May 13, 2012

NCAA Tournament Central

2012 Softball NCAA Bracket

Video Interview With J. Henderson | Video Interview With Ninemire | Video Interview With Barbour | Video Interview With Williams | Buy Pac-12 Champs Gear

Buy Tickets Here

Friday, May 18
5 p.m. - Game One: Boston U. vs. Arkansas
Levine-Fricke Field - Berkeley, Calif.

7 p.m. - Game Two: Cal vs. Iona
Levine-Fricke Field - Berkeley, Calif.

Saturday, May 19
3 p.m. - Game Three: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Levine-Fricke Field - Berkeley, Calif.

5 p.m. - Game Four: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Levine-Fricke Field - Berkeley, Calif.

7 p.m. - Game Five: Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Levine-Fricke Field - Berkeley, Calif.

Sunday, May 20
5 p.m. - Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
Levine-Fricke Field - Berkeley, Calif.

7 p.m. - Game 7: Rematch of Game 6 (If necessary)
Levine-Fricke Field - Berkeley, Calif.

BERKELEY - With the Pac-12 title in hand, the No. 1 California softball teamed its 27th consecutive postseason bid and will host the Berkeley Regional as the national No. 1 seed. The Golden Bears (50-4) will take on Iona (35-24). Boston U. (40-14) and Arkansas (27-26) are also making the trip to Berkeley.

The winner of the Berkeley Regional will play the champion of the Seattle Regional, which features No. 16 seed Washington (36-17), Harvard (33-13), Maryland (34-20) and Texas Tech (40-15).

The Golden Bears finished the regular season at 50-4 overall and 21-3 in the Pac-12. Cal is currently ranked first in the RPI and was the unanimous No. 1 team in both the national rankings for the final week of the regular season. The Bears are 23-4 against ranked teams, a marked increase in wins and number of ranked opponents from last season, when they were 12-6.

All-session passes will go on sale on Monday May 14th at 9 a.m. PT. Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase all-session passes as soon as they go on sale because if the all-session passes sellout, day-of, individual game passes will not be available. All-session chairbacks are $55; all-session adult bleacher are $40 and all-session senior/youth(12 Grade and Under)/student bleacher are $25. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 800-GO-BEARS and online by clicking here.

The Bears are one of 64 teams who will be competing at 16 regional sites in the first round double-elimination Regionals. The top 16 teams were seeded in order, and the remaining teams were placed in regional brackets to create balanced competition and avoid conference match-ups, when possible. The regional winners will advance to super regional competition for a best-of-three series at eight campus sites. The eight teams that win the Super Regionals will advance to the WCWS, an eight-team, double-elimination tournament. The championship final will be a best-of-three-series. The WCWS will be conducted May 31-June 6 at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

The Bears have played in 11 NCAA Women's College World Series, appearing in last year's WCWS and finishing tied for fifth. The Bears won the National Championship in 2002 and made three consecutive title game appearances from 2002-04.

Cal Quick Facts
28th NCAA appearance
27th straight NCAA appearance
Overall: 50-4
Pac-12: 21-3
Nonconference: 29-1
Home: 14-2
Road: 13-2
Neutral: 23-0
Ranked Opponents: 23-4
Pac-12 Standing: First
Streak: Won one
Last Five Games: 4-1
Last 10 Games: 9-1
Last Week: 3-0
ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll: 1
USA Today/NFCA Poll: 1
RPI: 1

Noting the Bears
• Cal won the Pac-12 title on Friday, when they beat ASU
• The Bears won each of their Pac-12 series
• In each of the past four years, Cal has advanced to super regional play

The NCAA Tournament
• 64 teams named to field
• 16 regional sites across the country with four teams at each
• Regionals are double-elimination with the top team advancing to super regionals
• One team at each of the 16 regional site advances to the eight campus super regionals
• The winners of the eight super regionals go to the WCWS in Oklahoma City

Cal's 2011 Postseason Run
• Earning the seven seed and top billing at the Louisville Regional, Cal made its 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament
• In Louisville, the Bears outscored their opponents, 13-3, and won all three games to give Cal its 12th Regional title in the past 13 years and ninth regional in which the Bears posted a perfect record
• Cal battled Kentucky in a three-game series to win the Lexington Super Regional, marking the first victories over an SEC team in Super Regionals
• The Bears lost the opening game of the WCWS to Alabama, but defeated Oklahoma State before losing to eventual runner-up Florida
• The NFCA lauded Jolene Henderson and Jamia Reid as All-Americans
• The Cal coaching staff was named the Pacific Regional Staff of the Year

Berkeley Regional Ticket Information
All-Session Chairback: $55
All-Session Adult Bleacher: $40
All-Session Senior/Youth(12 Grade and Under)/Student Bleacher: $25

All-session passes will go on sale on Monday May 14th at 9 a.m. PT. Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase all-session passes as soon as they go on sale because if the all-session passes sellout, day-of, individual game passes will not be available. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 800-GO-BEARS and online by clicking here.