The Michigan softball team didn't have the ideal end to its regular season over the weekend, falling 9-3 to Wisconsin in the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament despite being the tournament's top seed.

The Wolverines will have to quickly put that loss behind them as they will host the opening round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament on Friday.

The No. 6 ranked Wolverines (45-10) received a No. 8 seed in the tournament and will host a four-team regional featuring Central Michigan (33-18), Valparaiso (35-24) and California (36-17). Michigan will play Valparaiso Friday at 7 p.m. (ESPN3) at Alumni Field and the winner will play the winner of California and Central Michigan at noon on Saturday. California and Central play each other at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

"Being selected for the NCAA Tournament is always an honor, and we look forward to competing for a national championship," Michigan head coach Carol Hutchins said in a release on Sunday. "Hosting a regional is a reflection of the hard work we put in during the regular season. Michigan softball has the best fans in the world, and we are so fortunate to play in front of them at Alumni Field for another weekend. It is our mission every year to win the Big Ten title and compete for a national championship. We look forward to playing one pitch at a time."

Michigan faced Central Michigan earlier in the year and beat the Chippewas, 11-0. Central features senior outfielder Brogan Darwin, a 2008 Chelsea High School graduate. Darwin has appeared in 37 games for the Chippewas, starting 29, and is hitting .304 with 13 RBIs on the season. It is Central's first NCAA appearance since 2004.

Michigan is appearing in its 19th consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines have won 13 regional championships in program history. If Michigan wins its regional it will host the Super Regional round as well.

Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, May 14. Visit MGoBlue.com for details

Regional schedule:

Friday, May 17
Game 1 - Central Michigan vs. California, 4:30 p.m.
Game 2 - Michigan vs. Valparaiso, 7 p.m.*

Saturday, May 18
Game 3 - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, Noon
Game 4 - Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2:30 p.m.
Game 5 - Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 5 p.m.

Sunday, May 19
Game 6 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 7 (if necessary) - Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 3:30 p.m.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.