ESPN's Record-Setting Regional Coverage Kicks Off 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Championship

· Up to 84 Games, from 12 Campus Sites in Regional Round

· Debut of Bases Loaded for Regional Round

· All Eight Super Regionals and Entire Women's College World Series Televised

· Defending National Champion and No. 1 Seed Florida Gators Host Regional

ESPN is the home of the 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Championship presented by Capital One beginning with record-setting Regional round coverage (May 15-17), continuing the Super Regionals (May 21-24) and concluding with the Women's College World Series (May 28 - June 3) in Oklahoma City, Okla. The 2015 NCAA Softball Championship is the 15th consecutive year ESPN has televised the entire Women's College World Series and the ninth consecutive year it has televised every game of the Super Regionals.

Record-Setting Regional Round Coverage

ESPN's NCAA Softball Championship Regional round coverage will total as many as 84 games from 12 campus sites - the most sites ESPN has ever originated from - across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ESPN3 and SEC Network +. The 2014 National Champion and No. 1 overall seed Florida Gators highlight the first weekend of the championship as the Gators host the Gainesville Regional. Overall, ESPN's Regional round coverage will feature 10 of the top 11 seeds including No. 3 Michigan (Ann Arbor Regional), No. 4 Auburn (Auburn Regional), No. 5 LSU (Baton Rouge Regional), No. 6 Alabama (Tuscaloosa Regional), No. 7 UCLA (Los Angeles Regional), No. 8 Tennessee (Knoxville Regional) , No. 9 Florida State (Tallahassee Regional), No. 10 Missouri (Columbia Regional), and No. 11 Oklahoma (Norman Regional). Additionally, No. 13 Louisiana-Lafayette (Lafayette Regional), and No. 14 Georgia (Athens Regional) will also be covered.

Format: ESPN will carry every game (maximum of seven games) from the 12 regionals. Each regional is a four-team, double-elimination tournament, concluding with one team advancing to the Super Regionals. A full schedule is provided below.

Additional Regional Round Highlights

Debut of Bases Loaded

ESPN's 2015 NCAA Softball Championship Regional Round coverage will be supplemented by Bases Loaded for the first time, a concept which has been utilized during the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. Bases Loaded will provide look-ins to multiple live games throughout the day while also recapping the entire tournament up to that moment. Matt Schick and Brendan Fitzgerald will host and Garland Cooper will provide the analysis.

Bases Loaded Programming Schedule

Date Time (ET) Network

Sat, May 16 2 p.m. through conclusion of day's action ESPN3 2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ESPN 4:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. ESPN 6 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. ESPN2 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. ESPNU 8:30 p.m. - 9 p.m. ESPN2 9 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. ESPN

Sun, May 17 2 p.m. through conclusion of day's action ESPN3 3 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. ESPN 5:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. ESPNU 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. ESPNU

espnW.com

espnW will have wide-ranging coverage of the entire 2015 Softball Championship, led by its softball index. Other highlights include:

· Comprehensive Recaps: Graham Hays will provide daily recaps in a "five things you should know" format.

· Tourney Snapshots: Behind-the-scenes video and photos from teams and student athletes participating in the championship. Fans can submit their photos by tagging them #RoadtoWCWS in the Regionals and Super Regionals and then #WCWS during the Women's College World Series.

· The Life and Times of an NCAA Softball Player: Kayla Lombardo, a senior third baseman for the Fordham Rams, has been documenting her 2015 season titled The Life and Times of an NCAA Softball Player. With Lombardo and Rams qualifying for the Championship, she will continue her work, providing reaction to the Rams' journey to the WCWS.

Social Media

· @ESPNU, @espnW, and @NCAASoftball will provide news, game updates, photos and videos throughout the championship. Fans can join the conversation by tagging their tweets with #d1softball in the Regionals and Super Regionals and then #WCWS during the Women's College World Series.

