TUCSON--Top-ranked Arizona squares off against a talented No. 10 Louisiana State softball team Friday evening in the first game of the Super Regional that will determine one of eight berths in the Women's College World Series.

UA was the overall No. 2 seed in the 64-team NCAA Division I Softball Championships that began last weekend with regional play in Tucson, while LSU was the No. 15 team and played host to a regional in Baton Rouge. Both teams went 3-0. 

The Tigers were ranked No. 12 in the final regular-season NFCA poll on May 10, on which Arizona checked in at No. 2 behind UCLA. The Cats hit the top spot in USA Softball/ESPN's poll a week laterafter completing league play with 10 consecutive victories.

Arizona (47-9) and LSU (54-12) have not met this year nor ever in NCAA play, but coaches Mike Candrea of Arizona and Yvette Girouard of LSU are not strangers, both having won more than 1,000 games as head coaches at elite level programs.

Girouard has coached both Louisiana-Lafeyette and LSU to WCWS appearances. She's coached LSU to a 307-87 mark (1,066-337 overall) and has taken two Tigers' teams to Oklahoma City. Candrea is 1,074-212 at UA and has 17 WCWS appearances and six national championships in his storied career.