Coach Cara Clark, sitting at the end of the row of players, on the opposite end of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament trophy, which had its own seat, jumped up and raised both hands in the air.
This was a long-awaited moment for Clark, who’s in her 17th season, and the program, which will play in the NCAA tournament for the first time.”
“I’m really excited for our program,” Clark said. “I’m really excited for the players. I’m just so happy for all the players that have come before and all the support that we’ve gotten from the community.”
“It’s so much relief and a feeling of accomplishment, too,” said pitcher Sarah Bailitiz, who’s in her fifth season. “This program’s been around for 45 years. There have been plenty of great athletes who have come through here, so it’s really special to be the first team to break through that barrier.”
The Dayton softball program started playing in 1980 and moved to Division I in the 1985 season when it was in the North Star Conference with Xavier, Notre Dame and five other schools. It stayed in that conference until the 1989 season when it started play in the Midwest Collegiate Conference. The Flyers have played in the A-10 since the 1996 season.
Dayton (33-19) will play No. 3 seed Tennessee (40-10) in the first round at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. The double-elimination regional also includes the Miami RedHawks (48-7) and Virginia (32-18), who play at noon Friday. The games will air on ESPN+.
Dayton clinched a NCAA tournament berth by beating Saint Louis 3-0 in the A-10 championship game Saturday at Fordham’s Bahoshy Softball Complex in Bronx, N.Y. Dayton also won the regular-season title for the first time since 2015.
The Flyers gathered for the watch party Sunday knowing they would hear their name because the earned the A-10′s automatic berth. That didn’t dampen the excitement.
“When we came to campus in August, I knew this team was special,” said Chloe Wong, who was named the most outstanding player of the A-10 tournament, “and all of our hard work has paid off. It’s just so cool to see. Every girl on this team is so deserving, and the job’s not done.”
Dayton faces a big test Friday. Tennessee ranks seventh in the D1Softball.com poll. It will make its 21st NCAA tournament appearance. It has played in the College World Series eight times. Last season, it reached the national semifinal.
Tennessee has won the Southeastern Conference regular-season title two years in a row and beat seven ranked teams this season. Tennessee outscored Northern Kentucky and Indiana 28-4 in three games in the regional last season on its home field.
Dayton and Tennessee have played twice. Dayton lost 9-0 to Tennessee in the 2015 season opener and 3-1 in 2016.
“I’m excited because we’re going to be able to travel well,” Clark said. “I really feel like it’s a solid matchup for us. The whole regional is going to be competitive. We certainly are going to have challenges in front of us, but we’ve been able to prove that we’re able to win in a variety of ways.”
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