This team and this day are really exciting because they’ve put the time in to make it happen. – Utah coach Amy Hogue
NORTH SALT LAKE — It has been a while since the University of Utah softball team has been invited to participate in postseason play.
Nine years to be exact.
But that drought came to a welcome end Sunday night when the NCAA Softball Selection Committee included the Utes in the 64-team field in the 34th softball national championship tournament.
Utah (34-17) is headed to the Knoxville Regional, where it will open play against Virginia Tech (34-21) at 1:30 p.m. (MT) on Friday afternoon.
“We’re happy. We would have been happy to go anywhere,” senior outfielder Kate Dickman said after learning of the team’s destination at a selection show watch party in North Salt Lake. “It’s just so exciting. It went by too fast; I want to rewind and do it all over again.”
Of the 64 teams in the tournament, 32 earned automatic bids while the other 32, including Utah, earned at-large invitations. It is the Utes' first trip to the tournament since joining the Pac-12 and their first under head coach Amy Hogue.
“This team and this day are really exciting because they’ve put the time in to make it happen,” Hogue said. “I never saw our name come up (on the screen) because I just stared at their faces. I saw their faces, and that meant the world to me.”
The NCAA softball champion will be decided over three weeks of competition, beginning with the regionals held May 14-17 at 16 different campus locations. At each site, four teams will compete in a double-elimination tournament and the winner will advance to a Super Regional. In addition to Utah and Virginia Tech, the other Knoxville Regional teams are Longwood (Virginia) and No. 8-ranked Tennessee, two teams the Utes have already met and defeated this season.
“We beat Tennessee in Palm Springs this year and we beat Longwood twice, so we’re 3-0 against that bracket right now,” said Hogue. “But it’s postseason. Everybody’s after everybody, and it’s a whole different game than preseason.”
Hogue, Dickman, and the rest of the team are confident heading into the tournament because they feel they have been playing high-caliber teams all season. Seven Pac-12 squads were included in the NCAA Tournament field and all seven ended the season ranked in the top 25.
“There’s nothing physically different we need to be doing. As a matter of fact, that’s our goal: To not do anything different physically,” Hogue said. “Handling the emotions will be something we’ll have to figure out and keep in check. You can’t practice those emotions, they come with the territory, and we’re excited to see what it feels like.”
Utah earned its spot in the tournament after winning five straight Pac-12 series, three of which were against teams ranked in the top 25, and splitting with No. 20 Washington in the final series of the regular season. As of May 4, Utah was No. 24 in the ESPN.com/USA softball poll and No. 26 in the RPI rankings.
The Utah softball team is the eighth team on the Utah campus to be ranked in the top 25 this academic school year. It has earned the honor alongside volleyball, football, women’s soccer, men’s basketball, gymnastics, men’s swimming and women’s skiing.
“The feeling around here is so energetic, so exciting,” said Hogue of the Utah campus. “People that didn’t know anything about us five years ago know a lot about us now, and that’s why it’s been so fun for all the teams.
“It’s just such a fun time to be a Ute.”
Sarah Thomas earned a degree in Mathematics from the University of Utah and is currently pursuing an MBA at Westminster College. She has been covering sports for the Deseret News since 2008.