On Wednesday morning, for the first time since 2006, the Utah softball team boarded a plane at the Salt Lake International Airport to head to the NCAA Regional tournament in Knoxville, Tenn.
Head coach Amy Hogue is excited to arrive and says it will be hard to wait until Friday to play. Although these Utes may lack experience in the tournament, Hogue said this is not a concern for any of her players.
“They’re not thinking about that at all,” Hogue said. “They’re anxious, they’re excited, they’re very confident going in. They believe they can win, and that’s worth so much.”
Outfielder Kate Dickman has been an instrumental piece in Utah’s success this season, and she expects the Utes to walk away with a few more wins under their belts after the weekend.
“Hope to play as a team and hope to play our best and leave it all out on the field,” Dickman said.
The team is hitting their stride leading into the postseason, and Hogue thinks this can only benefit the Utes once that first pitch is thrown.
“We’ve been playing really well and peaking right at the right time,” Hogue said. “A big goal is to control the emotions that we have because of the newness of being in the tournament. I think that’s really the only obstacle that seems to be something we’re going to have to think about early on, but I like our chances.”
Dickman agrees Utah needs to keep its emotions in check and said the team is trying to not focus on the pressure.
“Be calm, lead my team and show that we can have fun, and we can do this and we can win,” Dickman said. “Go out and play hard.”
Aside from emotions, Hogue does not see anything standing in their way. With school recently finished up, Hogue said the Utes can now focus all their time and energy on the tournament.
“They’re having fun, and it’s nice that they’re done with school,” Hogue said. “A lot of them finished well and are getting their grades. Everything’s really coming together and the timing’s perfect for how they’re peaking and they’re done with school.”
Even with the recent headlines Utah has been making, Hogue does not feel any added pressure. By writing up a line-up and simply getting out of the way, the head coach feels she has done enough.
“I feel, if anything, the pressure is off,” Hogue said. “They’re confidence is up, and the belief they have in themselves is real … They know that the work pays off because they’ve proven that.”
If they are to make a run in this tournament, the Utes need to do what they’ve done all season: play as a team.
“We’re not a team that wins games because of one or two players,” Hogue said. “We’re such a team, and any given day someone can be the superstar. It’s not always the starting pitcher. It’s not always your No. 3 batter. Most the time it’s not, and the confidence we have in everybody in our lineup is probably why we’ve had so much success late.”
Thanks to playing in the Pac-12 as well as playing a challenging non-conference schedule, Dickman believes the Utes are more than prepared.
“[We] hope to play as a team and hope to play our best and leave it all out on the field,” Dickman said. “We’ve been playing postseason-caliber teams for the past 24 games, so we’re ready.”
As the players boarded the airplane Wednesday morning, there was an obvious excitement. Utah is looking forward to this opportunity over the weekend, and it hopes to continue the momentum it gained throughout the end of the regular season.
“We’re excited, and I feel like this team has worked hard for this opportunity and [is] pretty excited to keep the bus rocking,” Hogue said.
The Utes will play Virginia Tech on Friday afternoon in their first game.
@kbrenneisen