5 things you need to know about the NCAA softball tournament
— -- The goal is to be the last team standing at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. But the first step toward softball immortality is surviving the regional round that trims the field of 64 to 16.
With the bracket in hand, it's time to look ahead to NCAA tournament regionals. Here are five things you need to know.
1. Florida's run at history awaits
The story of the tournament begins where it left off a year ago -- where the last two tournaments left off, in fact. Ranked No. 1 for all but one week this season, two-time defending champion Florida will attempt to join UCLA as the only schools to win three consecutive titles.
Yet Florida's quest is as much about making its own history as matching the sport's standard.
There were 171 Division I softball programs when UCLA won the last of its three consecutive championships in 1990. Competing in what was a 20-team NCAA tournament, UCLA's two wins against Northern Iowa in a two-team regional punched its ticket to the World Series. It won that title with seven total postseason wins. Barring any losses along the way this year, seven wins would only earn Florida a place in the semifinals in Oklahoma City, three more wins needed for the title.
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