ECU leads C-USA quintet into regionals

From staff and electronic reports
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Fresh off its second straight Conference USA softball championship, East Carolina received word Sunday that its next stop on the road to the Women's College World Series will be College Park, MD, where it will face host Maryland for the fourth time this season on Friday.

No. 11 national seed Baylor will meet Lehigh in the double-elimination regional's other opening day matchup.

The Lady Pirates will be joined in pursuit of a super regional berth by fellow C-USA members Houston (Austin, TX, Regional), Tulsa (Norman, OK, Regional), UAB (Athens, GA, Regional) and Memphis (Tuscaloosa, AL, Regional.) The only other leagues receiving five or more regional bids were the Big 12, Pacific-10 and SEC.

East Carolina lost a neutral site contest to Maryland on Feb. 13, but split a doubleheader on the Lady Terrapins home field, Robert E. Taylor Stadium, on Mar. 9. The teams will pick up where they left off on Friday at 7:30 p.m., two and a half hours after Baylor and Lehigh face off in the regional's opener.

The Lady Pirates also have some familiarity with Lehigh, having blanked the visiting Lady Mountain Hawks 8-0 in six innings in The Pirate Clash on Feb. 26.

C-USA's four other regional participants are also set to play on Friday. The day's matchups:

 � Athens: UAB vs. Florida State and No. 6 national seed Georgia vs. Georgia State

 � Austin: Houston vs. Louisiana-Lafayette and No. 3 national seed Texas vs. Texas State

 � College Park: East Carolina vs. Maryland and No. 11 seed Baylor vs. Lehigh

 � Norman: Tulsa vs. Missouri State and No. 9 national seed Oklahoma vs. Iona

 � Tuscaloosa: Memphis vs. Chattanooga and No. 2 national seed Alabama vs. Jackson State.

ECU officials announced Sunday night the process for obtaining tickets to the College Park Regional. All-session tickets are $25, $20 for students and seniors. Single-session tickets are $10, $8 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased online through www.umterps.com or by calling 1-800-IM-A-TERP.

East Carolina assured itself of a spot in the regionals by knocking off favored teams on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the ECU Softball Stadium to claim the championship trophy of the C-USA Tournament. After defeating Memphis and Houston to reach the title game, the Lady Pirates upset Tulsa 4-1 to claim the league's automatic NCAA bid.