OXFORD — The Mid-American Conference Tournament Champion Miami University softball team learned it will be heading to Ann Arbor Regional for the regional round of the NCAA Tournament. The RedHawks were awarded the three seed in the region and will take on Notre Dame on Friday, May 20, at 4:30 p.m. The other two teams in the double elimination regional will be number two national seed Michigan and Valparaiso.
This is the fourth time in school history that Miami has earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament and first they were named a three seed in their region. The Red and White are 2-6 all-time in NCAA Tournament games, earning a 5-4 victory over Cleveland State in Ann Arbor in 2009 and stunning fifth-ranked Tennessee, 1-0, in 2012.
The RedHawks enter the 2016 NCAA Tournament with a 34-21 record. They have won seven games in a row, including going 4-0 at the MAC Tournament to earn their first NCAA bid since 2012. Senior pitcher Amber Logemann was named the MAC Tournament MVP, finishing 4-0 with a 0.65 ERA in 32.1 innings pitched, striking out 34.
Notre Dame enters the tournament with a 41-11 record. It was 13-7 in the ACC and made a run to the championship game, falling to Florida State, 7-3, on Saturday. Miami is 3-5 all-time against the Fighting Irish. The teams last met on Feb. 18, 2011 at the UCF Tournament with Notre Dame coming away with a 3-2 win.
Michigan is the national number two seed with a 46-5 record. It won the Big Ten regular season title with a 21-2 record, but dropped the Big Ten Championship game to Minnesota, 4-3 in 10 innings, on Saturday. The Wolverines are 10-1 all-time against the RedHawks. The teams last met on March 8, 2013 in Louisville with Michigan coming away with a 2-0 victory.
Valparaiso is 18-32 overall. The Crusaders qualified sixth in the Horizon League after finishing 8-14 in the regular season. That did not matter come tournament time as Valpo won four games in a row, including overcoming a 4-0 deficit in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings and take the Horizon League Championship 5-4 over Wright State. Miami has only faced Valparaiso one time. On March 15, 1988 in Atlanta, the Red and White earned an 11-3 win.
