Florida State, Florida A&M to meet in NCAA softball tournament

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- At first, Florida A&M’s softball team was happy there wasn’t another trip to Gainesville in its future.

The Rattlers (27-28) won the MEAC tournament and were anticipating a trip to a place the program hadn’t been before for the 2016 NCAA tournament. Players were hoping for UCLA, Michigan, maybe even Kentucky as they watched the Tournament Selection Show at Dreamland BBQ on Monroe Street.

Instead, the Rattlers will travel around the corner to JoAnne Graf Field to play in the Tallahassee Regional, hosted by the Florida State Seminoles. Both teams will be joined by South Carolina and South Florida.

“I mean, it was crazy. We were excited we weren’t going to Gainesville because for the past few years, we went to Gainesville,” said junior pitcher Kenya Pereira. “It was kind of… I don’t know if ‘disappointed’ is the right word, but it was kind of bummer that we’re not traveling somewhere.”

Florida State earned the No. 8 overall seed in the tournament, and will have the chance to host until the Super Regional round. The Seminoles won their third straight ACC tournament title over the weekend.

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