Tennessee’s Lady Vols softball team, seeded No. 7, opens the WCWS against No. 2-seed Alabama (55-7) at 6 p.m. on Thursday (TV: ESPN2). The teams split meetings in Tuscaloosa this year, as the Crimson Tide took the first game on March 21, 3-2 in 11 innings, before UT scored a 5-2 victory in the nightcap.
The Vanderbilt Commodores will open NCAA Tournament play in the Raleigh Regional against Colonial Athletic Conference champ UNC-Wilmington.
The No. 2 seed Commodores (33-26) and No. 3 seed Seahawks (38-21) open the Regional at 1 p.m. CT on Friday afternoon on the campus of host North Carolina State.
