May 13, 2007
WACO, Texas --- The No. 5 Baylor softball team earned the No. 8 overall seed, its highest in school history, and the top-seed in the NCAA Hofstra Regional and will open regional play on Friday, May 18, at 11:00 a.m. against Albany at Hofstra Softball Stadium in Hempstead, New York. Hofstra will serve as the host for the regional and will be the two-seed while Harvard rounds out the regional field and will be the three-seed.
"We are extremely excited to earn a top-eight seed," head coach Glenn Moore said. "The goal the entire season has been to reach the Women's College World Series and it all starts at Hofstra. There are some really good teams in the regional and we will have to play our best if we want to advance."
The Lady Bears, who earned an at-large bid to the championship, will open play against Albany. The Great Danes, who earned an automatic bid by winning the America East post-season title, enter the championship with a 33-15 record after posting an 11-9 record in conference play. Kelly Ogden leads the way for Albany, hitting .357 on the season while leading the team with 10 home runs and 43 RBI.
Hofstra, who serves as host of the regional while earning an automatic bid as champions of the Colonial Athletic Association, enter with a record of 40-13 on the year, including a 21-1 record at home. The Pride are led in the circle by Kayleigh Lotti, who has posted an impressive 22-4 record and 1.33 ERA on the season.
Harvard earns the No. 3 seed in the regional and received a bid as the Ivy League champions. The Crimson enters with a record of 31-13 on the season and are led by Shelly Madick, who has posted a 16-4 record and 1.45 ERA on the season.
The Hofstra regional is paired with the Michigan regional as the winners of the two regionals will square off in a best-of-three series to determine who advances to the NCAA Women's College World Series. The Michigan regional consists of the Wolverines, the No. 9 overall seed, as well as Oregon State, Louisville and Eastern Michigan.
The selection for the Lady Bears marks the fourth consecutive season the team has been selected to the NCAA Softball Championship. Baylor owns an 8-7 all-time record in NCAA championship play and captured the 2005 NCAA Auburn Regional title.
2007 Hempstead Regional Schedule (All times Central)
Friday, May 18
Game 1 - No. 1 Baylor vs. No. 4 Albany, 11:00 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 2 Hofstra vs. No. 3 Harvard, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 19
Game 3 - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 9:00 a.m.
Game 4 - Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 11:30 a.m.
Game 5 - Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 20
Game 6 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 11:00 a.m.
Game 7 - If necessary game, 30 minutes following Game 6
