Softball team draws No. 3 seed in NCAA tournament

May 11, 2009, 12:00 AM

They knew they'd have to go on the road. But the Washington softball team will accrue a few more frequent flyer miles than some may have expected to get to its NCAA regional location this weekend. The Huskies drew the tournament's No. 3 seed yesterday and will travel to Amherst, Mass., for the regional round of the postseason to face Sacred Heart on Friday. Massachusetts, the regional's host, faces Cornell in the other first-round game. "We go on the road all the time," said UW head coach Heather Tarr. "One of the reasons why we play on the road [in the regular season] is because you have to play on the road for the national championship." Washington is ineligible to host the regional round because it doesn't have lights at its stadium; since all games will be televised, the TV schedule could dictate that teams play at night. The Huskies have been road-tested all season. They've beaten the tournament's No. 1 seed, Florida, the No. 4 seed, Alabama, the No. 5 seed, Michigan, and the No. 6 seed, Georgia, all away from home. From the Pac-10, UCLA (No. 2), Stanford (No. 8), Arizona (No. 9) and Arizona State (No. 10) are also among the top 16 seeds in the tournament. California also made the field of 64, rounding out the six Pac-10 teams in the tournament. Oregon and Oregon State were the only ones that missed out. The UW is traveling farther than any other team in the nation for the regional round, somewhat of a surprise considering that the selection committee thinks only two teams in the nation are better than the Huskies right now. "It would be nice to stay at home," Tarr said. "But it's just unfortunate that we don't have lights yet. I'm hoping that we'll get them next year. Until that time, we're going to be road warriors." Should they advance past the regional round, the Huskies will likely have a date with No. 15 Georgia Tech in the super-regionals, which would be in Seattle. Washington last hosted a super-regional in 2007, when the Huskies beat Alabama in two games to clinch the first Women's College World Series appearance in Tarr's career as head coach. If all goes according to plan, the Huskies will return to the World Series after a disappointing postseason finish last year, when they fell to Houston in the regional round. "You just have to think game by game," said UW ace Danielle Lawrie, who figures to pitch every inning of the postseason this year. "I think the big focus for me is just: 'Let's go get a win there and just kind of play it game by game.'" Sacred Heart (25-26) is making its first-ever NCAA postseason appearance after winning the NEC tournament last weekend. The Pioneers are a relative unknown to the Huskies - and likely the rest of the West Coast. Massachusetts (38-8) is the only team in the UW's region that has made any noise at the national level in recent memory and is hosting a regional for the second consecutive season. Lawrie said the Huskies are ready for anyone. "We played the top four teams [in the tournament], and that kind of gets me excited and ready to go," Lawrie said. "We know what it takes, so I think we're very capable." Reach sports editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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