Irish softball ready to get to work for NCAA regionals

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - Despite entering the ACC Tournament on the bubble and getting upset in the first round, the Notre Dame softball team is dancing into the NCAA Tournament.

The Irish had a streak of 23 straight seasons of being selected for NCAA tournament heading into Sunday’s selection show. That streak now stretches to 24 straight years after they heard their name called.

Head Coach Deanna Gumpf told 16 Sports on Tuesday that she was 50-50 about Notre Dame’s chances of making it into this year’s tournament. Now that it’s all said and done, she said her team is excited for regionals and ready to get to work.

“It was just a big explosion in the room, and I’m not really sure what they were thinking, but it was massive high energy, and I think a lot of the girls were really surprised,” Gumpf said. “But I think the cool thing was the next morning when we got back together, and everybody was all on the same page. Ready to go, ready to do whatever it takes now at this point to end the way we want to end.”

Notre Dame will head to Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA Fayetteville Regional as part of a double-elimination field with Oregon, Harvard, and the host Arkansas.

The Irish, who are the No. 3 seed in the regional, will take on Oregon in the first round of the regional on Friday. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.

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