2006 NCAA Softball Tournament Bracket
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; May 14, 2006 - The Penn State softball team (37-15) was selected to its sixth NCAA tournament bid in the past seven years on Sunday when its name was called as part of the Hempstead, N.Y. region. The Lions will meet host Hofstra (36-18) on Friday, May 19 at noon to begin their NCAA action. Also in the Hempstead Region are No. 6 Arizona State (47-13) and Long Island (34-12). Regional action runs from Friday, May 19-Sunday, May 21 and is double elimination format. The top team from each of 16 Regionals across the country will move on to a Super Regional the following weekend, May 26-29.
Penn State has previously received bids in 1985, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. Six of the Lions' seven bids have come under current head coach Robin Petrini. The Lions have a 8-12 overall record in the tournament, including a win each in 2000 and 2003 and a pair of wins each in 2001, 2002 and last year at Texas A&M.
The Lions were one of six Big Ten schools to receive invitations to the 2006 NCAA Tournament. Defending NCAA champion Michigan, 2006 Big Ten regular season champion Northwestern, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio State also received tournament bids. The Wildcats and Wolverines both received seeds in the tournament with Northwestern seeded fourth and Michigan seeded ninth.
Penn State has previously met only one of the three teams in its region. The Lions hold a 1-5 all-time record vs. the Arizona State Sun Devils. Penn State has never played Hofstra or met Long Island.
For complete information on the Lions' trip to the NCAA Tournament including game times, ticket information, and live stat and audio availability, please check back all week to www.GoPSUsports.com, the official website of Penn State Athletics.
Friday, May 19
Game 1: Penn State at Hofstra, 12:00 p.m.
Game 2: Arizona State vs. Long Island, 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 20
Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 10:00 a.m.
Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 12:30 p.m.
Game 5: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner, 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 21
Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 12:00 p.m. (Championship)
Game 7: If needed, 30 minutes after conclusion of Game 6
