Michigan Softball Regional Predictions
There really isn't an obvious #2 seed for the regional here.
For #2, there are 2 potential teams within travel distance: Kentucky and Notre Dame. On the other hand, there will be a bunch of Pac 12 teams seeded #2 that have to fly to their regional, wherever that might be, so we might get one of those as well. I will go with Washington as the #2 seed.
For #3, there seems to be only 1 probable 3-seed within 400 miles of Ann Arbor, and that's Louisville. The second most likely team, I think, is Mississippi State.
For #4, I think the choice is pretty clearly going to be Oakland University. MAC champion Ball State is an outside possibility.
So let's go with Michigan v Oakland U, Washington vs Louisville.
With Ball State winning the MAC, I think Kent State might be on the wrong side of the bubble. It's not really fair--they won 40 games and have proved that they can beat anybody on a good day--but they are dragged down by their schedule strength. If Kent State does make it, they are a low 3/high 4, and I think there are better choices than them for the Michigan regional.
I am also second-guessing myself. My "backup" prediction is Michigan v Oakland University and Notre Dame v Mississippi State. I just realized that Notre Dame isn't within 400 miles of Minnesota, which leaves Ann Arbor as their only nearby travel destination. I do think that pretty much all 16 of the regionals will have either an SEC team or a Pac 12 team.
10:00 Eastern TIme tonight on ESPNU.
You can't have Notre Dame v Louisville in a regional--they are both ACC teams, as strange as that is to say, and conference matchups in the regional round are forbidden.
Here's hoping they can bring another national crown back to Ann Arbor. Go Blue.
Their numbers are staggering.
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