NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference announced the 2021 Softball Championship bracket Saturday evening and App State received the fifth seed after finishing 8-12 in conference play. The Mountaineers open the tournament on Wednesday, May 12, taking on the fourth-seeded South Alabama Jaguars. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m. CT in Troy, Ala.
Regular season champions and 14th-ranked Louisiana (40-10, 21-3 SBC) claimed the top seed followed by Troy as the second seed and Texas State as the third seed. No. 7 seed Georgia Southern, No. 8 seed Coastal Carolina, No. 9 seed ULM and No. 10 seed Georgia State round out the bottom four teams.
All 10 softball teams will participate in this year's tournament vying for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The conference's bottom-four seeds face off in a single-elimination round on Tuesday, May 11. Four games will be played on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The winner of the morning game on Saturday, will play in the title game later that afternoon.
During the regular season, App State was swept by South Alabama, falling in three tight games 1-0, 7-4 and 4-0. The Jaguars currently lead the series 17-4.
Broadcast/TV Info
All 16 games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and available online and the ESPN app, with Matt Stewart and Alex Powers calling all the action. Live statistics are available on SunBeltSports.org.
Social Media Coverage
Updates will be posted on Twitter @SunBelt. Fans and participants are encouraged to use the #SunBeltSB hashtag on social media.
Ticket Information
Tickets are on sale now with single-day pass and full-tournament pass options available. Prices range from $5 to $15 for youth tickets (ages 3-12) and $10 to $30 for adults. For more information on ticketing and seating options, contact the Troy Ticket Office by calling 877-878-WINS (9467).
Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, May 11
Game 1 – No. 8 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 9 ULM (ESPN+), 10 a.m.
Game 2 – No. 7 Georgia Southern vs. No. 10 Georgia State (ESPN+), 1 p.m.
Wednesday, May 12
Game 3 –Winner Game 1 vs. No. 1 Louisiana (ESPN+), 10 a.m.
Game 4 – No. 4 South Alabama vs. No. 5 App State (ESPN+), 12:30 p.m.
Game 5 – No. 3 Troy vs. No. 6 UT Arlington (ESPN+), 3 p.m.
Game 6 – Game 2 Winner vs. No. 2 Texas State (ESPN+), 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 13
Game 7 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 (ESPN+), 10 a.m.
Game 8 – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 (ESPN+), 12:30 p.m.
Game 9 – Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 5 (ESPN+), 3 p.m.
Game 10 – Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 6 (ESPN+), 5:30 p.m.
Friday, May 14
Game 11 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (ESPN+), 10 a.m.
Game 12 – Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9 (ESPN+), 12:30 p.m.
Game 13 – Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 10 (ESPN+), 3 p.m.
Game 14 – Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13 (ESPN+), 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 15
Game 15 – Loser Game 11 vs. Winner Game 14 (ESPN+), 11 a.m.
Championship Game – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 15 (ESPN+), 2:30 p.m.
All times are Central and subject to change.
