INDIANAPOLIS -- The San Diego State softball team will play Liberty in the NCAA Los Angeles Regional, the NCAA announced Sunday. It is the 13th NCAA tournament bid for the Aztecs (35-15) and second under second-year head coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz.
SDSU, which earned an automatic bid to the tournament after winning the Mountain West tournament over the weekend, will play the Flames (38-20) at 8 p.m. PT Friday at Easton Stadium in Los Angeles on the campus of No. 2/2 UCLA (52-5), the tournament's No. 2 overall seed. Grand Canyon (46-11) is the other team in the double-elimination regional.
The entire NCAA Tempe Regional will be broadcast live on ESPN Networks with San Diego State and Liberty playing its game on ESPNU.
San Diego State, which also made the tournament in 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2022, is 18-24 all-time at the NCAA championship.
The Aztecs are playing in Los Angeles for the fifth time out of their 13 appearances in a NCAA regional (also 2001, 2006, 2010, 2012 and 2015), owning a 10-10 record at Easton Stadium. SDSU played the host Bruins earlier this month (May 5), falling by a 4-3 score.
San Diego State is the only team to make the NCAA tournament from the Mountain West.
This year's national tournament features 64 teams, with four squads participating at 16 regional sites in a double-elimination tournament. The regional winners will advance to super regional competition for a best-of-three series from May 25-28 at eight campus sites. The remaining eight teams will advance to the Women's College World Series (WCWS), an eight-team, double-elimination tournament with the championship final being a best-of-three series. The WCWS will be conducted June 1-9 at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
2023 NCAA Division I Softball Championship
Regionals - Double-Elimination
Easton Stadium - Los Angeles, Calif.
All Games on ESPN Networks
Friday, May 19, 2023
Game 1: 5 p.m. PT - Grand Canyon (46-11) at No. 2 overall seed UCLA (52-5)
Game 2: 8 p.m. PT - San Diego State (35-15) vs. Liberty (38-20)
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Game 3: 2 p.m. PT - Winners of Game 1 and Game 2
Game 4: 4:30 p.m. PT - Losers of Game 1 and Game 2
Game 5: 7 p.m. PT - Loser of Game 3 and Winner of Game 4
Sunday, May 21, 2023
Game 6: 3 p.m. PT - Winner of Game 3 and Game 5
Game 7: 5:30 p.m. PT - *if necessary
Aztecs Draw Liberty for NCAA Los Angeles Regional
