As a conference, the Pac-12 hasn't had much to celebrate in recent years.
Sunday, however, brought a reminder that the league still carries big pop in at least one sport: softball.
Consider: The Arizona Wildcats finished the regular season tied for last place in the league, owners of the program's worst full-season record since 1986 … and still made their 35th consecutive postseason.
Arizona will face Illinois (34-20) on Friday in the Columbia, Missouri, regional. The winner of the 1:30 p.m. game will take on either No. 15 overall seed Missouri (36-20) or Missouri State (27-18) in the double-elimination bracket on Saturday.
Arizona (33-20, 8-16) made the tournament by earning one of 32 at-large bids. The Wildcats had an RPI of 41 heading into the selection show, ahead of Texas A&M and below Western Kentucky.
Credit a tough Pac-12 schedule for Arizona's playoff bid.
Pac-12 regular-season champion Arizona State, which finished 20-4 in league play, earned the No. 8 overall seed. The Sun Devils will host Cal State Fullerton, San Diego State and LSU in the Tempe Regional.
UCLA, which finished 43-8 overall and 19-5 in conference play, earned the No. 5 overall seed and will host Grand Canyon, among others, in the Los Angeles Regional.
Stanford also made the tournament; the Cardinal will head to No. 6 Alabama for the playoffs. Oregon State will travel to Knoxville, Tennessee, for a game against the 11th-seeded Vols. Oregon will play at No. 4 Arkansas. Washington earned the No. 13 seed and will host.
It's been an up-and-down year for Arizona, which finished tied with Cal for last place in the nine-team Pac-12. Coach Caitlin Lowe's team started the season 19-4, and was ranked No. 9 nationally at the start of conference play. But UCLA and Arizona State both swept the Wildcats, and Washington and Oregon State then each took two of three. Arizona won just two conference series, beating Utah in Salt Lake City and Oregon in Tucson.
When Stanford took two of three from the UA over the weekend, the Wildcats found themselves squarely on the bubble. Sunday's at-large selection allows Arizona to continue a postseason streak that began in 1987, Mike Candrea's second season at the UA.
