ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The University of Rochester softball team is heading to the NCAA tournament as one of the best Division III programs in the country.
The Yellow Jackets have made the NCAA tournament 12 times total and five times over the last six years. They even made it to the finals round back in 2021. This year’s team is ranked 22nd in the country.
“If all else fails, man, we’re just running high on the confidence and just believing in each other and knowing that we can beat anybody,” head coach Abby Hurley-Martin said.
Hurley-Martin is in her third year at the helm. She’s already made it to regionals twice. Some seniors on this team will be making their third trip.
“Our senior class has been unbelievable. Some of the best leadership I’ve ever had in my career,” Hurley-Martin said.
One of those seniors is Molly Broccolo, a Webster Schroeder native who has pitched more than 100 games for the Yellow Jackets. She threw a stellar seven-inning outing in the Liberty League final, just a day after losing to the Bombers.
“I’m a ground ball pitcher, so everything’s coming to the infield, everything like that. And a lot of the hits would be like in between. So we kind of changed to have five people on the infield and I think it’s been really working. So I think just having all my girls behind me and just being able to come back from the Friday loss, just to be able to beat them was great,” Broccolo said.
She’s not the only hometown hero turned playoff hero. Sutherland graduate Julianna Lyons hit a grand slam to secure an 8-5 win and the University of Rochester’s automatic bid.
“I was just trying to focus in on my bat and remind myself of my fundamentals so I don’t get too big and like swing to make and miss. But once my favorite pitch came inside and high, I knew it was a great place to swing. And it worked out,” Lyons said.
The Yellow Jackets are now headed to the NCAA tournament, familiar territory for a program with high expectations.
“You know, that’s been the expectation here. And last year kind of coming off a disappointing year and losing on our own field, definitely gave us motivation to not let that happen again,” Hurley-Martin said.
The Yellow Jackets are battle-tested and experienced. News10NBC’s Ian Mills reports they have a little bit of everything.
“We have a little bit of everything. We have good pitching, good defense. Obviously offensively we were shining all year,” Hurley-Martin said.
Now it’s just about putting it all together when they visit reigning national champion Trine in the regional round.
“It’s really exciting because this is a big opportunity for us to make some noise about how good we are. I think that our strength schedule has prepared us really well for a really tough opponent. And just because they’re the reigning national champs doesn’t mean we can’t take a chance,” Lyons said.
“Wherever you go, you know, you’re going to play one of the top 25 ranked teams. So coming back to play the national champions, I know it’s going to be tough, but we know that we’re a determined team and we’re ready to go for it,” Broccolo said.
The Yellow Jackets will play their first regional round game on Thursday in Indiana.
URochester softball earns fifth NCAA bid in six years WHEC.com.
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