LIU Softball NCAA Tournament Bound; Will Face No. 9 Arizona State at Hempstead, N.Y. Regional

5/14/06 -- Long Island, winner of the 2006 Northeast Conference Tournament title, was awarded the league’s automatic berth on Sunday. The Blackbirds (34-21) will not have far to travel, competing in the Hempstead Regional hosted by Hofstra University.

LIU will begin play on Friday, May 19 against Arizona State (46-13) at 2:30 p.m. in the double elimination regional. The Sun Devils are ranked ninth in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. Host school Hofstra (36-18) will face Penn State (37-15) in the other opening game.

LIU punched its NCAA Tournament ticket for the fifth time in school history by winning its ninth NEC crown on Saturday, May 13. The Blackbirds upended defending champion Robert Morris, 4-2, at FDU Field, going unbeaten in this year’s conference tournament.

LIU has won three of the last four and four of the last six NEC championships. In addition, the Blackbirds have owned at least a share of six of the last seven conference regular-season crowns.

The Blackbirds last made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2004 in the Gainesville (Fla.) Regional. In their first appearance in Amherst, Mass. in 1999, they posted a 2-1 victory over Manhattan to become the NEC's first female team to win an NCAA Tournament contest.