Sports

Blazers Head To Louisville for National Championship Tournament

Posted: 8:14 PM May 12, 2012
Reporter: VSU Sports Information

VALDOSTA, Ga. – After sweeping Florida Southern with a 2-1 victory in 16 innings in game one Friday night and a 2-0 shutout Saturday, Valdosta State advances to the eight-team NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament to be held in Louisville, Ky. at Knights Field on the campus of Bellarmine University May 16-19.

After coming out of one of the toughest regions in the country, Valdosta State’s path will not get any easier as the Blazers (53-4) start the tournament against defending NCAA DII National Champion UC San Diego at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Tritons dropped the first game of the weekend to Cal State-Dominguez Hills, 4-3, but rebounded to win both games Saturday to represent the West Region in the tournament. UC San Diego won the first game of the day, 1-0, on a walk-off home run in the eighth inning and followed it with another 1-0 victory later in the day to improve to 41-21. The Tritons were the sixth seed in the West and knocked off top seeded Cal State-Dominguez Hills.

The rest of the field stacks up as follows:
Atlantic Region – Kutztown (50-5)
Central Region – Augustana (50-9)
East Region – Southern Connecticut State (42-11)
Midwest Region – Saint Joseph’s (34-18)
South Central Region – Central Oklahoma (43-7)
Southeast Region – Flagler (39-18)

For a full, interactive bracket, click here.

This season, as a treat, the NCAA DII Softball National Championship Tournament is part of a broader NCAA DII Spring Championship Festival in Louisville, Ky., that will see six champions crowned during the week. The Spring Festival goes May 15-19 with many events for fans. For full information, including an in-depth schedule of events, click here.

Tickets to the Spring Festival are available for purchase at each sport venue:

All-Session Tickets (allows access to all sessions for all sports during the week)
• All-Session Adult Ticket — $15
• All-Session Student/Senior Ticket — $10

Single Day Tickets (allows access to all competition for all sports that particular day)
• Single Day Adult Ticket — $5
• Single Day Student/Senior Ticket — $3

For ticket questions, contact the Louisville Sports Commission at (502) 272-8380 from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Valdosta State fans looking for lodging at the event can check the following locations:

CROWNE PLAZA – Contact: Cheryl Youssif 502-380-4160
HOLIDAY INN AIRPORT EXPO – Contact: Amanda Elbert 502-637-4500
SEELBACH HILTON HOTEL – Contact: Debbie Spalding 502-585-9287
COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT DOWNTOWN – Contact: Erin Fosson 502-562-0216
DRURY INN – Contact: Bekah DePyper 800-436-1167
COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT AIRPORT – Contact: Samantha Humbert 502-368-5678
HAMPTON INN DOWNTOWN – Contact: Krysta Harrod 502-566-0205
LAQUINTA INN & SUITES – Contact: Manager 502-368-0007
SPRINGHILL SUITES LOUISVILLE AIRPORT – Contact: Stephanie Lee 502-318-1033
SLEEP INN & SUITES – Contact: Susan Scott 502-368-9597
SPRINGHILL SUITES/FAIRFIELD SUITES – Contact: Erica Bibb 502-855-5003
EMBASSY SUITES LOUISVILLE – Contact: Tara Taylor 502-322-0041
HAWTHORN SUITES – Contact: Terah Andersen 502-899-5959
RAMADA PLAZA HOTEL – Contact: Tammy Christian 502-491-4830