The Binghamton softball team gathered in the TAU room of the Events Center on Sunday night, anxiously awaiting the reveal of its opening round opponent in its first NCAA Division I tournament appearance. The NCAA, via ESPNU, announced that the Bearcats (24-19, 10-6 America East), who captured their first ever AE Championship on Saturday, will take on 15th-seeded James Madison (47-8, 19-0 Colonial Athletic).

The last time the Bearcats’ battled JMU was back in 2011, when they were defeated, 2-1, at the JMU Days Inn Invitational.

The contest between the two squads is part of the larger Harrisonburg Regional, a double-elimination style tournament in which Fordham and North Carolina State will also compete. BU played both teams this season at the NC State Tournament March 13-15, falling, 6-4, to Fordham (36-18, 17-5 Atlantic 10) and 7-0 to NC State (35-20, 13-8 Atlantic Coast).

Binghamton must win the Harrisonburg Regional in order to advance to a Super Regional, the next round of the NCAA Tournament, scheduled to be held May 21-24.

The last time the Bearcats competed on the national stage was in 1998, when Binghamton, then a Division III program, made its last of four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

First pitch in Binghamton’s contest with James Madison is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Friday at Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, Virginia.