The No. 19 Ohio State softball team will welcome California, Bucknell and Kentucky to Buckeye Field this weekend when it hosts one of the 16 NCAA regional tournaments.

The Buckeyes will open up the double-elimination regional against the Kentucky Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Bucknell will play No. 11 California at 5 p.m.

Last season, the Buckeyes defeated the Wildcats, 7-2, in the Columbus Regional, earning them a trip to the Super Regional for the first time in program history.

“We have to do some homework on all three teams,” coach Linda Kalafatis said in a press release. “I have been on a rankings committee this season so I have seen a lot of what Cal and Kentucky have done this season, so I know they will be very competitive.”

This is the seventh-overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the Buckeyes.

The winner of the Columbus Regional will face the winner of the Athens Regional next weekend, May 28 and 29.

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