University of Tennessee Athletics
SOFTBALL PREVIEW: NCAA Knoxville Regional
May 18, 2016 | Softball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- It's NCAA Tournament Time in Tennessee! Vol softball is set to host its 12th straight NCAA Regional after earning the No. 13 national seed in this year's NCAA Softball Tournament, which will begin this Friday.
MORE INFO
2016 NCAA Knoxville Regional
- Regional Teams: Tennessee, Arizona, Marist, Ohio State
- Dates: Friday, May 20 -- Sunday, May 22
- Venue: Sherri Parker Lee Stadium (Knoxville, Tenn.)
- TV: ESPN2/ESPNU/WatchESPN
- Radio: WNML (FM 99.1/AM 990) | UTSports.com
No. 11/10 Tennessee (41-14, 16-7 SEC)
Roster Schedule StatsNo. 18/22 Arizona (36-19, 13-11 Pac-12)
Roster Schedule StatsMarist (45-11, 16-4 MAAC)
Roster Schedule StatsOhio State (33-18-1, 13-9-1 Big Ten)
Roster Schedule StatsThe Vols will welcome Arizona, Marist and Ohio State to Sherri Parker Lee Stadium for this weekend's regional. Tennessee opens tournament play against Marist on Saturday at 12 p.m. after the first day of play was postponed due to rain.
Weekend Schedule/Media & Broadcast Info
Every game of this weekend's regional will be broadcast on either the ESPN family of networks or streamed on WatchESPN. Fans can also listen to Brian Rice call Tennessee's games on WNML (FM 99.1/AM 990).
View the full updated weekend schedule below.
Saturday
Game 1: Arizona vs. Ohio State | 10 a.m. | TV: None
Game 2: Tennessee vs. Marist | 12 p.m. | TV: TBD
Game 3: G1 Winner vs. G2 Winner | 2:30 p.m. | TV:TBD
Game 4: G1 Loser vs. G2 Loser | 5 p.m. | TV: TBD
Sunday
Game 5: G3 Loser vs. G4 Winner | 12 p.m. | TV: TBD
Game 6: G3 Winner vs. G5 Winner | 2:30 p.m. | TV: TBD
Game 7: G6 Winner vs. G6 Loser (If necessary) | 5 p.m. | TV: TBD
Ticket Information
All-Session tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking HERE or by calling the ticket office at (865) 656-1200.
Tickets are $25 for bleacherback seats, which will be good for all games that weekend. Any chairback seats still available will be $40 for the entire weekend. Based on All-Session sales, single game tickets will go on sale Friday when gates open at the stadium.
Need to Know
Tennessee will be making its 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the 13th in a row when play kicks off this Friday. This will also be the 12th consecutive year that the Vols have earned a national seed and hosted a regional in Knoxville.
UT's 64 NCAA Tournament victories have all come under the direction of Ralph and Karen Weekly and rank 13th all-time in NCAA Division I history. The Big Orange have advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals eight times and the Women's College World Series on seven occasions. The Vols have been dominant in NCAA Regional games at home, posting a 32-7 record all-time, including a perfect 9-0 mark over the past three seasons.
Tennessee enters the weekend with the nation's best home record at 22-1, which is also the best home record for the Vols since going 28-1 back in 2007. UT outscored its opponents 202-52 and won 14 of its 22 games by run-rule at home this season.
The Big Orange enter the NCAA Tournament with a 41-14 overall record and finished third in the SEC regular season standings, posting a 16-7 mark in league play. The Vols had five players earn SEC postseason honors, led by sophomore shortstop Meghan Gregg, who was named All-SEC first team for the first time in her career. Senior Rainey Gaffin was named All-SEC second team and was also named to the SEC All-Defensive team for the second straight season. Matty Moss, Aubrey Leach and Brooke Vines all earned spots on the SEC All-Freshman team.
Opponent Breakdown
Arizona
The Wildcats are making their 30th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, the longest active streak in the country, after earning an at-large bid following a 36-19 season and a 13-11 record in the Pac-12. They are led offensively by Katiyana Mauga, who leads the Pac-12 and is tied for fourth in the nation with 20 home runs this season. The junior outfielder also leads the team with 59 RBIs and a .789 slugging percentage. In the circle, Arizona relies primarily on redshirt junior Danielle O'Toole, who is 22-10 on the year and leads the team with a 2.14 ERA, 21 complete games, seven shutouts and 170 strikeouts.
Marist
The Red Foxes earned an automatic bid by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament last weekend and enter the weekend with a 45-11 record overall. Marist is led by the sister duo of Jayne and Claire Oberdorf, who led the team in pitching and hitting, respectively. Jayne boasts a 16-3 record and a 1.70 ERA in the circle while Claire leads the team with a .382 batting average to go along with seven homers and 39 RBIs.
Ohio State
The Buckeyes earned an at-large bid out of the Big Ten after posting a 33-18-1 overall record to go along with a 13-9-1 mark in conference play. Junior infielder Alex Bayne leads the offense with 18 home runs and 48 RBIs while junior right-hander Shelby Hursh is the ace of a balanced pitching staff. Hursh leads Ohio State with 15 wins, seven complete games, four shutouts and 182 strikeouts this year. The Buckeyes have three pitchers that have made 25 or more appearances this season.
All-Time Series
Arizona
The Wildcats hold a 12-5 advantage in the all-time series with the Vols, which includes a 1-0 victory over UT earlier this season at the Easton Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa. Tennessee and Arizona have met 10 times in the NCAA Tournament, all in the WCWS, with each team coming away victorious five times.
Marist
This will be just the third meeting all-time between UT and Marist, and the first in postseason play. The Vols won both prior meetings against the Red Foxes with 8-0 and 8-3 wins back in 1996.
Ohio State
The Vols came away with a 3-0 win over the 16th ranked Buckeyes back in February of 2010 in the only meeting between the two programs. The two teams have never played each other in the NCAA Tournament.
Traffic Advisory
Any fans planning to attend games this weekend, please review the traffic advisory HERE.
Fan Information/Stadium Policies
For everyone's safety and enjoyment of the games, fans are asked to please follow the stadium policies and procedures that can be found HERE.
What's Next?
If the Vols advance out of their regional this weekend, they would play the winner of the Auburn regional next weekend in the NCAA Super Regionals. If Auburn were to win its regional, Tennessee would have to travel to face the Tigers. If any of the other three teams there were to win, UT would host the Super Regional next weekend. View the complete NCAA Tournament Bracket HERE.
