HARRISONBURG — They say Ann Arbor, Mich., is lovely in the spring. All things considered, though, the James Madison softball team would have preferred to spend the next week at home.

The Dukes gathered at O’Neill’s Grill on Sunday night knowing their seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament was a given after crushing the field in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament earlier in the week. So there was a contained celebration once JMU’s name finally appeared on TV, indicating the Dukes would open the postseason Friday against DePaul.

“That part never gets old,” fifth-year senior pitcher Megan Good said.

But as the team sat in tables lined up through the middle of the restaurant, eyes fixed on screens tuned to ESPN2, the real question was whether JMU would become a regional host for the first time since 2016.

Entering the tournament with a an RPI of No. 14 and a 47-7 record, including winning 14 of 21 games against teams with an RPI in the Top 75, JMU’s case for a Top 16 national seed and the right to host the opening rounds seemed strong. Several projections, including Softball America, predicted the Dukes to host.

The crowd cheered as Ohio State took the final spot in the Knoxville Regional and Virginia Tech and Illinois were sent to Lexington, Ky. If JMU wasn’t heading to one of those relatively close locations, it seemed all the more likely Veterans Memorial Park would see more action this weekend.

“When our names weren’t called, I thought ‘they wouldn’t put us on an airplane,’” JMU coach Loren LaPorte said.

It turned out all the guesses were wrong.

The Dukes are heading to Michigan, where the Wolverines are the No. 15 seed and one of two national seeds JMU has already beaten this season. DePaul and Saint Francis (Pa.) round out the four-team regional field. The winner advances to play the winner of the UCLA-hosted region in the Super Regional round.

Once the bracket was unveiled it became apparent the selection committee valued a high quantity of Top 50 victories, favoring power conference programs. JMU finished ahead of Kentucky, Michigan and Ole Miss in the RPI and had better records than all of them against the Top 75.

But the Dukes were 4-5 against Top 50 teams. Kentucky also finished one game below .500 in such games, but was 19-20. Michigan was 13-10 against the Top 50 and Ole Miss 18-16. JMU didn’t have a loss outside the Top 100, while Michigan and Ole Miss each did.

“I knew it was going to come down to probably us, Northwestern and Michigan,” LaPorte said. “It’s one of those things ... we’re in it. The World Series is on the road, so why don’t we get used to the road from the get-go. We’ll use this as a little fuel again.”

The disappointment of not getting to play at home quickly shifted to examining the Ann Arbor Region. DePaul enters the NCAA Tournament after knocking off Villanova for the Big East title while Saint Francis was an upset winner of the Northeastern Conference tourney.

Having already defeated Michigan in their first meeting this season, JMU has every reason to believe it can come out of Ann Arbor and make the school’s second Super Regional appearance.

“That’s not a bad regional to be in,” JMU junior slugger Kate Gordon said. “We’re a little discouraged we’re not hosting, but we’re happy we’re in that region.”