The Longwood University softball team was selected as the third seed into the Harrisonburg, Va., Regional Sunday and will begin play in the NCAA Tournament Friday against the University of North Carolina.

This is the first time in program history that the Lancers (38-18) have been named as the three seed in an NCAA Regional.

They will be taking on the Tar Heels (31-23) for the second time this season. UNC visited Farmville on March 15 and defeated Longwood 5-3.

The Lancers earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament this season after winning their second consecutive Big South Conference tournament championship Saturday. It was both their third title and their third NCAA berth in four seasons.

Longwood made it into the NCAA tourney in 2013 with a school-record 41 wins, and its next appearance came in 2015, when it got its inaugural win in the tournament, defeating Virginia Tech 6-4.