Softball to Play in Eugene Regional

NCAA Release | Bracket | Regional Information
 
Indianapolis – Shortly after clinching its fourth consecutive Atlantic 10 Championship and fifth in six years, the Fordham softball team (39-19, 18-4 A-10) learned it will be playing its NCAA Division I Softball Championship regional matches in the Eugene region of the round of 64 against hosts #5 overall seed Oregon, Long Beach State, and Baylor this upcoming weekend.
 
The Rams are the fourth seed in the region and will thus play the hosts first, and second overall in the group's schedule, on Friday night on ESPN2 at 11:30 p.m. EST. This will be the fourth time the two schools have met with Oregon holding a 3-0 all-time record since 2000. Most recently, the Ducks defeated the Rams in 2011 in the Penn State regional and in 2014 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif. Rachel Gillen started in the latter contest.
 
The winner of Friday night's match-up will play the winner of the Baylor/Long Beach State contest on Saturday, while Friday's losers will look to avoid elimination. The winner of the latter contest will face the loser of the former in an elimination game and the final two teams will battle for a spot in the NCAA Super Regional round on Sunday, with a second game available if needed. Exact start times are still to be determined.
 
Fordham has never faced the Bears but has played Long Beach State once, in 2012, also in Cathedral City.  
 
The Rams are looking to advance to their first ever Super Regional. In 2011 and 2015, Fordham advanced to the regional final only to lose in the ultimate game. Last year, the Rams fell to N.C. State, 2-1, in the final game. In the last five years, Fordham has compete in the Penn State Regional (2011), the Norman Regional (2013), the Tallahassee Regional (2014), and last year's in Harrisonburg, Va. Fordham lost to the Wolfpack in the opening round last year, 12-5, but bounced back with wins over Binghamton, 8-0, and #17 James Madison, 2-1, before falling in the final.
 
Ticketing information can be found here and you can purchase tickets starting Monday morning here.

GAME SCHEDULE

Friday
Game 1 - Baylor vs. Long Beach State – 9 PM (ESPNU)
Game 2 - Oregon vs. Fordham – 11:30 PM (ESPN2)
Saturday
Game 3 - Winners of game 1 and game 2 – 5 PM
Game 4 - Losers of game 1 and game 2 – 7:30 PM
Game 5 - Winner of game 4 and loser of game 3 – 10 PM
Sunday
Game 6 - Winner of game 3 and winner of game 5 – 7 PM
Game 7 – Repeat of game 6 (if needed) – 9:30 PM