After weeks of speculation about whether or not the Virginia Tech softball team would be a National Seed and host the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, it turned out that they fell short in that goal. Was it a surprise to head coach Pete D’Amour?
“I think we had the résumé to host and we didn’t host,” said D’Amour. “I’m not surprised and I’m not not surprised. Our name was called, so let’s get ready to play.”
The Hokies came up just short of being a Top 16 seed and instead will have to hit the road for a familiar place they visited back in February, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home of the 15th-seeded Crimson Tide. The second-seed in the regional, Virginia Tech, will play Belmont on Friday afternoon, with Alabama playing Jackson State. Here are three thoughts about the Hokies being snubbed as a Top 16 seed.
Three crucial losses that kept the Hokies from hosting
At the time, everyone knew it was a bad series loss last month when Virginia Tech traveled to Pittsburgh and dropped two out of three to the Panthers. Despite winning the middle game, 21-0, the Hokies dropped the other two games, which were bad losses.
Then there was the brutal decision by the ACC to play Friday’s semifinal of the ACC Tournament against Clemson in the pouring rain in Boston. Leading 9-2 in the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers took advantage of the Hokies' pitchers' unable to grip the ball in the rain to rally for a 10-9 victory. That was a game that should not have been factored into by the committee. Neither team should have had that game have meaning for the NCAA Tournament seeding.
Virginia Tech needs to have the right frame of mind
Ignoring the outside noise is easier said than done in terms of the Hokies getting hosed by the committee, but shortstop Annika Rose said it best following the selection show on Sunday night after Virginia Tech was placed in Alabama’s Regional.
“We have the ‘so what’ mentality,” Rohs said. “So what if we’re not hosting? We’re ready to go to Alabama or whatever this week brings us.”
Show up and play and see where the chips fall in the end.
Virginia Tech can win this Regional
If there is one positive with Virginia Tech’s replacement, it’s that they have already been there and won earlier this year. They split two games with the Crimson Tide in the Easton Bama Bash, and this is more than a winnable series. If Virginia Tech’s pitching can work itself out and they play good defense, there is no doubt that they can come out of the regional and get to the Super’s, most likely at Oklahoma.