Hoosiers earn first NCAA bid in 10 years

The Indiana softball team earned its first bid to the 64-team NCAA Tournament since 1996, where they will play in the Austin Regional May 19 through 21. \n"It's pretty surreal still," senior Megan Roark said. "We've been working for this for four years now. Regionals was a huge accomplishment and so it's pretty overwhelming."\nThe Austin Regional features, among other teams, the host and the brackets' overall No. 3 seed, Texas (49-7). The Hoosiers will face Utah (39-13) in the first round of the Tournament. \n"It doesn't matter who we play," said IU head softball coach Stacey Phillips. "We're playing sharp baseball and we're peaking at the right moment."\nThe Hoosiers have enjoyed a season of historical proportions as they upset No. 3-seeded Iowa to advance to their first semifinal game in school history. The win is also Indiana's first win in the Big Ten Tournament since 1982. Overall, the Hoosiers finished the regular season with a 29-23-1 record.\n"Good things happen when you make it to the Big Ten Tournament," said Phillips. "We've exceeded expectations in people away from the program."\nThe announcement of the bid to the NCAA Tournament overshadowed the Hoosiers' earlier loss in the day to No. 13 Michigan in the semifinal game of the Big Ten Tournament. \nSenior pitcher Mariangee Bogado struck out six in the semifinal game, while three different Hoosiers registered hits in the loss to Michigan, which was seeded second. \nThe Wolverines scored first in the opening inning with two hits but that was the only run that the Hoosiers allowed through five innings. Indiana, however, could not get anything going despite having three hits early on in the game. Eventually, the Wolverines were able to extend their lead to 3-0 in the top of the sixth inning as they took advantage of a walk, two hits and a Hoosier error. Michigan scored another run in the top of the seventh to finish its scoring output to make the score 4-0.\nThe Hoosiers faced All-American pitcher Jennie Ritter in the final inning and could not muster up a comeback as their season ended a game short of the Big Ten Championship final.