May 15, 2012
Weekly Release 
NCAA Bracket | Seattle Regional Central
SEATTLE - The Huskies didn't have to wait long to find out they their NCAA Tournament fate Sunday night. The NCAA Selection Show announced the UW as the No. 16 overall seed for the 2012 Championships. The Huskies will host the NCAA Regional for the third-straight season, hosting Harvard, Texas Tech and Maryland.
The first game featuring Texas Tech and Maryland will be played Friday at 3:30 p.m. followed by the Harvard and Washington game at approximately 6 p.m. Game times for Saturday are 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. and the championship game Sunday is at 1 p.m. with the "if necessary" game to follow. View all tournament action on the Seattle Tournament Regional site: http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/w-softbl/mtt/12regional.html.
The Seattle Regional is paired with the Berkeley Regional and the winners of each of those regionals will play in the Super Regionals. Cal is the No. 1 overall seed and hosting Iona, Boston U and Arkansas. All games of the Seattle Regional will be streamed live on www.gohuskies.com for free. Live stats for all games will also be available. Mike Brown will be calling the UW games live for free via all-access.
About UW
The UW has never played Harvard, met Maryland once in 2001 on a neutral site, winning 10-5, and holds a 6-1 advantage over Texas Tech. The UW last met Texas Tech twice in 2008 in the preseason and splitting the two games.
The Huskies were ranked No. 18 in both national polls last week and remain 18 this week. The UW was as high as No. 3 in the country in the polls after starting the season 32-1.
The UW currently sits 18 in the latest RPI. In 2012 regular season, the Huskies ended with a 36-17 record and earned an at-large berth into the tournament along with Maryland and Texas Tech. Harvard received the automatic bid from the Ivy League.
This is the 19th-straight postseason appearance for the UW. The Huskies are 80-36 all-time in the NCAA tournament. Since UW started the program in 1993, the Huskies have won 13 Regionals and have been to the Women's College World Series 10 times; tied for fourth in all-time WCWS Appearances. Coach Tarr has an impressive 37-16 postseason record.
Scouting Harvard
The Crimson earned its way into the NCAA tournament thanks to a sweep of Penn Friday in the Ivy League Championship Series. At 33-13, Harvard is making its second-straight NCAA appearance. Harvard will be the No. 4 seed in the Seattle Regional. Harvard had impressive preseason wins over Oregon State, San Diego State and Long Beach State (all NCAA Tournament teams). They went 17-3 in the Ivy League and are 16-7 in road games. Jane Alexander leads the team batting .408 with four triples, 13 doubles and 60 hits. Kasey Lange has a team-high six home runs and 39 RBI. Ashley Heritage has 10 stolen bases. In the circle, Rachel Brown is 19-5 with a 1.34 ERA and Laura Ricciardone is 14-6 with a 1.72 ERA. Jenny Allard is the head coach for the Crimson in her 18th season. She is a Michigan Alum.
Scouting Texas Tech
No. 24/23 Texas Tech, and the second seed in the Seattle Regional, wrapped up the regular season 40-15 overall and 13-10 in Big 12 play, marking the program's first winning conference record since the 2001 season. It is also the second-straight year where Tech has reached the 40-win mark. They had impressive preseason wins over San Diego State, Long Beach State and DePaul. They are led by Shanon Hays in his third season. Adriana Perez tops the team batting .350 with 57 hits, 15 home runs, 55 RBI, 108 total bases and a .663 slugging percentage. Mikey Kenney is second with a .327 average, 13 homers and 14 stolen bases. Brittany Talley has a 2.27 ERA with an 11-4 record and Cara Custer is 25-10 with a 2.35 in the circle.
