May 14, 2006

WACO, Texas - The No. 19 Baylor softball team will open play at the NCAA Softball Championships on Friday, May 19, against Portland State in action at the Corvallis Regional. Oregon State, the No. 7 overall seed, is the top-seed in the regional and will face Nevada in the other first round match-up.

The selection marks the third consecutive season the Lady Bears have advanced to the NCAA Championships. Last season, Baylor claimed the Auburn Regional title before falling to Cal in the super regional round.

The Lady Bears first opponent, Portland State, finished the season with a 37-18 record after defeating Loyola Marymount, 9-3, in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference championship game.

The Vikings are led by Mandy Hill in the circle as the right-hander has posted a 23-7 record and 1.93 ERA in 213.2 innings of work. Hill also shines at the plate as she leads the team with a .322 batting average, 11 home runs and 45 RBI.

Portland State has won the only meeting in the series as Baylor is 1-2 against Oregon State and has never met Nevada, the other teams in the regional.

Times for the regional will be announced later on Sunday.