INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Lee softball team will advance on to the NCAA South Region Tournament for the first time in program history as they head for Saint Leo, Fla. as the sixth-seed and will match up with GSC rival Alabama Huntsville on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. The announcement was made during the NCAA D2 Softball Selection show on Monday morning.

The Chargers were the GSC's regular season champions and took 2 of 3 from the Lady Flames this season. Lee defeated Alabama Huntsville, 6-3 in the series finale behind a home run from Stevie Baird and two RBI from Brooklynn Frazier. Leigh Beatenbough started and got the win while Taylor Moran pitched two scoreless innings in relief for the save.

The No. 2 seed Saint Leo Lions will be the host school and will open things up with No. 7 North Alabama. The winner of the double-elimination bracket will advance to the South Super Regional to take on the winner of the other half of the bracket (No. 1 West Florida, No. 4 Mississippi College, No. 5 Valdosta State and No. 8 Claflin) in a best of three series.

"We are excited to be the first team in Lee softball history to make a (NCAA) regional," said head coach Emily Russell. "These girls have fought to make a spot for themselves. We need to continue to work hard these next few days before we start regional play. It will be a challenging tournament but I think we are ready."

The Lady Flames (33-18) are coming off a 4-2 loss to the GSC Champion, Mississippi College Choctaws in the quarterfinals of the GSC Tournament on Saturday night. Overall the Lady Flames have claimed series victories over two of the other five GSC schools in the field. Lee swept North Alabama and won 2 of 3 from Valdosta State. The Lady Flames are 1-2 this season against Mississippi College and UAH and are 0-3 against West Florida.

Six teams from the GSC heard their name called on Monday morning during the Selection Show, as West Florida, UAH, Mississippi College, Valdosta State, Lee and North Alabama have all earned berths for the tournament.

The GSC's six bids are the most possible from a conference, as a region is made up of eight teams, and the two other teams in the region, No. 2 and host Saint Leo and Southern Intercollegiate's No. 8 Claflin, each receive automatic bids.
 
Check out the South Region brackets and Tournament home page and see how the schedule shapes up for the Lady Flames. 
NCAA South Region Brackets  Tournament Home Page