BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech softball team earned an at-large berth in the 2012 NCAA Softball Championship, as announced Sunday night. The Hokies will face UAB in the first round of the Knoxville Regional and will be joined by Miami University and seventh-seeded Tennessee in the regional.
Tech will enter the tournament on a bit of a hot streak after making a surprising run to the title game of the ACC Tournament, beating Maryland and top-seeded North Carolina before falling to the hot-hitting Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the final. The Hokies are 40-19, reaching 40 wins for the seventh time in the program’s 17-year history.
A young group, the Hokies’ roster features only two seniors, neither of which started in the conference title game. Four freshmen bat in the top five of the order, along with two sophomores and three juniors, plus junior pitcher Jasmin Harrell (29-14).
This squad has already set school records for home runs, sacrifice flies, double plays turned and have the highest fielding percentage in both the ACC and in program history.
Joining Tech in the regional are: UAB, Tennessee and Miami University. The Hokies will face UAB in Friday’s first round while the Lady Vols and Redhawks will play in the other game. Times and seeds will be announced Monday.
UAB is 37-20 on the season and received an at-large bid out of Conference-USA. Tennessee is 46-10 and seeded seventh in the country, earning an at-large bid from the Southeastern Conference. Miami University won the Mid-American Conference and sits at 40-18. The Hokies beat Miami, 6-5 in 10 innings earlier this season.
Tech is 0-2 all-time against UAB, 6-1 against Miami and 7-7 against Tennessee.
Also making the tournament from the ACC were Georgia Tech, Florida State, North Carolina and Maryland.
This will be Tech's fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the first since 2008 when the Hokies went to Knoxville and won that regional.
More information will be available early in the week. Be sure to check back here or on Twitter for updates.
For updates on Virginia Tech softball, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Softball).