It was announced by the NCAA early this morning that the University of Redlands softball team received an at-large selection to the 2012 NCAA Division III Softball Championships.  The Bulldogs head to Tyler, TX, as the No. 3 seed in a seven-team regional, which takes place Friday, May 11, through Monday, May 14.  The winning team of this double-elimination tournament captures a berth to the 2012 College World Series in Salem, VA.

The Bulldogs face off against the sixth-seeded Panthers of Birmingham Southern College (AL) in the second game of the day on Friday, May 11, at 11:30 a.m. PDT. 

View complete regional bracket and championship bracket.

Redlands advances to the NCAA Championships for the eighth consecutive season after capturing its eighth consecutive Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) regular-season title.  With a 31-11 overall record, the Bulldogs are primed for another exciting postseason run. 

While tallying a batting average of .484 to go along with a school record-setting 13 homeruns, sophomore outfielder Amanda Lievanos (Anaheim, CA) leads the way at the plate for the Maroon and Gray.  On the mound for Redlands, junior Kayla Uphold Fontana, CA) boasts 19 wins from the circle to go along with an ERA of 2.55 and 70 strikeouts.

Birmingham Southern earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships after twice defeating Trinity University (TX) on the final day of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.  The Panthers won the championship game in dramatic fashion when freshman Taylor Bassett connected on a two-run, walk-off homerun in the 10th inning. 

BSC posted an overall record of 34-9 on the year after going 15-1 in conference.  Their top hitter, senior Ashley Bice (Indian Springs, AL), owns a .412 batting average in addition to her 61 hits, six HR, 36 RBI and 34 runs scored.  Freshman Bethany Fronk (Clay, AL) serves as the Panthers' ace, tallying an outstanding 15-3 record with a 1.10 ERA.  She went the distance on seven occasions while also picking up seven saves during the 2012 campaign.   

Top-seeded UT Tyler (36-7), No. 2 Pacific Lutheran (37-11), No. 4 Louisiana College, No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (28-13), and No. 7 Huntingdon College (28-13) join Redlands and Birmingham Southern in the seven-team regional.

Fans may follow the action of the NCAA Softball Championships at UT Tyler through live stats and video streaming at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/uttyler.portal#.