The Missouri Tigers rebounded from an uneven start to the season to claim a national seed. Can they defend their home turf in a regional with power-conference foes Illinois and Arizona?
The winners of the two regionals below will face off in the super regional round next week on the home field of the higher-seeded team. That will be a best-of-three format for a ticket to the 2022 Women’s College World Series.
No. 1 seed Missouri Tigers (32-14): The No. 15 national seed, the Tigers made a run to the SEC Tournament final before falling to No. 4 national seed Arkansas.
No. 2 seed Illinois Fighting Illini (34-20): Illinois is in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in program history. They finished third in the Big Ten during the regular season.
No. 3 seed Arizona Wildcats (33-20): The Wildcats snuck into the NCAA Tournament to extend their tournament streak that goes back to 1986.
No. 4 seed Missouri State Bears (27-18): The Bears are in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time after winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship.
2022 NCAA Women’s Softball Columbia Regional
When: May 20-22
Where: Mizzou Softball Stadium, Columbia, Missouri
How to watch: SEC Network, WatchESPN or ESPN+ with subscription, some Saturday/Sunday games will also be shown on ESPN TV networks based on schedule
Odds: TBA from DraftKings Sportsbook
Columbia Regional Bracket
Friday, May 20
Game 1: No. 4 Missouri State vs. No. 1 Missouri, 2 p.m. (SEC Network)
Game 2: No. 3 Arizona vs. No. 2 Illinois, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, May 21
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 4: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, May 22
Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 7*: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
* If necessary, played only if winner of Game 5 wins Game 6
All times ET
The Florida State Seminoles, following a dominant season, have some unfinished business to take care of the NCAA Tournament this year. But an experienced SEC team and a 44-win South Florida squad are among those that stand in their way in the Tallahassee Regional.
No. 1 seed Florida State Seminoles (52-5): The No. 2 national seed is looking to make a trip back to the Women’s College World Series, where they lost in the final where they lost to Oklahoma in three games last year.
No. 2 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs (33-23): Making its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Catcher Mia Davison is the SEC career home run leader and leads the team with 21 dingers this season.
No. 3 seed South Florida Bulls (44-14): The Bulls, who lost the AAC Tournament final to UCF, are led by star pitcher Georgina Corrick, who has a 0.53 ERA and has struck out 407 batters, the most in Division I.
No. 4 seed Howard Bison (31-22): The Bison had beat Morgan State on back-to-back days in order to win the MEAC Tournament title.
2022 NCAA Women’s Softball Tallahassee Regional
When: May 20-22
Where: JoAnne Graf Field, Tallahassee, Florida
How to watch: ESPNU, WatchESPN or ESPN+ with subscription, some Saturday/Sunday games will also be shown on ESPN TV networks based on schedule
Odds: TBA from DraftKings Sportsbook
Tallahassee Regional Bracket
Friday, May 20
Game 1: No. 3 South Florida vs. No. 2 Mississippi State, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 2: No. 4 Howard vs. No. 1 Florida State, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, May 21
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 4: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, May 22
Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 7*: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
* If necessary, played only if winner of Game 5 wins Game 6
All times ET
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism