Michigan State University Athletics
Softball Earns NCAA Regional Bid
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 16, 1999
East Lansing, Mich. - For the second time in three years, the Michigan State softball team has earned a bid to NCAA Regional play. The Spartans were one of 48 teams selected to the 1999 NCAA Tournament and will face DePaul on Thursday, May 20 at 4 p.m., CDT, in Chicago, Ill. The Blue Demons are hosting the six-team regional at Campus Field on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago.
In addition to the fifth-seeded Spartans (39-21) and the No. 2 seed Blue Demons (48-12), the double-elimination regional includes No. 1 seed Texas (44-15), sixth-seeded Cornell (41-9), No. 3 Illinois-Chicago (64-15) and fourth-seeded Oregon (39-27).
"Obviously, we are grateful to compete in this year's tournament," MSU coach Jacquie Joseph said. "I felt all along that we played the type of schedule that would be looked upon favorably by the committee. We are very excited to be apart of this year's NCAA Tournament.
"DePaul is a very good team," Joseph added. "They have won an awful lot of games this year and they have outstanding pitching. I know that they will be ready."
The Spartans, who finished fourth in the Big Ten with a 13-9 mark, made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1997.
"I am so excited I can hardly even think about it right now," senior outfielder Tiffany Yager said. "They got down to that last region and I wasn't sure if we were going to make it. I think we have a really good opportunity to do well, we just need to go out and play our game."
Thursday, May 20 - Game Times
Game 1: (1) Texas vs. (6) Cornell, 11 a.m., CDT Game 2: (3) Illinois-Chicago vs. (4) Oregon, 1:30 p.m., CDT Game 3: (2) DePaul vs. (5) Michigan State, 4 p.m., CDT
