Pitt Softball Earn First Trip To NCAA Tournament
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) – For the first time in program history, Pitt softball is headed to the NCAA Softball Tournament.
The Panthers opened up the season 10-0 but flew under the radar until upsetting higher seeded Notre Dame and North Carolina in the ACC Tournament.
Pitt fell to top-seeded Florida State in the championship game but the Panthers still made enough of an impact to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament, finishing the season 35-20 (11-13 ACC.)
Head coach Holly Aprile said the chance of a NCAA Tournament appearance didn't really seem like a big possibility until late in the regular season.
"I thought we kind of had a shot in those last five games but we were a bubble team until the end," Aprile said.
Pitt will open up tournament action against California Berkeley (38-16) in the regional round at Ann Arbor, Michigan on May 15.
"They are very good defensively, they have some good lefties in the lineup and they have some good experience in terms of their senior leadership," Aprile said. "And they are a team that is coming off not being in a regional last year like us, but they do have more of a history of that and have been in the college World Series."
This will be the 29th NCAA Tournament appearance for the Bears but the first year Panthers aren't planning on letting their inexperience be a factor. Senior outfielder Carly Thea said it's all about staying relaxed.
"When we play relaxed and we play the game that we love to have fun with I think that is when we play our best," Thea said. "When you make it fun and enjoy the experience you get to have that's when we play our best and that's when we are hitting bombs and having fun."
The first round in Ann Arbor will consist of four teams playing under a double-elmination format, including No. 3 overall seed Michigan (51-6), Oakland (27-22) and California (38-16).
"I think we will be happy if we just go out there and just kind of play consistently and just play the kind of softball that we played at the ACC Tournament, win or lose we should feel good about that," Aprile said.
