Indiana Softball Makes NCAA Tournament Field, Is No. 2 Seed in Knoxville Regional

Indiana's softball team has made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. They are the No. 2 seed in the Knoxville Regional and will play Louisville on national television on Friday afternoon in the first round. Tennessee is the top seed.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.— The sting of a walk-off loss in the Big Ten softball championship game on Saturday subsided quickly a day later when Indiana heard its name called to participate in the NCAA Tournament this season.

The Hoosiers were all gathered together Sunday night to watch the NCAA selection show, and when their name was called as the No. 2 seed in the Knoxville Regional, the celebration was on.

In a big way. There was yelling and cheering — and even some confetti.

This is Indiana's first NCAA softball tournament since 2011, and just their eighth overall all-time. The Hoosiers will face No. 3 seed Louisville on Friday at 3 p.m. ET at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium, on the campus of the University of Tennessee. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

The Volunteers are the No. 1 seed — and fourth-overall seed nationally — and will play Northern Kentucky at 5:30 p.m. ET in the other first-round game of the double-elimination tournament 

Indiana has had a breakout season, going 42-16 and finishing second in the Big Ten regular season behind Northwestern. The Hoosiers also finished runner-up in the Big Ten Tournament over the weekend, falling to top-seed Northwestern 2-1 in the championship game when the Wildcats are twice in the bottom of the seventh inning for a walk-off win and their first Big Ten Tournament title since 2008. Indiana beat Penn State and Minnesota to advance to the final.

Northwestern also made the NCAA Tournament field. They are the No. 12 overall seed and are hosting a regional in Evanston, Ill. The No. 1 Wildcats will play No. 4 Eastern Illinois on Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The other two teams in the Evanston regional are Kentucky and Miami of Ohio.

Minnesota was the third Big Ten team to make the field. They are the No. 2 seed in the Seattle Regional and will play McNeese State in the first round. Host Washington will play Northern Colorado.

Nebraska is in as well. The Cornhuskers are in the Stillwater Regional as the No. 3 seed and will play Wichita State at 7 p.m. ET. Oklahoma State is the No. 1 seed in that region.

The Hoosiers are led by Taryn Kern, a freshman from San Jose, Calif., who was the Big Ten Player of the Year. She is only the second Indiana player to earn the award. Michelle Venturella (1994) was the first. Kern batted .422 on the season with 22 home runs and 67 RBIs. Taylor Minnick, a sophomore from Bloomington who went to Edgewood High School, hit .404.

Brianna Copeland, a sophomore from Pelham, Ala., is Indiana's top pitcher. She was 21-2 on the season with a 2.81 earned run average.

Related stories on Indiana softball

• KERN HONORED: Indiana softball second baseman Taryn Kern was named both Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year. The San Jose, Calif. native was also unanimously named to the All-Freshman Team in addition to First Team All-Big Ten. She's the only Hoosier in program history to win two individual postseason awards. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA SOFTBALL FUELED BY KERN Indiana softball second baseman Taryn Kern has left a huge mark on the Hoosiers' season, and it's not even over yet. The freshman leads the nation in home runs and her team in batting average as she looks for the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA SOFTBALL STRIVES TO MAKE NCAA TOURNAMENT The Hoosiers haven't reached the NCAA Tournament since 2011 but have all the tools and fight to do so this season. They've earned their best record since that season 12 years ago with one more regular season series left to play. CLICK HERE