Ohio State softball earns NCAA Tournament berth

Despite getting dropped 5-1 by Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday night, the Ohio State softball team (34-14) heard their name called last night when the 64 teams were revealed for the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes will travel to Gainesville, Fla. where they will be in a bracket with the No. 2 Florida Gators (50-8), Bethune-Cookman (31-24), and the University of South Florida (38-21).

The double elimination regional bracket will kick off for the Buckeyes on Friday at 5:00 p.m. ET, as they face the USF Bulls. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU. Should OSU advance out of the bracket over SEC champion Florida, they will move to the Super Regional against the team remaining from the No. 15 Texas A&M (40-16), Prairie View (20-21), McNeese (40-19), and Baylor (36-16) round-robin. The eight winners of the Super Regionals will then advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla. beginning on May 31.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers won the Big Ten Tournament over weekend to claim the conference’s automatic bid, and the Gophers and Buckeyes will be joined by at-large selections Michigan, Northwestern, and Wisconsin. None of the B1G qualifiers earned the right to host a regional.