Lexington Regional Ticket Information | NCAA Tournament Bracket (PDF)

URBANA, Ill. – For the seventh time in program history and the third time in the last four seasons, the Illinois softball team earned a berth into the 2019 NCAA Tournament and was selected as one of the 32 at-large bids, as announced on the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday (May 12) night.

The Illini were selected to the Lexington Regional, hosted by overall No. 14 seed Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., and will face Virginia Tech (45-9, 20-4 ACC) on Friday (May 17) at 11 a.m. CT in the opening round at John Cropp Stadium. The double-elimination regional will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with the host Wildcats (33-22, 14-10 SEC) facing off against Toledo (29-26, 10-9 MAC) in the other first round contest at 1:30 p.m. CT on Friday. Both games will be broadcasted on ESPN3.

Each regional follows a double-elimination format with at least three wins required to get to the NCAA Super Regionals.

All-session tickets will go on sale Monday (May 13) morning, May 13 at 8 a.m. CT, exclusively online through UKathletics.com/NCAATickets. Single-session tickets will go on sale Wednesday (May 15) at 8 a.m. CT, based on availability. All pre-purchased tickets will be available via Digital Delivery. Instead of receiving printed tickets, purchasers will be able to access their tickets electronically through My UK Account or the UK Athletics app.

Illinois is making its seventh overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and owns a 10-12 record in postseason play with appearances in 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2017. The Illini have advanced to the Regional Final twice in program history, falling to No. 3 seed LSU in the Waco, Texas Regional in 2004 and No. 14 seed Kentucky in the Lexington Regional in 2017.

The Illini enter the 2019 NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 32-23 and finished in a tie for eighth place in the Big Ten Conference standings with a 9-14 mark. As a conference, the Big Ten earned three top 16 seeds and a total of six bids for the first time since 2009 with No. 7 Minnesota, No. 15 Michigan and No. 16 Northwestern set to host Regionals, while Wisconsin and Ohio State join the Illini as at-large selections.

2019 NCAA Softball Lexington Regional
John Cropp Stadium – Lexington, Ky.
Friday, May 17
Game 1 – Illinois vs. Virginia Tech – 11 a.m. CT – ESPN3
Game 2 – Toledo vs. Kentucky – 1:30 p.m. CT – ESPN3

Saturday, May 18
Game 3 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 – 11 a.m. CT
Game 4 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 – 1:30 p.m. CT
Game 5 – Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 – 4 p.m. CT

Sunday, May 19
Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 – 11 a.m CT
Game 7 – (If necessary) – 1:30 p.m. CT*** Times subject to change for TV

For more Fighting Illini softball news, stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com and follow @IlliniSB on social media: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook.