WACO, Texas – The Baylor softball team learned Sunday evening that the Bears will be headed to Lafayette, La. for the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the program's 10th appearance in the national tournament.
Baylor, ranked No. 16 by the NFCA, finished the season at 38-15 and tied for second place in the Big 12 with a 12-6 record. The Bears travel to Lafayette along with Mississippi State and Weber State to face the hosts, Louisiana-Lafayette. Baylor and MSSU will face off Friday at 5:30 p.m. to kick things off while the Ragin' Cajuns and Weber State play at 8 p.m. at UL-Lafayette's Lamson Park.
“I'm proud of the overall body of work from this team, and we are excited to once again represent Baylor in the NCAA tournament,” said Baylor head coach Glenn Moore. “Although we are disappointed that we are not hosting, we have chosen a tough road schedule to prepare us for this purpose, and we're ready.”
Mississippi State finished the season at 35-19 overall and placed 10th in the SEC conference with a 10-14 record. Weber State finished the season at 38-17 overall and placed third in the Big Sky Conference with a 13-6 record. Louisiana-Lafayette finished the season at 39-9 overall and placed first in the Sun Belt conference with a 20-3 record.
Baylor has only faced Louisiana-Lafayette in the NCAA Tournament; it was back in 2009 and the Bears beat the Ragin' Cajuns twice in Ann Arbor, MIch. Baylor traveled to Lafayette for the 2012 regional, but the Bears never faced the hosts before being eliminated by Stanford.
The first round begins Friday and will carry through Sunday until a team emerges to be sent to the next round at the NCAA Super Regional Tournament. Further ticket information will be released Monday along with the full schedule and bracket.
Baylor's all-time postseason record is 35-21, and the Bears are coming off their third Women's College World Series run in 2014. Baylor won the Waco Regional in 2014, swept the Super Regional round over Georgia in two games in Athens, Ga., and advanced to the final four with wins over Florida State and Kentucky with two losses to eventual national champion, Florida.
In its 10 postseason appearances Baylor will be traveling for the seventh time to begin the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bears are 24-15 all-time in postseason games away from Waco and Getterman Stadium.
Baylor returns 10 letter winners from last season's team that finished the postseason 7-3.
