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Complete Forecast for  May 17 2008

By PHIL HICKS
Sports Editor

In their first year of eligibility, the UT Tyler Patriots earned a spot in the softball version of the Big Dance.

The Patriots, coached by Mike Reed, are one of 59 teams that earned bids into the NCAA Championship, the NCAA Division III softball committee announced from Indianapolis Monday.

UT Tyler (40-7) also gets to stay home for regional play at UT Tyler Ballpark. The double-elimination tournament begins on Thursday and continues through Sunday.

“It’s really exciting,” UT Tyler coach Mike Reed said.

“It’s great to see how the hard work that went into the program the first three years and in the fourth year to take advantage and receive an NCAA bid.”

He noted this NCAA berth is a combination of the work of the players in the previous three years and the work of this year’s team.

The Patriots, who finished second in the American Southwest Conference Tournament last week in Irving, are the No. 2 seeds in the Tyler Regional.

UT Tyler opens play at 2 p.m. Thursday against No. 7 seed La Verne (27-17), champions of the Southern California Intercollegiate Conference.

Two other ASC teams are in the regional — No. 1 seed Louisiana College (39-5) and No. 3 seed University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (32-9).

Other teams selected for the regional are: No. 4 Linfield (36-4); No. 5 Redlands (34-10); and No. 6 Chapman (27-9).

Linfield, of McMinnville, Ore., is the defending national champion.

Other Thursday games have Redlands meeting Linfield at 10 a.m., followed by Mary Hardin-Baylor taking on Chapman at noon.

Louisiana College received a first-round bye and will face the winner of the Redlands-Linfield game at 4 p.m. Thursday.

If UT Tyler wins its first game against La Verne, the Patriots will play at 2 p.m. Friday against the winner of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Chapman.

A loss in the first game would mean the Patriots would play at 10 a.m. Friday against either Redlands or Linfield.

The winner of the Tyler Regional will be seeded No. 1 in the NCAA Division III World Series May 16-20 in Salem, Va.

Notes:

Tickets are available for $8 per day and good for all games that day. Children under 3 may be admitted free if they will not be using a seat. No passes will be accepted. … Fans should park in Lot 10 and Lot 14. Buses should park in Lot 10. … Three Patriots earned spots on the All-ASC Tournament team — junior infielder Kate Bell of Forney; senior infielder Lindsey Peters of Shreveport, La.; and freshman pitcher Stacy Shepherd of Houston. ... Louisiana College rebounded to beat UT?Tyler for the ASC title last week.

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NCAA Division III

Softball Championships

Tyler Regional

UT Tyler Ballpark

May 8-12

Teams

No. 1 Seed —

Louisiana College (39-5), Pineville, La.

No. 2 Seed — The University of Texas at Tyler (40-7), Tyler, Texas

No. 3 Seed —

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (32-9), Belton, Texas

No. 4 Seed —

Linfield College (36-4), McMinnville, Ore.

No. 5 Seed —

University of Redlands (34-10), Redlands, Calif.

No. 6 Seed —

Chapman University (27-9), Orange, Calif.

No. 7 Seed —

University of La Verne (27-17), La Verne, Calif.

Tournament Schedule

Thursday’s Games

Game 1:

Redlands vs. Linfield, 10 a.m.

Game 2: Mary Hardin-Baylor vs. Chapman, noon

Game 3:

La Verne vs. UT Tyler, 2 p.m.

Game 4:

Louisiana College vs. Game 1 winner, 4 p.m.

Friday’s Games

Game 5:

Game 1 loser vs. Game 3 loser, 10 a.m.

Game 6: Game 2 loser vs. Game 4 loser, noon

Game 7:

Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 2 p.m.

Game 8:

Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4 p.m.

Saturday’s Games

Game 9:

Game 4 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 10 a.m.

Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 7 loser, noon

Game 11:

Game 10 winner vs. Game 9 loser, 2 p.m.

Sunday’s Games

Game 12:

Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 winner, noon

Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser, 2 p.m., if necessary (if Game 12 loser is first loss)