DePaul Returns to NCAA Championship Field
The DePaul softball team travels to Lexington, Ky., this weekend for regional play in the NCAA Championship.
(Release taken from DePaul Athletics)
CHICAGO – The DePaul softball team travels to Lexington, Ky., this weekend for regional play in the NCAA Championship. The Blue Demons face Kentucky in game one after earning an automatic bid by winning the BIG EAST Tournament on Saturday.
The 2017 appearance is the 19th in program history for DePaul as the Blue Demons hold a 45-37 record all-time in NCAA Championship play. DePaul is making its first appearance since reaching the regional final in 2014 and the program holds four all-time appearances in the Women’s College World Series.
DePaul claimed one of the 32 automatic bids by knocking off St. John’s on Saturday in the BIG EAST title game. The 64-team field also features 32 at-large bids that travel to 16 regional sites with four teams apiece in a double-elimination format. The 16 teams to advance from regional play advance to a best-of-three Super Regional and the eight winners of those series travel to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series.
Joining DePaul and Kentucky in Lexington this weekend are Illinois and Marshall. Illinois and Marshall open play on Friday at Noon ET followed by the Blue Demons and Wildcats at 2:30 p.m. ET. The DePaul-Kentucky game can be seen on ESPN3.
Illinois enters the tournament with a 37-18 record while Marshall is 41-10. The Blue Demons are 29-21 and Kentucky – the No. 14 overall seed – hold a record of 36-17.
The Wildcats were DePaul’s last tournament opponent in 2014 as the Blue Demons posted a 2-1 win in 10 innings over the Wildcats before Kentucky defeated DePaul, 10-1, to advance to the Super Regional.
This weekend’s regional winner advances to the Super Regional to face the winner of the Oregon regional that features the host Ducks along with UIC, Wisconsin and Missouri.