Bulldogs secure 15th NCAA Tournament bid; earn Seattle Regional berth

STARKVILLE, MS (WLBT) - For the seventh time in the last eight seasons and the 15th time overall in program history, Mississippi State softball (33-21) is NCAA Tournament bound as the Bulldogs’ road to Oklahoma City begins in the Seattle Regional.

MSU will open the double-elimination regional on Friday, May 17 at 6:30 p.m. CT against Seattle at the Husky Softball Stadium. Along with the Bulldogs and the Redhawks, the Seattle Regional features the host team of Washington, which earned the third overall national seed, and Fordham. The two squads will round out the opening round of play on Friday at 9 p.m. CT.

State earned the two seed in the Seattle Regional, marking the second consecutive season for head coach Vann Stuedeman’s squad to earn the two-seed ranking at a regional site.

The Bulldogs first game of the regional will be aired national on ESPN3, which can be accessed online through WatchESPN or the ESPN app. Television assignments for the remaining games of the regional will be announced later this week.

The winner of the Seatte Regional will advance to Super Regionals to the face the winner of the Lexington Regional, hosted by No. 14 Kentucky. Also competing in the Lexington Regional is Toledo, Illinois and Virginia Tech.

State is making its 15th NCAA Tournament appearances in its 23rd season as a member of the Southeastern Conference and holds a 14-28 overall record in the postseason. All 15 appearances have come since 2000. MSU has won at least one regional game in four of its last five NCAA Regional appearances and is aiming to make its first NCAA Super Regional appearance in program history.

In their last NCAA Tournament appearance, the Bulldogs trekked to Tucson, Arizona, advancing to the Tucson Regional finals. It marked the first time since 2005 that Mississippi State had competed for a NCAA Regional championship. State fell to tournament host No. 10 Arizona by a 4-3 final.

For the third consecutive season, all 13 Southeastern Conference programs earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament.

SEATTLE REGIONAL SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)

Friday, May 17

Game One: Mississippi State vs. Seattle – 6:30 p.m. CT

Game Two: Washington vs. Fordham – 9 p.m. CT

Saturday, May 18

Game Three: Game One Winner vs. Game Two Winner - TBD

Game Four: Game One Loser vs. Game Two Loser – TBD

Game Five: Game Three Loser vs. Game 4 Winner

Sunday, May 19

Game Six: Game Three Winner vs. Game Five Winner – TBD

Game Seven: If Necessary – TBD