Scouting Maryland
This marks Maryland's third-straight NCAA Regional appearance (2010, 2011, 2012) for the first time in school history, and all are under seventh-year head coach Laura Watten. Prior to 2010, the Terrapins' only Regionals appearance was in 1999. Maryland, out of the ACC, finished the regular season with a 34-20 overall record and won 14 out of its last 16. They are the third seed in this regional. Kathy McLaughlin hits .372 with 41 runs and just 16 strikeouts. Vangie Galindo has a team-high 64 hits and 25 stolen bases. Kendra Knight has done the bulk of the pitching this season for the Terps. She is 27-12 with a 2.50 ERA and 301 strikeouts in 255.0 innings. Laura Watten is the head coach in her seventh season.
Pac-12 Tournament History
Pac-12 schools have been dominant in the tournament. In the last six consecutive years, a Pac-12 school was crowned national champions. Since the inaugural NCAA tournament season in 1982, the Pac-12 has sent a team to the final series 28 of 30 years with a combined 23 national championship titles (UCLA-11, Arizona-8, Arizona State-2, Washington-1, Cal-1). The only other teams that have won the title came from the Big 10 (Michigan), the Big 12 (Oklahoma, Texas A&M), the WAC (Fresno State), and the Big West Conference (Cal State Fullerton).
Ticket Information
All-Session tickets for the Seattle Regional are currently on sale. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting gohuskies.com or calling the UW Ticket Office. All session tickets range from $12-$36 and single session from $5-$14. Single-session tickets go on sale Friday.
Thursday Open Practices
All four teams will hold open practices to the public and media Thursday in the Dempsey Indoor and at the Softball Field. Below is a list of each team's practice times. UW will hold a press conference just inside the lobby of the Dempsey Indoor at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday prior to their practice. Head coach Heather Tarr, seniors Niki Williams and Kimi Pohlman and sophomore Kaitlin Inglesby will all be available.
Thursday Practice Schedule
10-11 a.m.: Maryland in Dempsey
11-12:15 p.m.: Maryland at Softball Field
11:30-12:30 p.m.: Texas Tech in Dempsey
12:30-1:45 p.m.: Texas Tech at Softball Field
1-2 p.m.: Harvard in Dempsey
1:30 p.m.: UW Press Conference - Dempsey
2-3:15 p.m.: Harvard at Softball Field
2:30-3:30 p.m.: UW in Dempsey
3:30-4:45 p.m.: UW at Softball Field
New Parking/Gate Information For Home Games
Due to construction at Husky Stadium, fans attending 2012 UW softball games will have a different entrance for the outfield GA seating. For opening weekend Saturday and Sunday of the Husky Softball Classic, fans wishing to sit in the outfield bleachers must purchase tickets at the make ticket box near the main gate and enter through the East Field Entrance out past center field. In the future, the Husky Ticket Office hopes to have tickets for purchase at the new entrance as well. The rates for parking this year during games has also changed. For weekday games the cost is $7 after 5 p.m. Before 5 p.m. the cost in E12 is $15 and $10 in E1. For weekend games, they cost will be $7 in all lots. For more information visit the transportation page: http://www.gohuskies.com/transportation/index.html.
Become A Husky Fan On Social Media
Fans can follow the Husky softball team and receive updates throughout the off-season on the UW Softball Twitter page by logging on to www.twitter.com/UWSoftball. Head coach Heather Tarr has her own account, follow her at www.twitter.com/CoachTarr. The Huskies can also be found on Facebook via the Washington Softball fan page at www.facebook.com/UWHuskySoftball.
Senior Class Winning Percentages
Arizona State has compile a list of the 2012 seniors' win percentages acros the country and UW's four seniors of Jenna Clifton, Kimi Pohlman, Taylor Smith and Nikia Willias rank T-7th with a 7.67 winning percentage.
1. Florida 214-39 = .846
2. Alabama 209-39 = .843
T3. Missouri 197-47 = .807
T3. Arizona State 196-47 = .807
5. Louisiana Lafayette 190-46 = .805
6. Georgia 189-54 = .778
T7. Tennessee 184-55-1 = .767
T7. Washington 174-53 = .767
9. California 177-55 = .763
T10. Oklahoma 176=55 = .762
T10. Notre Dame 173-54 = .762
12. UCLA 167-57 = .746
13. Arizona 176-65 = .730
