Tournament Central
WKU NCAA Regional Travel Blog
NCAA Regional Game Notes
BOWLING GREEN, Ky.—The Western Kentucky University softball team (41-16, 20-3 SBC) continues adding to its historic list of firsts in the 2013 season, as the team is prepared to take on the field at the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional this weekend at Rhoads Stadium on the campus of the University of Alabama.
Playing in its first-ever NCAA Regional, WKU faces Atlantic Sun Tournament Champion USC Upstate (41-10) on Friday, May 17 at 3:30 p.m. CT to kick off the weekend. The winner of that game will face the winner of No. 10 national seed and host Alabama (42-13) of the Southeastern Conference and Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Champion Jacksonville State (30-25) on Saturday, May 18 at 1 p.m. CT.
With the format of Regional play as a double-elimination tournament, the loser of each of the first two games on Friday will face off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT. The winner moves on to face the loser of Saturday’s 1 p.m. game to decide who plays for the Regional Championship on Sunday, May 19 at 1 p.m. CT. The "if necessary" game is slated for 3:30 p.m. CT on Sunday.
For those unable to go to Tuscaloosa, visit RollTide.com to view live stats and live video. The Lady Topper’s contests will also be featured on 1450 AM with Scott Thompson on the call. Twitter updates will be @WKU_GameDay for the weekend’s games.
Ticket information is available at RollTide.com or call the Alabama Ticket office at 205.348.BAMA (2262).
2013 Regular-Season Recap
The 2013 regular season for WKU softball concluded with numerous historic marks in the program’s history. The team earned its first conference championship and bid to play in NCAA postseason play, posted six wins over top-25 teams for a school record, tabbed the program’s first-ever 40+ win season, posted the most league wins in school history with 20, recorded five conference sweeps for the most in a season and set a school-record 12-game winning streak that was capped with a 1-0 win at No. 11 Missouri.
2013 SBC Tournament Recap
WKU participated in its conference tournament last week, entering as the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history while reaching the championship game for the third time and first time since 2005. After cruising through the first two games, WKU bounced back from a 2-3 loss against No. 21 Louisiana-Lafayette to avoid elimination and play in the title game by taking a 7-4 win in 10 innings against the Ragin’ Cajuns, which was the longest game since March 7, 2011. After the extra-inning win, WKU had a little over an hour to prepare itself for the championship game against No. 19 South Alabama; however, the Lady Toppers would fall short, as after holding the defending SBC Tournament champion scoreless for four innings, the Jags put up two runs combined in the fifth and sixth innings on their way to the league’s automatic bid. Senior Mallorie Sulaski along with juniors Emily Rousseau and Olivia Watkins were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Quick Notes
- WKU is making its debut in NCAA postseason action, as they will take on the field at the Tuscaloosa Regional. The Lady Toppers have not faced any of those opponents this season. WKU has a chance to play defending national champions Alabama, as the Crimson Tide plays host to the teams. WKU has never faced the defending national champion; however, in 2008, WKU opened the season with a loss to No. 4 Arizona State who went on the win the national title that year.
- Against the 64-team bracket, WKU played against 10 of those teams in 2013, recording a mark of 7-13 with wins over Louisiana-Lafayette, Valparaiso, South Alabama and Missouri. The Lady Toppers are also one of eight teams making their first-time trip to Regionals, joining Penn, USC Upstate, Central Connecticut State, Marshall, IPFW, Hampton and Longwood.
- The Tuscaloosa Regional marks the fourth time this season that WKU will go to the state of Alabama for games. The Lady Toppers hold an 8-3 mark in the state this year, after taking the series from nationally-ranked South Alabama, sweeping Troy and going 3-2 with a runner-up finish in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament hosted by Troy.
- It will also be another homecoming of sorts for three Lady Toppers, as sophomore Preslie Cruce, junior Olivia Watkins and senior Ciara Garcia are each from Alabama. The trio plays a major part of the Lady Toppers’ lineup, as they play third, second and first, respectively, and have been the top three in the batting order, respectively, since April 10 vs. Samford.
- Five Lady Toppers were named All-SBC selections, tying the most honorees since 2004. Juniors Emily Rousseau, Olivia Watkins and Kelsie Mattox were each named to the first team, as each are first-time First-Team All-Conference selections. Mattox was named to the second team last season. Junior Amanda Thomas and sophomore Preslie Cruce earned second-team honors, the first career selection for Thomas and second for Cruce. Rousseau was also named SBC Pitcher of the Year, the first in program history, while head coach Tyra Perry was selected as Coach of the Year.
By the Numbers
- 14— Senior Katrina Metoyer has reached base safely in the last 14 games. During that span, Metoyer has recorded 12 hits and nine walks with a .375 batting average.
- 16— In WKU’s 10-inning win over ULL in the SBC Tourney, the Ragin’ Cajuns put up 16 hits but left 16 runners on base.
- 70— Junior Emily Rousseau has recorded at least one strikeout in each of her 70 career appearances for WKU.
On Deck
If WKU becomes Tuscaloosa Regional Champs, the Lady Toppers will match up for Super Regionals with the winner out of the Knoxville Regional, as the opponent could be No. 7 national seed Tennessee, James Madison, NC State or Longwood.
