(Tempe, AZ) The No. 15 seed Sun Devil Softball punched the program’s 16th-straight ticket to the NCAA Tournament, hosting a Tempe Regional on May 20-22. The Sun Devils host Southern Illinois, Brigham Young, and Virginia Tech. The road to the Women’s College World Series (WCWS) will air on ESPN3.
ASU has hosted a Regional seven times since 2007. The last time Alberta B. Farrington held a Regional round was in 2018 and Trisha Ford‘s team went on to participate in the WCWS that season.
ASU finished the regular season with a 32-14 overall and 12-9 conference record that allowed them to finish fourth in the Pac-12 Conference table. The Tempe Regional field of ASU, Brigham Young (36-15), Southern Illinois (37-14), and Virginia Tech (33-13) will compete to move on to the Super Regionals at No. 2 seed UCLA starting Friday, May 28.
The Sun Devils faced BYU in a doubleheader in the 2021 season opener. ASU came away with two wins, including one that went to extra innings. It was only the second-ever meeting between the two programs who first took the diamond together in 2001. ASU is 4-1 against Virginia Tech, last playing against the Hokies in 2013. History with SIUE dates the furthest, all the way to 1982 when the Sun Devils beat the Cougars, 10-2. They met again in 1985 and lastly in 2003 to boast a 2-1 record.
Regionals will be held May 20-23 on 16 campus sites. At each campus site, a four-team, double-elimination tournament will be conducted and the 16 winning teams advance to the Super Regionals. Unlike previous years, all Super Regionals sites have been predetermined for the 2021 NCAA Softball Tournament.
Super Regionals for the tournament will be held May 27-29 or May 28-30 on eight campus sites. At each site, two teams play in a best-of-three tournament format. The winners from each site advance to the NCAA Women’s College World Series. The WCWS is held in Oklahoma City from June 3-June 9.
TOP 16 SEEDS
1. Oklahoma
2. UCLA
3. Alabama
4. Florida
5. Oklahoma State
6. Arkansas
7. LSU
8. Missouri
9. Tennessee
10. Florida State
11. Arizona
12. Texas
13. Duke
14. Kentucky
15. Arizona State
16. Washington
TEMPE REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 20:
BYU vs. Virginia Tech – 4:30 p.m. on ESPN3
No. 15 seed Arizona State vs. Southern Illinois – 7:00 p.m. on ESPN3
Friday, May 21, 2021
Game 3 – 1:00pm
Game 4 – 3:30pm
Game 5 – 6:00pm
Saturday, May 22nd, 2021
Game 6 – 3:00pm
Game 7 (if necessary) – 5:30pm
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics
