Long Beach State (34-19) earned its 19th trip to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship as it was awarded an at-large bid to the 64-team tournament Sunday evening.

The 49ers will head to the Los Angeles Regional (May 15-17) where they begin play against host and No. 2 seed UCLA (41-9) on Friday at 3:30 p.m. Rounding out the field is Fresno State (36-18) and UNLV (31-19), who will square off in the first game of the day at 1 p.m.

LBSU enters the tournament on a five-game unbeaten streak and has won eight of its last 10 contests, as it recorded its second-consecutive 30-win campaign. The 49ers, who finished third in the Big West Conference with a 15-6 mark in league play, tied the school record with a .273 batting average, while also posting the program’s third-highest home run total (24) during the regular season.

Long Beach State is 2-1 against the Los Angeles Regional field. The 49ers defeated then No.12 Fresno State, 8-0, on March 1 at the Mayfair Tournament, before edging then No. 3 UCLA, 2-1, at the Long Beach Invitational the following weekend. LBSU fell short against UNLV, dropping a 4-2 decision in San Jose (March 14).

There are 16 four-team regionals which feature a double-elimination format. The regional winners will then advance to the Super Regionals for a best-of-three series, May 22-23. The remaining eight teams will advance to the Women’s College World Series (May 28-June 3) in Oklahoma City.

The winner of the Los Angeles Regional will take on the top team out of the Columbia Regional, which includes No. 15 DePaul, Bradley, Illinois and host Missouri.

Los Angeles Regional Schedule
Easton Stadium – UCLA host
May 15-17, 2009

Friday, May 15
Game 1 – 1 p.m. – Fresno State (36-18) vs. UNLV (31-19)
Game 2 – 3:30 p.m. – UCLA (41-9) vs. Long Beach State (34-19)

Saturday, May 16
Game 3 – 1 p.m. – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 4 – 3:30 p.m. – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5 – 6 p.m. – Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

Sunday, May 17
Game 6 – 12 p.m. – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7 – 2:30 p.m. – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)