuedemann (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) was named the tournament's MVP after hitting .462 (6-for-13) over Ball State's four games, including a pair of home runs. In the championship game, Stuedemann went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBI, including a three-run home run in the fifth inning.
Junior pitcher Nicole Steinbach (Merrillville, Ind./Andrean) and junior second baseman Emily Dabkowski (Plainfield, Ind./South Putnam) also earned spots on the MAC All-Tournament Team. Steinbach went a perfect 4-0 in the circle, allowing just seven earned runs over 21.2 innings of work. Dabkowski hit .333 (5-for-15) over Ball State's four games, including two home runs, while driving in six runs and scoring five times.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB and @TyraPerry13 / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSoftball.
South Bend Regional - May 15-17 - Melissa Cook Stadium - South Bend, Ind.
Notre Dame (40-13)
Kentucky (29-24)
Northwestern (28-21)
Ball State (33-23)
NCAA South Bend Regional Schedule
Friday, May 15
Game 1 -- Northwestern vs. Kentucky -- 2 p.m. ET
Game 2 -- Ball State vs. Notre Dame -- 5 p.m. ET
Saturday, May 16
Game 3 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 - Noon ET
Game 4 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 - 3 p.m. ET
Game 5 - Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 - 6 p.m. ET
Sunday, May 17
Game 6 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 -1 p.m. ET
Game 7 - (If necessary) - 4 p.m. ET
- BallStateSports.com –
