Gophers softball team earns NCAA tournament invitation

Despite a 26-24-1 record, the team will be heading to Oklahoma this weekend.

May 16, 2022 at 4:13PM
Minnesota outfielder Sydney Strelow (2) reacts to a play during an NCAA college softball game against Rutgers on Friday, March 12, 2021, in Leesburg, Fla. (AP Photo
Gophers infielder Sydney Strelow during a game last season. (Phelan M. Ebenhack, Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Gophers softball team earned an invitation to the 64-team NCAA tournament field on Sunday night and will begin the double-elimination regional against Texas A&M at 4 p.m. Friday in Norman, Okla.

The Gophers (26-24-1) are making their ninth consecutive trip to an NCAA regional and 16th overall because of an RPI of 38 that was strong enough to earn them an at-large bid. They played the eighth-most difficult schedule in the country, including the second-toughest slate of nonconference action. The Gophers had nine victories over teams in the RPI top 50, including five in the top 25.

Texas A&M went 29-26 this season and is in the NCAA field for the 20th time in a row. The Aggies are one of 12 SEC teams in the field. The Gophers-Texas A&M game is scheduled to be on ESPN2.

Oklahoma (49-2) is the regional host and No. 2 overall seed in the tournament. The Sooners will play Prairie View (20-28) on Friday. The Norman Regional winner will face the winner of the Orlando Regional in the best-of-three Super Regionals — the Orlando Regional features Central Florida, Michigan, South Dakota State and Villanova.

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