Softball Team NCAA Bound

The
Virginia Tech softball team received an invitation to the NCAA Tournament for
the second consecutive season on Sunday afternoon. The Hokies will be the #2
seed in the four-team Knoxville Regional, where they will face #3 seed
Louisville. The first pitch will come at 2:30 pm on Friday, May 19. The winner
will face the winner of #1 seed Tennessee and #4 seed Tennessee Tech. The format
is double-elimination.

This is the second straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the Hokies. Last
season they advanced to the finals of the ACC Tournament and were invited to the
Knoxville Regionals. They lost to the College of Charleston in the first round,
and then defeated Miami (OH.) in the losers’ bracket. They faced the College
of Charleston again and were eliminated from the double elimination regional.

The Hokies did not play their best in the ACC Tournament recently, but they
are coming off a regular season third place finish in the ACC. They were upset
by Virginia in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Tech managed to knock off
Maryland in the losers’ bracket before eventually falling to top-seeded NC
State on Friday night.

Tennessee is the #8 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA names the
top 16 seeds out of 64 teams, and the Hokies are not among the top 16 teams. If
Tech is fortunate enough to win their regional, they will play Michigan,
Youngstown State, Oklahoma or Kent State in the Super Regionals. The eight
winners of the Super Regionals will advance to the Women’s College World
Series in Oklahoma City.

Click
here for the full NCAA bracket

The
Miami Dolphins were apparently impressed enough by Marcus Vick’s minicamp
performance that they are negotiating a free agent contract with Vick’s agent.
Vick worked out as a quarterback and wide receiver in Miami’s minicamp the
weekend following the NFL Draft.

However the move to Miami is not a done deal. The CFL’s Toronto Argonauts
own Vick’s contractural rights to the CFL, and they have major interest in
signing the former Virginia Tech quarterback as well.

At this point it is not clear what position the Dolphins want Vick to play.
If he is set on playing quarterback, the Argonauts would almost certainly give
him a chance, while the Dolphins may view Vick as more of a wide receiver
prospect.

If Vick ends up in Toronto, he may be bringing a former Dolphin with him. The
Argonauts also own the contract rights to former All Pro running back Ricky
Williams. However they must wait to receive permission from Miami before they
can sign Williams.

On Tuesday night, May 16, Virginia Tech will hold Chuck Hartman Night at
English field. It is the final home game of the season for the Hokies, and the
last home game for Hartman, who spent 47 years as a college coach. Tech will
take on the Charlotte 49ers, who defeated the Hokies 8-5 earlier in the season.

The first pitch is scheduled for 7pm. Prior to the game there will be a
special ceremony honoring Hartman, who is finishing his 28th season as Tech’s
head coach. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a free Virginia Tech
mini-baseball.