UK Softball Faces Northwestern in South Bend Regional

After a disappointing SEC tournament performance, UK Softball looks to begin its return to Oklahoma City and the Women's College World Series. The Cats will definitely have their hands full in this South Bend regional - let's take a look at the competition below:

South Bend Regional: Notre Dame, Kentucky, Northwestern, Ball State

First up: Northwestern! The Purple Cats come into the tournament with a 28-21 record. The Wildcats went 14-8 in the Big Ten and won their first game in the conference tournament before falling to Michigan, 9-0. UK and NU have faced several common opponents this year to include Arizona, LSU, Lousiville and South Carolina. In these games, Kentucky went 5-4 while NU went 2-2.

Trivia Fact: Kentucky and Northwestern have never faced off on the diamond before.

The Big Bad: Notre Dame enters the tournament as a # 16 national seed for the first time in program history. The Domers are 40-13 overall (18-1 at home) with their single home loss coming at the hands of  North Carolina. ND also had a disappointing tournament performance, losing their first game of the ACC Tournament to Pittsburgh, 8-1.

The Cats and the Irish have also had several common opponents this year, to include LSU (that team got around), Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State. In these games, the Cats  went 3-9 while UND went 2-5.

Last but not least: Ball State! The Cardinals are bringing a 33-23 record to South Bend, and are fresh off a massive victory in claiming the MAC Tournament title. Ball State has won 10 of their last 12 games. Make no mistake, Ball State is a darned good team.

Our goal? Succeed and Proceed! We saw moments of greatness in the team’s recent battles – plural – against Tennessee. Hopefully the removal of all that god-awful orange will give the Kittens the extra push they need today.
Opening Pitch is at 2 PM EDT, and this will serve as our open thread for all of today’s games. The full schedule is below:

South Bend Regional - May 15-17 - Melissa Cook Stadium - South Bend, Ind.

Notre Dame (40-13)

Kentucky (29-24)

Northwestern (28-21)

Ball State (33-23)

NCAA South Bend Regional Schedule

Friday, May 15

Game 1 -- Northwestern vs. Kentucky -- 2 p.m. ET

Game 2 -- Ball State vs. Notre Dame -- 5 p.m. ET

Saturday, May 16

Game 3 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 - Noon ET

Game 4 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 - 3 p.m. ET

Game 5 - Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 - 6 p.m. ET

Sunday, May 17

Game 6 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 -1 p.m. ET

Game 7 - (If necessary) - 4 p.m. ET

Today is the day - let’s do this, Cats!