USC Upstate softball seeded No. 4 in 2024 NCAA Tournament regional; Here's the bracket
USC Upstate's return to the NCAA softball tournament is a return to the Tuscaloosa Regional.
The Spartans, who on Saturday won the Big South Conference for the first time since joining the league in 2019, were designated Sunday as the No. 4 seed in the regional hosted by national No. 14 seed (and No. 1 regional seed) Alabama, along with No. 2 seed Clemson and No. 3 Southeast Louisiana of the Southland Conference.
USC Upstate (30-21) will play Alabama (33-17) at 4:30 p.m. ET Friday following the 2 p.m. ET game between Clemson (34-17) and Southeast Louisiana (45-13) at Rhoads Stadium. Regionals are double elimination.
USC Upstate played in five straight NCAA tournaments (2013-17) as champion of the Atlantic Sun Conference and won a game in every regional appearance. The Spartans were at Alabama for the first three years and beat Jacksonville State, South Alabama and Fairfield, respectively. USC Upstate beat Oregon State in 2016 at Auburn, and Ohio State in 2017 at Tennessee.
This season, the Spartans have knocked off ranked teams Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina. USC Upstate was the No. 1 seed of the Big South tournament for the second time in three years and the outright regular-season champion after sharing it in 2022.
USC Upstate coach Chris Hawkins was named 2024 Big South coach of the year for the second time in three years. He was honored three times in the Atlantic Sun. Hawkins has coached the Spartans for 31 years and won more than 1,000 games. Bryan Pack is in his 14th year as assistant coach.
Junior outfielder Denver Lauer led USC Upstate during the regular season by batting .329 with four home runs, 28 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. Freshman pitcher Sierra Maness, a local product from Woodruff High School, was the No. 1 starter. She had a 2.38 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP and won 13 games.
NCAA Tournament Tuscaloosa regional
Friday
Game 1: Clemson vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 2 p.m. (ACC Network)
Game 2: Alabama vs. USC Upstate, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday
Game 3: G1 winner vs. G2 winner, 3 p.m.
Game 4: G1 loser vs. G2 loser, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5: G3 loser vs. G4 winner, 8 p.m.
Sunday
Game 6: G3 winner vs. G5 winner, TBD
Game 7: G6 winner vs. G6 loser (if necessary), TBD
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: USC Upstate softball seeded No. 4 in 2024 NCAA Tournament regional