ESPN Analysts

ESPN's softball analysts are accomplished former college, Olympic and professional softball players:

· Carol Bruggeman - Norman Regional

· College: Iowa

· Honors: As a Division I coach at Michigan, Purdue, and Louisville, achieved more than 700 combined wins; All Big-Ten and All-Mideast Region as a player, inducted into the Iowa Softball Association Hall of Fame (1997

· Jenny Dalton-Hill - Gainesville Regional

· College: Arizona

· Honors: National Player of the Year (1996) and Women's College World Series MVP ('96) Four-time National Champion, winning three as a player (1993, '94, and '96) and one as an assistant coach, also with Arizona (1997)

· Amanda Freed - Knoxville Regional

· College: UCLA

· Honors: National Champion (1999), pitched in the three other WCWS (2000, '01, '02, '03), member of gold medal-winning team at the 2004 Athens Olympics

· Danielle Lawrie - Los Angeles Regional

· College: Washington

· Honors: National Champion (2009), All-American, and played for Canadian National Team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

· Cheri Kempf - Lafayette Regional

· College: Missouri Western State

· Honors: National Champion , National MVP and played on USA National Team that won the World Cup (1992)

· Jessica Mendoza - Baton Rouge Regional

· College: Stanford

· Honors: Four-time All-American (1999, 2000, '01, '02), member of gold medal-winning team at the 2004 Athens Olympics and silver medal winning team at 2008 Beijing Olympics

· Leah O'Brien-Amico - Tuscaloosa Regional

· College: Arizona

· Honors: Won three national championships (1993, '94, '97), member of goal medal-winning teams at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics

· Jennie Ritter - Auburn Regional

· College: Michigan

· Honors: National Championship (2005), played for USA National Team (2007) in the World Cup and Pan American games

· Amanda Scarborough - Ann Arbor Regional

· College: Texas A&M

· Honors: Two-time All-American (2005, '07). Only player in Big 12 history to receive Freshman of the Year and Player of Year in same season (2005), played in two WCWS (2007, '08)

· Michele Smith - Baton Rouge Regional

· College: Oklahoma State

· Honors: Two time All-American, two time Olympic Gold Medalist (1996, '00) and eight time Japan Pro League MVP

2015 NCAA Division I Softball Championship Field

The 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Championship bracket was unveiled during ESPNU's NCAA Softball Championship Selection Show presented by Capital One on Sunday, May 10. The SEC received the most bids (11), followed by the ACC and Pac-12 (7), Big 12 and Big Ten (4), Colonial, Conference USA, Mountain West and Sun Belt (2). Twenty three other conferences each received one bid. Additionally, seven teams are making their first appearance in the tournament: Binghamton University, University of Central Arkansas, Fairfield University, Indiana State University, University of Pittsburgh, St. John's (NY) University, and Weber State University. The complete 64-team bracket can be seen here.

ESPN's 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Television Schedule

Regional Round (May 15 - May 17)

Please Note: Networks are likely to change throughout the weekend based on if necessary games. For the latest information, please check espnW's schedule and results page

Schedule below is set up by Regionals. For a day-by-day schedule, click here

Ann Arbor Regional

Date Time (ET) Game Network

Fri, May 15 3:30 p.m. Pittsburgh vs. California Adam Amin, Amanda Scarborough ESPNU 6 p.m. Oakland vs. No. 3 Michigan Adam Amin, Amanda Scarborough ESPNU

Sat, May 16 4 p.m. Game 3 ESPN2 6:30 p.m. Game 4 ESPN2 9 p.m. Game 5 ESPNU

Sun, May 17 3:30 p.m. Game 6 ESPN, ESPNU, or ESPN3 6 p.m. Game 7* ESPNU or ESPN3 Athens Regional

Date Time (ET) Game Network

Fri, May 15 2:30 p.m. Western Kentucky vs. North Carolina ESPN3 5 p.m. Central Connecticut vs. No. 14 Georgia SEC Network +

