SAINT LEO, Fla. – For the fourth straight season, the Saint Leo softball team will make an appearance in the NCAA postseason and will travel to Melbourne, Fla. for the South 2 Regional hosted by Florida Tech on May 9-11. The Lions were selected as the sixth-seed and will take on Alabama-Huntsville, the no. 3 seed, in the opening round Thursday.
 
2019 Journey
The Lions (31-16) finished the regular season with a 1-2 series loss to Tampa, who earned the no. 5 seed in the region, to wrap up play fourth in the Sunshine State Conference. Saint Leo and Tampa are two of the three Sunshine State Conference teams making an appearance in the 2019 NCAA Softball tournament where the two teams will be joined by Florida Tech, who earned the no. 2 seed.  
 
Saint Leo holds a 5-5 record against the top-eight seeds in the South Region after playing overall no. 1 seed in the South West Florida twice, falling both times to the Argonauts. The Lions won the SSC series over Florida Tech, 2-1, and hold a 1-0 record over the no. 3 seed, Alabama-Huntsville. Saint Leo dropped its regular season matchup with Tampa, 2-1, while the Green and Gold holds a 1-0 matchup over the no. 7 seed Mississippi College.
 
Joining Saint Leo at the South 2 Regional are Florida Tech (No. 2), Alabama-Huntsville (No.3), and Mississippi College (No. 7). The bracket will be double elimination starting on Thursday afternoon. The winner of the South 1 Regional and the South 2 Regional will then face each other in a best-of-three series in the South Super Regional on May 16-18.
 
2019 South 2 Regional
Teams – Florida Tech (2), Ala.-Huntsville (3), Saint Leo (6), Mississippi College (7)
Dates – Thursday, May 9 – Saturday, May 11
 
Recent NCAA Postseason History
The Lions are returning to the postseason after a deep run in the 2018 tournament where the Green and Gold won the South 2 Regional in Florence, Ala. before hosting Alabama-Huntsville in the South Super Regional. Saint Leo knocked off UAH 4-3 in nine innings in game one before falling 7-5 in game two setting up the rubber match. The Lions ultimately won the rubber match, 6-3, and advanced to the softball championships.
 
At the Championships the Lions shocked the world and defeated the third-seeded Chico State Wildcats in the Green and Gold's first game, 3-2. The Lions dropped their next game 4-3 to Saint Anselm before bouncing back and knocking out overall no. 1 seed North Georgia with a 3-2 win to stay alive. The Lions held a 4-2 lead in the top of the sixth before rain postponed play against eight-seeded Southern Indiana but when play resumed, Saint Leo dropped its final contest of the 2018 season 5-4 in eight innings to the eventual national champion Southern Indiana.
 
In 2017, the Lions hosted North Alabama and Alabama-Huntsville in the South 2 Regional before exiting the postseason with two losses to the softball powerhouses, 10-4 and 9-7, respectively.
 
In 2016, Saint Leo traveled to Florence, Ala. and dropped its first game to UAH 3-0 before bouncing back with a 5-0 win over Tuskegee before exiting the postseason with a 1-0 loss to host North Alabama.
 
2019 All-SSC Honors
Saint Leo saw four athletes earn all-conference honors with one first team selection, in Kacie Kelly, and three-second team selection honors, in Kendyl Crean, Shyanne DuBois, and Sarah Pauscher.
 
Kelly's, a junior from Jacksonville, Fla., first team honors are her third of her three-year career where DuBois, a senior out of Carlisle, Iowa, earns second team honors for the second time in her two-year career. Crean, a freshman from Tarpon Springs, Fla., and Sarah Pauscher, a junior from Elk Grove Village, Ill., earn conference honors for the first time in their careers.
 
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo softball team be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.