Indiana softball builds on NCAA Tournament streak with meaningful selection

The Indiana Hoosiers are heading to the NCAA Tournament for the 4th consecutive season.

Last year, head coach Shonda Stanton led the Hoosiers to a third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. It marked the first time in program history that the Hoosiers had qualified for three straight NCAA Tournaments. Now, that record has been extended to four.

Indiana softball is NCAA Tournament bound in the Knoxville Regional

The college softball tournament selection show took place on Sunday evening. The full 64-team field was announced, and Hoosier fans are fired up to see the Cream and Crimson among the tournament qualifiers.

Indiana is the No. 3 seed in the Knoxville Regional. The Tennessee Volunteers will host the regional and are the No. 1 seed and currently stand as the No. 7 team in the country. The Knoxville Regional also features 2-seeded Virginia and 4-seeded Northern Kentucky.

Here's the moment when the Hoosiers found out they were tourney bound:

Indiana is set to face Virginia on Friday night

The Hoosiers will open regional play against the Virginia Cavaliers on Friday, May 15 at 8 p.m. ET. The winner of that contest will then face the winner of the matchup between Tennessee and Northern Kentucky. The regional is double elimination, and the losing teams in those Friday matchups will battle in an elimination game on Saturday.

Friday's matchup between the Hoosiers and Cavaliers will be an evenly-matched contest that should be exciting to watch unfold. During the regular season, Indiana posted an overall record of 41-13 to go along with a 17-7 mark in Big Ten play. On the other side, Virginia went 38-13 with a record of 13-10 in the ACC.

Indiana will be looking put the pressure on UVA by continuing its on-base dominance. On the season, Indiana owns an impressive .454 on-base percentage, which ranks fourth in the entire country. Furthermore, the Hoosiers boast a team slugging percentage of .625, which is good for seventh in the country.

Along with winning 40+ games and reaching the NCAA Tournament in four consecutive seasons, Indiana has yet to advance past the regional stage under Stanton. This group will be looking to change that this weekend in Knoxville.

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