2013 Softball World Series Austin Regional Breakdown
#4 Texas, Houston, South Carolina, Army
Texas, ranked No. 4 softball team in the country, will host the NCAA Austin Regional May 17-19 at Red and Charline McCombs Field. The Longhorns (44-8) earned an at-large bid to the tournament and welcome Houston (40-18), South Carolina (32-23) and Army (34-24) for this weekend's regional action. The Gamecocks and Cougars will face each other Friday and the Longhorns take on the Black Knights, champions of the Patriot League Conference Tournament. The Longhorns are 2-0 in program history against the Black Knights, claiming wins in 2002 and 2004. In the only meeting with the Gamecocks, Texas fell 5-3 in 1999. UT is 18-4 versus the Cougars, including a 15-0 win on Feb. 16, 2013, in Houston.
The berth to the NCAA Tournament is Texas' ninth straight and 14th overall. The No. 4 national seed is the Longhorns' highest since a No. 3 bid in 2011. UT has received a top-eight seed in each of the last four years joining Florida as the only squads to earn a top-eight seed in each of the last four years. South Carolina (32-23) received its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2007 and finished 10th in the SEC, which drew 11 bids as a league this year. It is the Gamecocks’ 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. South Carolina is 29-27 in NCAA Tournament play and has faced Houston only once, winning in 2009. The Gamecocks are also 1-0 against Texas. Houston earned its third consecutive NCAA Championship bid and sixth overall, making the first time that UH has advanced in three straight seasons. Houston has a 4-2 record in Austin over the past two trips advancing through the region in 2011. Houston was runner-up in the Conference USA Tournament, losing 3-1 to Marshall in the final. Houston finished second in the conference with a 19-5 record and is 8-2 in its last 10 games.
Army, making its third trip to the regionals and first since 2002, will open up against the Longhorns (44-8), who earned their ninth straight berth to the NCAA Tournament and 14th overall. Last year Texas advanced to the NCAA Super Regional for the third time in program history. Army and Texas will be meeting for the third time in program history with the Longhorns holding a 2-0 lead in the series. Texas defeated Army in the opening round of the 2002 Region 5 Tournament in Norman, Okla., in the Black Knights' last trip to the NCAAs. Army went on to win its first-ever NCAA matchup in the next round in defeating Utah 2-0. Two years later Army and the Longhorns met at the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic with the Black Knights suffering a 6-3 defeat. A year ago, the Longhorns advanced to the NCAA Super Regional for the third time in program history before falling to this year's No. 3 national seed, Oregon, in three games. UT claimed the 2012 Austin Regional championship with a pair of 5-0 victories over Northwestern.
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