Virginia Tech, Liberty softball teams hit the road for NCAA Regional Tournament

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - For the fourth year in a row, Virginia Tech Softball team receiving a bid to the NCAA tournament. The Hokies are traveling to Athens to compete in the regional hosted by Georgia.

Last season, Tech hosted and advanced to the super regional for the second year in a row.

While this year will involve travel in the early rounds of the tournament, the Hokies say they don’t think it’ll matter kicking off regionals on the road starting with Boston on Friday.

“I think I think we play well on the road, regardless whether it’s regionals or not,” notes head coach Pete D’Amour. “So, traditionally, we’ve been apretty well versed road team. I think we’ll be alright. "

“I don’t think the mindset really changes. You know, it’s still softball, whether it’s home or whether it’s on the road. So we’re just going to keep the same mindset that we’ve had for the past couple of years now and we’re just going to go play hard and have fun,” says outfielder Emma Ritter.

“We’re super excited, doesn’t really matter who we play. We’re just excited to get out there and start playing,” adds utility player Jayme Bailey.

The Liberty softball team also snagged a spot in the programs first ever at large bid.

The Flames are traveling to California where UCLA will host- and it’s a field they’ve played on before this season.

Following the back-to-back extra inning losses in the ASUN tournament, the flames are looking forward to the fresh start on Friday against San Diego State.

“When postseason comes around, it’s like a whole new season” explains Rachel Craine. “It doesn’t matter what your stats have been like, we were here now in postseason. It’s a new start.”

“It’s really about what are you going to look back at…. are you going to say, ‘Oh, well, we went and it was fun,’ or you going to say ‘we went and we gave it our all’,” says Liberty head coach Dot Richardson.

The Softball NCAA tournament gets underway on Friday.

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