Arizona softball is the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
As a top-eight seed, the Wildcats lead the Tucson Region, meaning UA will at least host NCAA Regional games at Hillenbrand Stadium. If the Wildcats advance, UA will host the Super Regional round as well.
The Wildcats will open against New Mexico State on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Also in Arizona's regional, which is double elimination: St. Francis (PA) and South Carolina. Should the Wildcats advance to the Super Regional, they'll face the winner of a pod of teams that includes No. 15-seed Baylor, James Madison, Oregon State and Kent State.
This marks the 22nd time that Arizona will host NCAA Tournament games at Hillenbrand. The Wildcats last hosted regionals in 2015, and Super Regionals in 2011.
The No. 2 seeding is Arizona's highest since 2007, when UA was the No. 1 overall seed and won its eighth national title at the Women's College World Series.
The Pac-12 had four of the top six seeded teams, including No. 3 Oregon, No. 5 UCLA and No. 6 Washington.
Check back to Tucson.com and Monday's print edition for more on Arizona softball and the NCAA Tournament.
