FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5-6-02

AASU Softball Earns NCAA Championships Bid

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The No. 12-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State softball squad has been awarded an at-large berth to the 2002 NCAA DII Softball Championships, the second bid in the program's five-year history, as the field was announced this afternoon by the NCAA.

AASU (39-5) will travel to Jacksonville, Fla., for the South Atlantic Regional on Thursday, May 9, through Sunday, May 12 at the University of North Florida as the No. 2 seed. Host UNF is the top seed, while fellow Peach Belt Conference school Kennesaw State is the No. 3 seed. Coker College is the No. 4 seed while AASU's first opponent in the regional, Lenoir-Rhyne, is the No. 5 seed. Longwood rounds out the field as the No. 6 seed. The Pirates will face Lenoir-Rhyne at 1:30 p.m. in their first game on Thursday, May 9.

The winner of the double-elimination regional will earn a berth in the 2002 NCAA Division II Softball College World Series, to be held from May 16-19 in Salem, Va.

The Lady Pirates are led by PBC Player of the Year senior Annie Sells, who is 21-4 with an 0.65 ERA as well as leading the squad in hitting with a .426 average. Sophomore Stacey Richardson, who set school records this season with 14 home runs and 51 RBI, as well as freshman second baseman Stacy Oliver earned All-PBC honors this season for the Lady Pirates.

AASU's previous appearance in the NCAA Championships came in 2000 when the Lady Pirates finished as the regional runner-up to Kennesaw State in Kennesaw, Ga.

- Pirates -