The 2011 Women's Softball College World Series continues to approach as the super regionals are getting under way Thursday evening. After successfully advancing out of their region last week with three straight victories, the Cardinal now get to face the number two seed in the tournament, the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Alabama will host the three-game series in Tuscaloosa beginning Thursday night. Game one is scheduled for 5:00pm pacific and will be televised live on ESPN. Games two and three are scheduled for Friday starting at 1:30pm pacific. Game three is only if necessary and is tentatively scheduled for 4:00pm pacific. Game two will air on ESPNU, with the if necessary game three scheduled to air on ESPN. All three games will be aired on a free live online stream at ESPN3.com.
The Cardinal are in the super regionals for the fifth time since the round was added in 2005. The Cardinal advanced to the College World Series in 2001 and 2004 and holds a 36-29 record in postseason play all time. Stanford is 2-3 all time against Alabama, with their last minute coming in the 2006 Super Regional. Alabama won two games to none with a 4-1 victory followed by an 8-7 extra innings victory.
The Tide finished 3-0 in their region to secure their seventh straight regional title. Alabama is 49-8 overall and hitting .316 as a team. It has out scored its opponents 419-96 on the season and seven of Alabama's players are batting over .300 on the year, including five with double-digit home runs.