Sat, May 16 Noon Game 3 ESPN3 or SEC Network + 2:30 p.m. Game 4 ESPN3 or SEC Network + 5:00 p.m. Game 5 ESPN3 or SEC Network +

Sun, May 17 Noon Game 6 ESPN3 or SEC Network + 2:30 p.m. Game 7* ESPN3 or SEC Network +

Auburn Regional

Date Time (ET) Game/Commentators Network

Fri, May 15 4 p.m. Chattanooga vs. South Alabama Jennie Ritter, Melissa Lee ESPN3 6:30 p.m. Tennessee Tech vs. No. 4 Auburn Jennie Ritter, Melissa Lee ESPN3

Sat, May 16 1 p.m. Game 3 ESPN3 3:30 p.m. Game 4 ESPN3 6 p.m. Game 5 ESPN3

Sun, May 17 1 p.m. Game 6 ESPNU, SEC Network or ESPN3 3:30 p.m. Game 7* ESPNU, SEC Network or ESPN3

Baton Rouge Regional

Date Time (ET) Game/Commentators Network

Fri, May 15 4:30 p.m. Nebraska vs. Arizona State Beth Mowins, Jessica Mendoza, Michele Smith ESPN3 7 p.m. Texas Southern vs. No. 5 LSU Beth Mowins, Jessica Mendoza, Michele Smith ESPN2

Sat, May 16 Noon Game 3 ESPN 2:30 p.m. Game 4 ESPN 5 p.m. Game 5 ESPN

Sun, May 17 1 p.m. Game 6 ESPN 3:30 p.m. Game 7* ESPN, ESPNU, SEC Network or ESPN3

Columbia Regional

Date Time (ET) Game Network

Fri, May 15 5 p.m. Louisville vs. Kansas ESPN3 7:30 p.m. Indiana State vs. No. 10 Missouri SEC Network +

Sat, May 16 3:30 p.m. Game 3 ESPN3 or SEC Network + 6 p.m. Game 4 ESPN3 or SEC Network + 8:30 p.m. Game 5 ESPN3 or SEC Network +

Sun, May 17 1 p.m. Game 6 ESPN3 or SEC Network + 3:30 p.m. Game 7* ESPN3 or SEC Network +

Gainesville Regional

Date Time (ET) Game/Commentators Network

Fri, May 15 3:30 p.m. Florida Atlantic vs. Hofstra Mark Neely, Jenny Dalton-Hill ESPN3 6 p.m. Florida A&M vs. No. 1 Florida Mark Neely, Jenny Dalton-Hill ESPN3

Sat, May 16 1 p.m. Game 3 ESPN3 3:30 p.m. Game 4 ESPN3 6 p.m. Game 5 ESPN3

Sun, May 17 1 p.m. Game 6 ESPNU, SEC Network or ESPN3 3:30 p.m. Game 7* ESPNU, SEC Network or ESPN3

Knoxville Regional

Date Time (ET) Game/Commentators Network

Fri, May 15 3:30 p.m. Virginia Tech vs. Utah Sam Gore, Amanda Freed ESPN3 6 p.m. Longwood vs. No. 8 Tennessee Sam Gore, Amanda Freed ESPN3

Sat, May 16 1 p.m. Game 3 ESPN3 3:30 p.m. Game 4 ESPN3 6 p.m. Game 5 ESPN3

Sun, May 17 3:30 p.m. Game 6 ESPNU, SEC Network or ESPN3 6 p.m. Game 7* ESPNU, SEC Network or ESPN3

Lafayette Regional

Date Time (ET) Game/Commentators Network

Fri, May 15 6:30 p.m. Mississippi State vs. Baylor Pam Ward, Cheri Kempf ESPN3 9 p.m. Weber State vs. No. 13 Louisiana-Lafayette Pam Ward, Cheri Kempf ESPN3

