May 14, 2000
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northwestern University softball team has earned an invitation to the 2000 NCAA Softball Championship. The Wildcats will be making their first appearance in the NCAA's 48-team field since 1987.
Northwestern -- which finished fourth in the Big Ten with a 28-24 overall record -- will be the fifth seed in a regional to be held in Norman, Okla. The Wildcats will meet second-seeded Oregon State (37-19-1) in a first-round game Thursday at 5 p.m. CT.
Thursday's first-round pairings for the Norman, Okla., regional:
(3) Arkansas (41-28) vs. (4) Cal. State-Northridge (26-24), 2:30 p.m.
(2) Oregon State (37-19-1) vs. (5) Northwestern (28-24), 5 p.m.
(1) Oklahoma (56-8) vs. (6) Harvard (19-19), 7:30 p.m.