May 13, 2007

By Matt Crouch
www.SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - When "Southern Illinois" came across the screen on ESPNews on Sunday, the No. 22/24 Southern Illinois University softball team went wild.

2007 NCAA Softball Bracket

The cheers only got louder when the team looked up to see where they would be playing their fifth-straight NCAA Regional and saw "Carbondale Regional."

"I saw Southern Illinois first and that never gets old, the excitement never goes away. You're screaming and excited and it never goes away," said SIU head coach Kerri Blaylock.

"When I looked up and saw Carbondale, I just went nuts. I am very excited to have the opportunity to host the regional this week."

The Salukis (40-13) will play host to Missouri (38-22), Mississippi Valley State (29-26) and No. 14 overall seed DePaul (41-11) this week in the NCAA Carbondale Regional.

For Southern, this marks their fifth consecutive trip to the postseason championship, a run that started in 2003. Southern Illinois is one of only 23 teams in the nation with an active streak of five or more consecutive years in the NCAA Tournament.

"Mizzou and DePaul have each had a tremendous year. After Mizzou left here, they have been on a tear in the Big 12, but there is also a comfort in that we have played them before. And then with DePaul, our girls have faced a lot of those kids in summer league, so they know them pretty well," said Blaylock.

Mississippi Valley State is coming off of their four-straight Southwestern Athletic Conference championship, defeating Southern University 4-1 on April 29 to earn the league's automatic bid.

Missouri lost to eventual league champion Oklahoma in the Big 12 semifinals and pick up one of five at-large berths given to the Big 12 Conference.

DePaul went a perfect 20-0 in conference play to earn the regular-season title in the Big East, but fell 8-2 to Notre Dame in the league semifinals.

Southern is coming off of its third 40+ win season in the past four years, finishing third in the regular-season Missouri Valley Conference race and advancing to the championship game in the MVC Tournament against Creighton, falling 6-2 to the Bluejays.

"The kids are so excited about being able to stay at home and not traveling this week. I hope we can keep the distractions away and enjoy the comfort of being here," said Blaylock.

"I think our having the opportunity to host is a credit to the kids that have played here and started this whole thing going. I appreciate our administration so much for all they do for us and giving us this opportunity."

Southern Illinois is one of three teams from the MVC advancing to this week's NCAA Tournament, marking the third year in a row that the Valley has received three teams in the tournament and the fifth year in a row for the Valley to receive multiple bids.

Illinois State is playing in the Evanston, Ill. Regional and will face Notre Dame in its first-round game. No. 2 overall seed Northwestern and Wright State are in the other half of the regional.

Creighton is playing in the Lincoln, Neb. Regional and will face No. 6 overall seed Washington in its first-round game. Nebraska and Georgia are in the other half of the bracket.

Action in this week's Carbondale Regional is set to begin at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 18 and continue through the weekend at SIU's Charlotte West Stadium.

Friday, May 18
Game 1 - 2 p.m. (14) Depaul vs. Mississippi Valley State
Game 2 - 4:30 p.m. Missouri vs. Southern Illinois

Saturday, May 19
Game 3 - 12 p.m. Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 4 - 2:30 p.m. Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5 - 5 p.m. Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

Sunday, May 20
Game 6 - 12 p.m. Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7 - 2:30 p.m. (if needed) Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6