Dayton softball team ready for NCAA tournament debut

Schutter’s sister Maggie, a 2018 UD graduate, play volleyball at UD for four seasons. Her dad Mark played tennis at Dayton from 1981-85. There was little doubt Emma, a 2021 Centerville High School graduate, would join them but no guarantee she would experience the NCAA tournament as her sister did three times during her college career.

The Dayton softball program has never played in the NCAA tournament, but that will change this week. Dayton won the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament on Saturday, heard its name called on the NCAA selection show Sunday and plays Tennessee at 2:30 p.m. Friday in Knoxville, Tenn. The game will air on ESPN+.

“It’s amazing I get to experience this with my team,” said Emma, who bats leadoff and plays centerfield. “Growing up, this was my biggest dream.”

Schutter won the A-10 Rookie of the Year award as a freshman in 2022. She was one of two Flyers to start all 46 games that season. She was the only Flyer to start all 55 games last season. She’s one of three Flyers, along with second baseman Maddie Kapsimalis and shortstop Kirnan Bailey, to start all 52 games this season.

Dayton (33-19) faces its biggest test of the season this weekend at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in the double-elimination regional. The Volunteers (40-10 overall) are 20-2 at home.

Tennessee’s roster includes pitcher Karlyn Pickens, one of 10 finalists for the USA Softball’s National Player of the Year award. She has the nation’s ninth-best ERA (1.26) and a 19-6 record with 186 strikeouts in 156 innings.

The Miami RedHawks (48-7) and Virginia (32-18) play at noon Friday in the first game of the regional. Dayton will play one of those two teams in the second game of the regional Saturday. The regional concludes Sunday.

At No. 125, Dayton is the lowest-ranked team in the regional in the NCAA’s Rating Percentage Index. Tennessee is No. 8. Virginia is No. 30. Miami is No. 35.

Dayton is one of three programs in the 64-team field, along with Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion Siena and Southland Conference champion Southeastern, making its NCAA tournament debut.

Dayton takes confidence into the NCAA tournament after winning three games in the A-10 tournament by an 18-3 margin.

“We know that we can beat a variety of styles of play, and we can adapt,” coach Cara Clark said. “We’re versatile, and we’ve got really good competitive experience in the circle. So I think we match up well with a lot of different types of teams just depending on what we decide to do with our lineup. We’ve got a lot of options.

“This team is special. We’ve got really great veteran leadership. We have a lot of experience, and I think that really came through for us in some situations.”

The NCAA tournament appearance comes in Clark’s 17th season. She is the winningest coach in UD softball history and surpassed the 400-win mark earlier this season. In 23 seasons as a head coach, she has 544 career victories. She spent her first six seasons at Clarke College, her alma mater.

“As a fifth-year senior, I’ve been around a lot,” pitcher Sarah Bailitz said, “and I respect her immensely. It means a lot to me that this team has accomplished that goal.”