WESTWOOD, Calif. – Following a few days being in California, Virginia Tech softball is ready to face San Diego State for its first game of the NCAA Tournament.
The contest will be the first of the Los Angeles Regional, which also features No. 6 overall UCLA and Grand Canyon. The Hokies' matchup with the Aztecs takes place at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU at Easton Stadium, with Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Danielle Lawrie (analyst) on the call.
Tech (39-12-1, 18-6 ACC) enters the regional on a little bit of a cold streak, falling to sixth-seeded Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament and dropping a series at Syracuse. But that doesn't faze the team.
"We're day to day," D'Amour said. "It's a confidence thing now. I think we're in a good spot. It kind of feels eerily similar to '21. We were a No. 2 seed and went out West … but clutch hitting is what it is. We're getting into good counts. We're lining out a lot. Get a lot of walks. Just getting hits really matter now."
The Aztecs (31-18, 15-7 Mountain West) on the other hand won the Mountain West conference tournament title, behind Mountain West Co-Player of the Year Mac Barbara. They've shown they're not scared of Power Five teams earlier this season, defeating Illinois, Nebraska, then-No. 11 Missouri and then-No. 25 Kentucky.
SCHEDULE (All times Eastern)
Friday | 6 p.m. | San Diego State vs. Virginia Tech | ESPNU
Friday | 8:30 p.m. | Grand Canyon vs. UCLA | ESPN+
Saturday | 5 p.m. | Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 | TBD
Saturday | 7:30 p.m. | Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 | TBD
Saturday | 10 p.m. | Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3 | TBD
Sunday | TBD | Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5 | TBD
Sunday | TBD | *If Necessary Game | TBDGallery: (5-16-2024) SB: NCAA Regional Practice
Gallery: (5-17-2024) SB: Thursday Santa Monica Outing