LSU softball earns No. 9 seed, will host NCAA regional

The LSU softball team earned the No. 9 national seed in the 2013 NCAA Championships and will host a four-team regional which features Louisiana-Lafayette, Northwestern State and Central Connecticut State running Friday to Sunday at Tiger Park.

The No. 9 national seed is LSU's highest since the Tigers secured a No. 7 seed during the 2007 season. It marks the first time since 2010 that LSU will play host to postseason softball at Tiger Park.

LSU (40-14, 15-8 SEC) collected its 15th NCAA Regional appearances sparked by a trio of trips to the Women's College Series during the 2001, 2004 and 2012 seasons. The Tigers also secured two NCAA Super Regional efforts in 2006 and 2007.

"We're honored and excited that the NCAA Tournament committee selected us to host this first weekend," head coach Beth Torina said. "As a coaching staff, we'll have to do a lot of research to prepare for this regional. Hopefully, we'll get back going and use these next couple of days of practice to get back to where we need to be fundamentally so we can be at our best."

LSU notched an at-large selection after winning the program's first SEC Western Division crown since 2007 and a fourth-place finish in the SEC standings. The Tigers are one of the NCAA Tournament conference-record 11 teams chosen from the SEC. The Pac-12 conference came away with eight bids into the NCAA field of 64.

The top 16 teams were seeded and awarded host sites by the NCAA Selection Committee. Four teams will participate at each of the 16 regional sites in a double-elimination tournament.

The 16 teams advancing from regional competition will advance in a two-team, best of three super regional at eight sites from May 23-26. The Women's College World Series, which begins May 30, will include the eight super regional winners.