Sat, May 16 4:30 p.m. Game 3 ESPN3 7 p.m. Game 4 ESPN 9:30 p.m. Game 5 ESPN

Sun, May 17 7 p.m. Game 6 ESPN2 9:30 p.m. Game 7* ESPNU

Los Angeles Regional

Date Time (ET) Game/Commentators Network

Fri, May 15 6 p.m. San Diego State vs. Texas Holly Rowe, Danielle Lawrie ESPN3 8:30 p.m. Cal State Northridge vs. No. 7 UCLA Holly Rowe, Danielle Lawrie ESPN3

Sat, May 16 3 p.m. Game 3 ESPN3** 5:30 p.m. Game 4 ESPN3** 8 p.m. Game 5 ESPN3**

Sun, May 17 3 p.m. Game 6 ESPN3** 5:30 p.m. Game 7* ESPN3**

**Please note: Longhorn Network could potentially televise games involving Texas

Norman Regional

Date Time (ET) Game/Commentators Network

Fri, May 15 1:30 p.m. Lehigh vs. Texas A&M Thad Anderson, Carol Bruggeman SEC Network 4 p.m. Central Arkansas vs. No. 11 Oklahoma Thad Anderson, Carol Bruggeman ESPN3

Sat, May 16 2:30 p.m. Game 3 ESPN3 5 p.m. Game 4 ESPN3 7:30 p.m. Game 5 ESPN3

Sun, May 17 3:30 p.m. Game 6 ESPNU, SEC Network or ESPN3 6 p.m. Game 7* ESPNU, SEC Network or ESPN3

Tallahassee Regional

Date Time (ET) Game/Commentators Network

Fri, May 15 4:30 p.m. Central Florida vs. South Carolina ESPN3 7 p.m. Dartmouth vs. No. 9 Florida State ESPN3

Sat, May 16 Noon Game 3 ESPN3 2:30 p.m. Game 4 ESPN3 5 p.m. Game 5 ESPN3

Sun, May 17 Noon p.m. Game 6 ESPN3 2:30 p.m. Game 7* ESPN3

Tuscaloosa Regional

Date Time (ET) Game/Commentators Network

Fri, May 15 1:30 p.m. USC Upstate vs. Washington Cara Capuano, Leah Amico ESPNU 4 p.m. Fairfield vs. No. 6 Alabama Cara Capuano, Leah Amico SEC Network

Sat, May 16 2 p.m. Game 3 ESPN3 4:30 p.m. Game 4 ESPN3 7 p.m. Game 5 ESPN3

Sun, May 17 1 p.m. Game 6 ESPNU, SEC Network or ESPN3 3:30 p.m. Game 7* ESPNU, SEC Network or ESPN3

Super Regionals (May 21 - 24)

ESPN will televise every game from all eight Super Regionals with complete details announced following the Regional Round.

Women's College World Series (May 28 - June 3)

Date Time (ET) Game Network

Thur, May 28 Noon Women's College World Series: Game 1 ESPN 2:30 p.m. Women's College World Series: Game 2 ESPN 7 p.m. Women's College World Series: Game 3 ESPN2 9:30 p.m. Women's College World Series: Game 4 ESPN2

Fri, May 29 7 p.m. Women's College World Series: Game 5 ESPN2 9:30 p.m. Women's College World Series: Game 6 ESPN2

Sat, May 30 Noon Women's College World Series: Game 7 ESPN 2:30 p.m. Women's College World Series: Game 8 ESPN 7 p.m. Women's College World Series: Game 9 ESPN 9:30 p.m. Women's College World Series: Game 10 ESPN

Sun, May 31 1 p.m. Women's College World Series: Game 11 ESPN 3:30 p.m. Women's College World Series: Game 12 ESPN 7 p.m. Women's College World Series: Game 13* ESPNU 9:30 p.m. Women's College World Series: Game 14* ESPNU

Mon, June 1 8 p.m. Women's College World Series: Championship Game No. 1 ESPN2

Tues, June 2 8 p.m. Women's College World Series: Championship Game No. 2 ESPN

Wed, June 3 8 p.m. Women's College World Series: Championship Game No. 3* ESPN

* If necessary

Networks are subject to change