Wildcats headed to UCLA for NCAA Regional Tournament

Weber State begins NCAA Tournament play in California on Friday as the Wildcats will meet No. 2 overall seed UCLA in their Los Angeles Regional opener, the NCAA Division I Softball Selection Committee announced Sunday.

Weber State is set to make its third NCAA Tournament appearance, all coming in the last five years, after claiming the 2019 Big Sky Championship on Saturday in Sacramento, Calif. The Wildcats went 3-0 in tournament play, recording an 8-0 victory over No. 6 seed Northern Colorado in five innings in the championship game.

Weber State will square off against UCLA in Friday's second game at Easton Stadium at 9 p.m. MT. Missouri and Cal State Fullerton will meet in the regional opener at 6:30 p.m. Both games will air on ESPNU.

The Wildcats posted the highest conference winning percentage in Big Sky history this season with a .875 winning clip (14-2). Big Sky Coach of the Year Mary Kay Amicone led Weber State to a 26-19 record with eight Wildcats earning All-Big Sky recognition. Junior right fielder Takesha Saltern garnered Big Sky Player of the Year honors while second baseman Faith Hoe collected co-freshman of the year accolades while also being named the Big Sky Tournament MVP.

UCLA enters the postseason with a 46-5 record. The Bruins posted a 20-4 record in Pac-12 play to share the regular season title with Washington. UCLA ended the regular season by dropping two of three games to Arizona for its first series loss of the season.

Cal State Fullerton earned the automatic bid out of the Big West Conference by claiming the league's regular season crown with an 18-3 record. The Titans enter the tournament with a 38-16 record and riding a seven-game win streak.

Missouri, one of 13 SEC teams to make the tournament field, is 32-23 on the season after tying for sixth in the conference standings.

Weber State appeared in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2015 and 2016 and is the only Big Sky team to make multiple postseason showings since the league began sponsoring the sport in 2013. The Wildcats competed in the Lafayette Regional (Louisiana) in 2015 and the Seattle Regional (Washington) in 2016.

The Los Angeles Regional will run through Sunday with a double-elimination format being conducted. The 16 regional winners will advance to the Super Regionals, May 23-26, at eight campus sites. At each site, two teams play in a best-of- three tournament format. The winners from each site advance to the NCAA® Women's College World Series (WCWS).

To stay up-to-date with all the Wildcat action in the NCAA Regional Tournament, follow us on Facebook at /WeberStateSoftball or on Instagram and Twitter @WSUSoftball.

Ticket information will be announced on Monday, May 13.

FULL SCHEDULE:
Friday, May 17
Game 1 – Cal State Fullerton vs. Missouri – 6:30 p.m. (MT) – ESPNU
Game 2 – Weber State vs. UCLA – 9 p.m. (MT) – ESPNU

Saturday, May 18
Game 3 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner – 4:00 p.m. – ESPN Family of Networks
Game 4 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser – 6:30 p.m.– ESPN Family of Networks
Game 5 – Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner – 9:00 p.m. – ESPN Family of Networks

Sunday, May 19
Game 6 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 3:00 p.m.– ESPN Family of Networks
Game 7 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser (if necessary) – 5:30 p.m.– ESPN Family of Networks

Weber State University Athletics

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Faith Hoe

Takesha Saltern

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