NEW ORLEANS - Two-time defending champion, Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns, earned the top seed heading into the 2010 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship, which will be held May 12-15 at Jaguar Field on the campus of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala.

The SBC will use a new format this season which emulates the College World Series bracket. The loser of games seven and eight will switch sides of the bracket to play through the loser's bracket. The SBC tournament differs from the CWS bracket in that the SBC championship game is single elimination whereas the CWS championship round is the best two-out-of-three.

The Ragin' Cajuns posted a conference best 19-5 record and a 38-16 overall record this season to earn the conference's top seed. This marks the tenth time in the last 11 years that the Ragin' Cajuns have earned the top spot in the softball tournament.

The only season UL did not earn the top seed was in 2007, which also happens to be the only year the team did not win the regular season or tournament title.

UL, which has won ten of the last 11 SBC regular season titles and nine of the last ten SBC tournament titles, enters the 2010 tournament having won 15 of their last 17 games. UL will face No. 8 Middle Tennessee at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 12 in the opening round of the tournament.

FIU, with a 17-7 conference mark and 36-17 overall record, is the tournament's No. 2 seed and will face No. 7 Louisiana-Monroe on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. The Golden Panthers are led by senior pitching ace Kasey Barrett, who set a new FIU school record for strikeouts this season.

North Texas earned the tournament's No. 3 seed after finishing the regular season with 12 SBC wins and 27 wins overall. Florida Atlantic is the No. 4 seed in the tournament with a 12-10 conference record. FAU is the only other school to win an SBC Tournament title, having done so in 2007.

South Alabama won its way into the fifth seed after sweeping Troy on Saturday, May 8 to finish the season with an 8-10 conference record. Troy is the No. 6 seed. South Alabama will face Florida Atlantic at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 12 while North Texas and Troy will square-off at 10 a.m. on May 12.

USA, the host institution, reserved the right to choose the time of its first round game and chose to play in the 5:30 p.m. time slot as compared to the 3:00 p.m. time slot. Conference policy states the host institution can choose the time of their first round games only.

Louisiana-Monroe is the seventh seed in the tournament followed by Middle Tennessee, which earned the eighth and final seed of the tournament by sweeping WKU this past weekend.

Championship festivities begin on Tuesday, May 11 at 8 p.m. CT with the Championship Family Night celebration. There will be a home run derby featuring student-athletes, an autograph session and fireworks. Softball action will start Wednesday, May 12, with the opening game's first pitch slated for 10 a.m.

Fans can watch the 2009 Sun Belt Softball Championship online with SBC Extra for only $9.95. Click here to sign up today!

2010 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship Tournament Seeds:
1. Louisiana (19-5, 0.792)
2. FIU (17-7, 0.708)
3. North Texas (12-9, 0.571)
4. Florida Atlantic (12-10, 0.545)
5. South Alabama (8-10, 0.444)
6. Troy (10-13, 0.435)
7. Louisiana-Monroe (9-14, .391)
8. Middle Tennessee (7-17, 0.292)

2010 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship Tournament Schedule:
Wednesday, May 12
10:00 AMG1 - No. 3 North Texas vs. No. 6 Troy
12:30 PMG2 - No. 2 FIU vs. No. 7 Louisiana-Monroe
3:00 PMG3 - No. 1 Louisiana vs. No. 8 Middle Tennessee
5:30 PMG4 - No. 4 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 5 South Alabama

Thursday, May 13
10:00 AMG5 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
12:30 PMG6 - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
3:00 PMG7 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
5:30 PMG8 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

Friday, May 14
10:00 AMG9 - Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 5
12:30 PMG10 - Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 6
3:00 PMG11 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9
5:30 PMG12 - Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10

Saturday, May 15
3:00 PMG13 - Championship Game

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