JSU is in 2024 NCAA Tournament; here’s the bracket

JACKSON — The Jackson State women’s softball team will take on LSU, ranked No. 9 nationally and No. 1 in the Baton Rouge Regional at 6 p.m. CT Friday in the NCAA tournament.

Jackson State (33-17) will face either Southern Illinois or California in the second game of the regional, which uses a double-elimination format.

The Lady Tigers are in the NCAA Tournament after winning their first SWAC tournament since 2011. They are playing with confidence, having won four consecutive games, including twice against No. 1 seed Florida A&M in the conference tournament.

Freshman Sofia Gonzalez pitched a complete game in a 3-1 victory over the

Rattlers on Friday. The only time she was in trouble was when the bases were loaded in the second inning, and she struck out consecutive hitters to get out of it. Teammate Jace Jackson was named the SWAC Most Valuable Player.

Jackson State coach Kevin Montgomery, who is in his fifth season, has led the team to a steady climb to the top. He coached the team to the SWAC tournament last season, but an early loss put the team in the loser’s bracket, something he was determined to avoid this year.

“When we left here last year, and we knew we had to do something different,” he said. “We did something different by not losing a game. We knew we could not fight out of the loser’s bracket.”

Montgomery has led four teams to the SWAC tournament: Jackson State, University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Alcorn State and Alabama State.