Tide Softball Headed to Los Angeles for NCAA Regional
5/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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» NCAA Regional Bracket 
The 13th ranked University of Alabama softball team is headed west, to the place where it all began, sort of.
The Crimson Tide (42-18) will be the No. 2 seed in Region Two in Los Angeles, California, the site of Alabama's first ever NCAA Regional appearance five years ago.
Alabama will face the No. 7 seed Central Michigan Chippewas (32-17) in the first round, the first time the two teams have ever met.
The fourth ranked UCLA Bruins are the host school and top seed. Also accompanying the Crimson Tide to the City of Angels will be No. 3 seed Long Beach State (48-11), No. 4 seed Louisville (40-17), No. 5 seeded Missouri (27-24), No. 6 seed Cornell (29-11) and eighth-seeded Mississippi Valley (31-13).
The Tide will look to improve upon its previous NCAA appearance in Los Angeles, when the team made its inaugural debut in the NCAA event and dropped its first two games. However, Alabama followed it up the next season with an NCAA Regional championship and its first ever appearance in the Women's College World Series.
The Chippewas aside, Alabama has faced four of the other opponents in the bracket. The Tide is 0-5 against UCLA, 1-0 against Long Beach State, 2-0 versus Louisville and 1-1 against Missouri.
First pitch between the Crimson Tide and the Chippewas on Thursday is scheduled for approximately 1:30 p.m. (CT).
