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The Louisville softball team upset top-seeded Central Florida 3-2 in Sunday's AAC tournament championship game to leave no doubt as to whether or not the Cards would make their 11th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Katie Keller played hero all weekend for Sandy Pearsall's team, and was named the tournament's MVP after going 5-for-5 with three home runs (including a grand slam) in U of L's three games. You can see highlights of the entire championship game (including Keller's solo bomb) on the AAC website.
The Cards now turn their attention to the big dance, which will send them out West to the Tucscon Regional, hosted by No. 11 seed Arizona. Louisville will open the tournament Friday night against LSU, which earned an at-large bid.
Here's the full schedule for the regional:
Tucson Regional
May 16-18 at Tucson, Arizona
No. 11 seed Arizona* (41-13) vs. Boston U. (35-19)
Louisville (36-20) vs. LSU (35-22)
Schedule
All games played at Arizona's Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium
All times Eastern
Friday, May 16
Game 1 - Louisville vs. LSU - 8:30 p.m.
Game 2 - Arizona vs. Boston University - 11:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 17
Game 3 - Winners of games 1 and 2 - 4:30 p.m.
Game 4 - Losers of games 1 and 2 - 7:00 p.m.
Game 5 - Loser of game 3 vs winner of game 4 - 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 18
Game 6 - Winner of game 3 vs. winner of game 5 - 4:30 p.m.
Game 7 - Rematch of game 6 - If necessary - 7 p.m.
Despite the remarkable success the program has achieved over the past decade, Louisville has still never advanced to super regional play in the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps they just need underdog status to get the job done.
