SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 12, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The University of Utah is headed back to the NCAA Division I Softball Championships for the second consecutive season and the 18th time in school history.
Utah (34-20) was one of 32 at-large selections in the 64-team field announced Sunday and will face South Carolina (34-22) in the Durham Regional, hosted by No. 10 Duke (47-6).
The double-elimination regional in Durham, North Carolina, also includes Morgan State (35-18).
The Ute will be looking to avenge a 9-1 loss to the Gamecocks at the Puerto Vallerta Challenge in Mexico on Feb. 15 when the teams meet at 10 a.m. Friday.
South Carolina leads the all-time series 6-4, though this will be the teams’ first meeting in the postseason.
Despite falling 2-1 to UCLA in the Pac-12 Conference championship game Saturday, Utah has won 13 of its last 16 games — including four consecutive victories over ranked opponents this month.
Utah is one of seven Pac-12 teams headed to the NCAA Tournament, with No. 6 UCLA (37-10) and No. 8 Stanford (43-13) hosting regionals; California (36-17) heading to Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Arizona (34-16-1) playing in Fayetteville, Arkansas; Washington (31-13) going to Columbia, Missouri; and Oregon traveling to Norman, Oklahoma.
The Utes are 33-39 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 29-24 in the regional round. That includes Utah’s three-game regional sweep last season vs. Southern Illinois and Ole Miss at Dumke Family Softball Stadium that resulted in a trip to the Women’s College World Series.
The Utes are led by All-Pac-12 First Team honorees Abby Dayton, Haley Denning and Mariah Lopez, second-team selections Kaylah Nelsen and Aliya Belarde, and all-freshman picks Reese Lee and Shonty Passi. Denning also earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 Defensive Team.
Dayton, a sophomore outfielder from Riverside, California, became the first Ute since Hannah Flippen in 2017 to capture the Pac-12 regular-season batting title, finishing with a .444 average.
Denning, a grad student and utility player from La Mirada, California, is Utah’s all-time leader in hits (310) and runs scored (203), and she has a chance to break the school’s career batting average record.
Lopez, a senior pitcher from Peoria, Arizona, leads the Pac-12 with 22 victories.
Texas (47-7) earned the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, while Oklahoma (49-6) — the national champion the past three seasons — is the No. 2 seed.
The top 16 teams were seeded and will host regionals at campus sites beginning Friday. The 16 winning teams advance to the NCAA Super Regionals on eight campus sites May 23-26.
The Women’s College World Series will be held May 30-June 7 at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
NCAA Regionals — May 17-19
Austin Regional – Austin, Texas
No. 1 Texas (47-7) vs. Siena (33-20)
Northwestern (33-11) vs. Saint Francis (Pennsylvania) (40-12)
Bryan-College Station Regional – Bryan-College Station, Texas
No. 16 Texas A&M (40-13) vs. University at Albany (33-12)
Texas State (45-13) vs. Penn State (34-18)
Baton Rouge Regional – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
No. 9 LSU (40-15) vs. Jackson State (33-17)
California (36-17) vs. Southern Illinois (42-9)
Stanford Regional – Stanford, California
No. 8 Stanford (43-13) vs. Saint Mary’s (California) (30-22)
Mississippi State (33-18) vs. Cal State Fullerton (36-17)
Stillwater Regional – Stillwater, Oklahoma
No. 5 Oklahoma State (44-10) vs. Northern Colorado (27- 24)
Kentucky (30-22) vs. Michigan (41-16)
Fayetteville Regional – Fayetteville, Arkansas
No. 12 Arkansas (36-16) vs. Southeast Missouri State (28- 24)
Arizona (34-16-1) vs. Villanova (31-22)
Lafayette Regional – Lafayette, Louisiana
No. 13 University of Louisiana at Lafayette (42-17) vs. Princeton (29-16)
Baylor (32-20) vs. Ole Miss (31-25)
Gainesville Regional – Gainesville, Florida
No. 4 Florida (46-12) vs. Florida Gulf Coast (37-19)
South Alabama (32-18-1) vs. Florida Atlantic (41-14)
Knoxville Regional – Knoxville, Tennessee
No. 3 Tennessee (40-10) vs. Dayton (33-19)
Virginia (32-18) vs. Miami (Ohio) (48-7)
Tuscaloosa Regional – Tuscaloosa, Alabama
No. 14 Alabama (33-17) vs. University of South Carolina Upstate (30-21)
Clemson (34-17) vs. Southeastern Louisiana (45-13)
Athens Regional – Athens, Georgia
No. 11 Georgia (39-16) vs. University of North Carolina Wilmington (33-21)
Charlotte (38-16) vs. Liberty (36-23)
Los Angeles Regional – Los Angeles, California
No. 6 UCLA (37-10) vs. Grand Canyon (48-11)
Virginia Tech (39-12-1) vs. San Diego State (31-18)
Columbia Regional – Columbia, Missouri
No. 7 Missouri (43-15) vs. Omaha (41-13)
Washington (31-13) vs. Indiana (40-18)
Durham Regional – Durham, North Carolina
No. 10 Duke (47-6) vs. Morgan State (35-18)
South Carolina (34-22) vs. Utah (34-20)
Tallahassee Regional – Tallahassee, Florida
No. 15 Florida State (43-14) vs. Chattanooga (42-14)
Auburn (27-19-1) vs. University of Central Florida (30-23)
Norman Regional – Norman, Oklahoma
No. 2 Oklahoma (49-6) vs. Cleveland State (22-24)
Oregon (28-19) vs. Boston University (52-4-1)
