After an eventful conference tournament, Morgan State’s softball team looks to add to an already historic season Friday when they meet 10^th seeded Duke in the Durham Regional of the NCAA tournament.

The Lady Bears (35-18) won their second-ever MEAC tournament title Sunday after beating Coppin State twice 5-1 and 6-0. This is the second time in four years the Lady Bears have made the 64-team NCAA tournament.

“The regional tournament is no joke. We are now facing the best of the best in the softball world but there is a reason why we are here as well,” said senior third baseman Melissa Paz.

Paz is one of four team members who played in the NCAA tournament back in 2021 against then top-ranked Oklahoma. The other three are senior shortstop Ky’Anah Lake, senior center fielder Mia Ewell, and senior pitcher Emily Raubauch.

To reach the NCAA field, the Lady Bears had to first capture the MEAC tournament, a tall task after they lost the tournament opener against North Carolina Central.

Morgan, the regular season MEAC winner, was relegated to the consolation bracket, where they had to win five games, including a pair of wins Sunday over crosstown rival Coppin State, the third seed.

In the second game Sunday, a fifth inning grand slam from sophomore Gianna Etorre staked Morgan to a 6-0 lead, the game’s final score.

“We’ve never played more like a team, we’ve never played more together than this past weekend.” said Raubauch, “I’m honestly thankful for that first loss because in tournament play anything can happen.”

When the 64-team tournament was revealed this past Sunday on ESPN and the Morgan players watched with excitement as they were selected to go to Durham. Watching the tournament selection show was “pure enjoyment and excitement,” Fletcher said.

Added Paz: “I couldn’t be happier to share these exact moments with this team we have.”

In Friday’s NCAA tournament game, the Lady Bears will face Duke (47-6), which comes into the regional as the No. 4 team in the country after beating #13 Florida State 6-3 to win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

Four Blue Devils were named to the All-ACC first team and Marissa Young was named the league’s Coach of the Year. ACC Player of the Year Claire Davidson was selected in the pro softball draft.

Morgan has some award winners of their own. Six players were named to the All-MEAC team and coach Larry Hineline was selected co-Coach of the Year. In addition, freshman outfielder Amber Rivas was chosen MEAC Rookie of the Year, while graduate student Victoria Fletcher won her second straight MEAC Player of the Year trophy.

This isn’t the first time the Lady Bears have stepped up against the country’s top competition as they played at the then No. 17 Baylor in a three game road series.

The Lady Bears were swept in that series, but kept each game close, using that experience to prepare themselves for now.

“We faced a lot of adversity this year and definitely came out on top for a reason, which is exactly why we are in a higher seed this year rather than in 2021 when we were playing Oklahoma, the national champions that year,” said Paz, who was named to the MEAC All-Tournament team.

As the NCAA tournament is a double-elimination contest, Morgan will meet either the winner or loser of the other game in the Durham Regional, South Carolina or Utah. The game can be seen on ESPN+.

Fletcher had one message to her younger teammates.

“Embrace the moment,” said Fletcher, the Most Outstanding Player in the MEAC tournament. “How many times in life can you say you went to an NCAA regional tournament? Not many.”