Notre Dame is making its 22nd tournament appearance and looking to advance past the regional round for the first time.
On Sunday, 64 teams were invited to play for an NCAA softball national championship. On Thursday, the whittling begins. The regional round of the NCAA softball tournament officially opens in Salt Lake City, Utah, when Mississippi State takes on BYU (ESPN3, 6 p.m. ET); Fordham vs. No. 11 Utah concludes the Day 1 action (ESPN3, 8:30 p.m. ET); and the other 15 regionals open their double-elimination tournaments Friday. Sixteen teams will advance to next weekend's super regionals, and eight of those will survive to the final destination: the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, beginning June 1.