BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Florida Atlantic University’s softball team, which includes 2023 Keystone Heights High School graduate Kiley Channell, will play in the Gainesville Region of the NCAA tournament at the University of Florida’s Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
The Owls (44-9) will play Georgia Tech (27-22) at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 16. The game will be televised on ESPNU and also available via ESPN+. Florida (43-14), the third seed nationally, will play Mercer (38-24) at 4:30 p.m.
If FAU defeats Georgia Tech, it will play the Florida-Mercer winner at noon on Saturday, May 17. Otherwise, it’ll play the Florida-Mercer loser in an elimination game at 2:30 p.m. on May 17. The elimination-game winner will play the winner of the day’s first game at 5 p.m.
The championship game will be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 18. If necessary, a second game will be played at 3:30 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.floridagators.com or www.ncaa.com. Single-game tickets are $10 (general admission) and $25 (reserved). All-session tickets are $25 (general admission) and $30 (reserved).
Channell, a sophomore shortstop, earned second-team All-American Athletic Conference honors this season. She is batting .343 (fifth on the team) and leads the Owls in doubles with 14, which is second-most in the conference.
The former KHHS Indian also has 44 RBI, which ties her for second on the team.
FAU won the regular-season AAC championship and is making its second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.
