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Arizona softball will host NCAA Tournament regional as 13th national seed

Arizona is the 13th national seed and will host a regional in the NCAA Softball Tournament
ByAlan Rubenstein|
Jun 3, 2022; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Arizona Wildcats pitcher Devyn Netz (34) throws a pitch during the second inning of the NCAA Women's College World Series game against the Oregon State Beavers at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images
Jun 3, 2022; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Arizona Wildcats pitcher Devyn Netz (34) throws a pitch during the second inning of the NCAA Women's College World Series game against the Oregon State Beavers at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Arizona is the 13th national seed in the NCAA Tournament and will begin play on Friday at 4:40 PM on ESPN+ at home versus Santa Clara. Mississippi is the second seed in the Tucson Regional and will play third seed Grand Canyon in their first game.

Arizona beat Grand Canyon 7-3 in eight innings in March in their only game against one of the other teams in the Tucson Regional. Mississippi finished 37-17 this season, 11-13 in the SEC and 7-10 on the road. Grand Canyon finished 46-6 overall, 21-2 in the WAC and 13-0 on the road.

Santa Clara finished 32-20 overall, 11-4 in the West Coast Conference and 12-8 on the road as the Broncos are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance. Arizona is 15-0 all-time versus Grand Canyon but had never played Mississippi.

Arizona finished 12th in the NCAA RPI, Mississippi is 20th, Grand Canyon is 33rd and Santa Clara is 119th. Based on the RPI numbers, the Tucson regional should be one of the toughest. The RPI numbers make Grand Canyon the highest-rated third seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Arizona is hosting an NCAA Tournament Regional for the first time since 2021. Arizona won the Fayetteville Regional last season before losing at Oklahoma State in the super regional. If they advance out of the Tucson Regional, Arizona is seeded to play Arkansas in the Super Regional, where they also won in 2021 to the Women's College World Series.

Arizona will be making its 37th NCAA Tournament appearance and is hosting a regional for the 27th time. The Wildcats have advanced out of the regionals in 33 out of their 36 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1987. Arizona is 104-12 in the regional round

Since the first season of super regionals in 2005, Arizona has advanced to 17 out of 18 super regionals. Arizona enters the NCAA Tournament with wins in five of their last six games. Arizona's only loss in the last six games was to Texas Tech in the Big XII Tournament Championship Game on Saturday.

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