Huskies begin quest for World Series today in Amherst

May 15, 2009, 12:00 AM

While most of her teammates were probably wondering where in the world Sacred Heart is, pitcher Danielle Lawrie recognized the name immediately when it was announced today that the tiny school from Connecticut would be the Washington softball team's first opponent in the NCAA tournament at the Amherst, Mass., regional. That's because one of Lawrie's high-school teammates and best friends, Amanda Bradley, is a senior infielder for the Pioneers. "That's what was really weird when we pulled that," Lawrie said. "My eyes kind of got big. It's weird that we're going to be playing them right out of the chute." Lawrie said Bradley left her an excited voicemail immediately after the pairing was announced. But other than that, Lawrie says she can't offer much more about Sacred Heart than anyone else - which isn't a whole lot, given the school's relative obscurity. "She doesn't really give me the low down," Lawrie said. "I don't really ask. I really just kind of pay attention to what our team does." That's the only option this weekend for the No. 3 Huskies, as they begin the postseason in uncharted territory against a small-time school that probably isn't very high on ESPN's TV priority list. The Pioneers finished the regular season 25-26 after winning the NEC tournament to clinch an NCAA bid, their first in school history. So unlike preparing for conference opponents such as UCLA or Arizona with old game film and detailed reports of batters' tendencies and pitchers' arsenals, the Huskies don't have a whole lot with which to prepare for the Pioneers. That's just fine with UW head softball coach Heather Tarr. "In a way, it kind of gets you back to what we're about," Tarr said. "Ultimately, you've got to be prepared. You've got to take care of yourself. We have to play our game. It's actually kind of nice to hit the start button again and say, 'We'll do what we do.'" The toughest challenge for the Huskies, who are favorites to win the four-team, double-elimination regional, will likely be posed by the host team, Massachusetts, which comes in with a 38-8 record and a pitcher with numbers almost as dominant as Lawrie's. Brandice Balschmiter is 31-4 this year with a 0.91 ERA and likely presents the only real road-block the Huskies could face in Amherst. Massachusetts faces Cornell today in the region's other first-round game. Washington will play UMass tomorrow if both squads win today. "We've got to get through step one to get through step two," Tarr said. "UMass is a very good team. Cornell is a good team. All three of the teams are pretty capable. I would say UMass, by far, is the best team in that tournament besides us." Tarr's take-care-of-our-own-business approach is obviously resonating with her players. Nobody really seems to care that they don't know much about Sacred Heart, saying that all that really matters is continuing to do the things that got them here. "I'm sure we'll talk about them a little bit when we get down there," outfielder Kimi Pohlman said Tuesday. "We really try to focus on playing our game and not trying to change that for the competition." Reach sports editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

Stay up to Date

Subscribe to our weekly newsletters covering the news, arts, and sports.

Huskies begin quest for World Series today in Amherst

Disruptor interrupts Psych 210, professor and students chase man on to Red Square

2025 Seattle and King County primary election endorsements

UW mechanical engineering students are now required to pay $250 quarterly fee to participate in department-affiliated RSOs

College Inn Pub reopens under new ownership