NCAA tournament: Paradise's Lorenz, Sobrero begin regional play Friday

The last time a Paradise High School softball product played in the Women's College World Series was 2007 when Eileen Canney pitched for the University of Northwestern.

This year, there are two former Bobcats competing for a spot in Oklahoma City. Paradise's Alex Sobrero, a true freshman center fielder for North Dakota State, hits the field for the Bison against 13th-seeded Arizona beginning at 5 p.m. (PDT) Friday in the opening round of the Tucson Regional, which is one of three four-team brackets that will be broadcast by the ESPN networks.

Sobrero's regional appears on ESPNU (simulcast on ESPN3), which is channel 208 on DirecTV, 141 on Dish Network and 735 on Comcast. On the other side of the bracket, Paradise High and Butte College product Alicia Lorenz will lead the Mississippi Valley State softball team into Louisiana Lafayette to take on the 14th-seeded Ragin' Cajuns beginning at 4 p.m. (PDT) Friday in the opener of the Lafayette regional.

Sobrero and the Bison (37-20) advanced to regional play following the school's fourth-career Summit League championship last weekend against Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne. In that game, Sobrero, a 2011 Paradise graduate, had her best performance of the postseason, finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. For the year, Sobrero is hitting .214 with six doubles, one triple, one home run and 19 runs batted in. She's also stolen nine bases out of 11 attempts, and is tied for fourth on the team in walks with 21.

Sobrero

bats mostly out of the seven spot in the lineup, so fans who tune in on Friday can look for her to appear at the plate in the second or third inning.

A win over Arizona ? North Dakota State is 0-4 lifetime against the eight-time national champ ? and the Bison move into the winner's bracket to play the Notre Dame-Hawaii victor on Saturday. The Tucson winner advances to face the winner of the Norman bracket in the Super Regionals beginning May 24.

Lorenz, MVSU get rematch with La.-Lafayette

21-0.

That was the score the first time the Mississippi Valley State softball team, headlined by pitcher and Paradise High and Butte College product Alicia Lorenz, squared off against Louisiana Lafayette.

MVSU (34-17) came up on the losing end of that contest back on Feb. 12, but Lorenz, a 2009 Paradise graduate didn't pitch. In fact, she didn't even play. Since that day, all Lorenz has done is win Pitcher of the Year in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and help lead the Devilettes to an unbeaten conference record and SWAC tournament championship, in which the former Bobcat was voted to the all-tournament team.

Lorenz struck out six and allowed three runs on eight hits and a walk in the 7-3 win over Jackson State to capture SWAC tournament honors.

Her previous outing of the tournament was even better, as Lorenz pitched a two-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out eight while walking just two in an 8-0 win over Alabama A&M.

So Lorenz is peaking at the right time, and as she says, the confidence is there to avenge its previous loss to Louisiana Lafayette, who comes in 49-4 on the year.

"That was our first tournament so I feel the whole team was rusty," Lorenz said in a telephone interview with The Post yesterday. "I hadn't pitched yet (so) I think it's a good advantage that they haven't seen me pitch."

Lorenz has watched film of the Ragin' Cajuns, and says they have power, specifically in the four hole of the lineup.

"My goal is to keep the ball in the park and make them chase pitches," Lorenz said. "I'm not nervous, I'm more excited and everyone on the team is really excited."

Lorenz has the experience against big-time competition. MVSU coach Lee Smith said in a previous interview with the Post that Lorenz has thrown against three different Southeastern Conference teams ? two of whom made the NCAA tournament. Against LSU, which plays in the College Station regional hosted by Texas A&M, Lorenz allowed two runs on two hits and struck out one and walked two in a 2-0 defeat to the Tigers in Baton Rouge.

In the Mississippi State game, Lorenz was even better, Smith said, and had the team provided her with more run support, she might have came away with a victory.

Lorenz's final numbers against the Bulldogs, who begin NCAA tournament play in the Eugene regional, were as follows: Three earned runs on six hits, seven strikeouts and three walks in eight innings.

"We won the SWAC tournament already so to win the regionals would be an amazing accomplishment," Lorenz said. "At this point our team is representing the SWAC so I feel all of us are ready to fight for a regional title."

A victory this weekend puts Lorenz one step closer to a possible reunion with her former teammate Sobrero, whom she played with at Paradise in 2008 and 2009, on the sport's biggest stage: Oklahoma City for the Women's College World Series.

"I think that would be really fun to play against Alex just knowing that I played with her at Paradise and travel ball," Lorenz said. "I was hoping we would get lined up against them in regionals."

2012 NCAA DIVISION I SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Sobrero's regional

Tucson Regional ? May 18-20 at Tucson, Arizona

No. 13 seed Arizona* (35-17) vs. North Dakota St. (37-20) , 5 p.m. PDT

Notre Dame (38-14) vs. Hawaii (44-7)

All games broadcast on ESPNU, which is channel 208 on DirecTV, 141 on Dish Network and 735 on Comcast.

Lorenz's regional

Lafayette Regional ? May 18-20 at Lafayette, Louisiana

Stanford (38-17) vs. Baylor (33-20)

Mississippi Val. (34-17) vs. No. 14 seed La.-Lafayette* (49-4), 4 p.m. PDT

Berkeley Regional ? May 18-20 at Berkeley, California

No. 1 seed California* (50-4) vs. Iona (35-24)

Boston U. (40-14) vs. Arkansas (27-26)

* Indicates host institution

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