The Terrapin softball team is making its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Laura Watten and the program’s third overall after the bracket was announced tonight.

Robert E. Taylor Stadium will be the host for No. 11 Baylor, East Carolina, Lehigh and the Terps from May 20-22.

Even though the Terps fell to North Carolina 7-3 in the ACC Tournament yesterday, the resume the Terps (39-17) put together throughout the season was enough to put the team into the tournament.

A quick snapshot of the rest of the field:

East Carolina (39-20) won Conference-USA for the second consecutive year to punch its ticket to the postseason. The Terps split a doubleheader back on March 9 with the Pirates, and also defeated them in the season-opening Red & Black Showcase in Athens, Ga. The Pirates have an RPI of No. 44. The Terps and Pirates will meet in Game 2 on Friday.

Baylor (40-12) is the No. 11 seed of the entire tournament and boasts an RPI of No. 12. The Bears finished fourth in the Big 12 in 2011. All-ACC Second Team infielder Bree Hanafin transferred to College Park from Baylor prior to this season.

Lehigh (33-21) is the Patriot League representative in the NCAA Tournament. They have rank at No. 158 in the RPI. They also played East Carolina early in the season in Greenville, N.C., losing 8-0 in six innings. Lehigh and Baylor will kick-off tournament action in Game 1 on Friday.

Other ACC teams in the field include regular season champion Georgia Tech (44-10), which finds itself in the Knoxville Regional along with Oklahoma State (37-17), Liberty (30-28) and host No. 14 Tennessee (47-10). This region is shaping up to be one of the tougher one on paper based on each team’s RPI (Georgia Tech – No. 14; Tennessee – No. 13; and Oklahoma State – No. 18).

Tournament champion Florida State (30-26) finds itself in the Athens Regional with UAB (38-17), Georgia State (36-23) and host No. 6 Georgia (47-12). Florida State was not expected to make the tournament, but it’s run in Atlanta, which culminated with a win over North Carolina today, put the Seminoles into the postseason. North Carolina is a notable ACC absence, given that it finished second in both the regular season and tournament. The team’s overall record of 34-21 was not enough, however, for a postseason berth.

The last time the Terrapin softball team faced NC State, it was April 17 in College Park and a seventh-inning home run propelled the Wolfpack to a 2-1 win over the Terps.

But today the Terps turned the tables with a 4-3 walk-off win in Atlanta to open the ACC Tournament.

Infielder Bree Hanafin’s single through the left side of the infield scored outfielder Lauren Ghent to give the Terps their first ACC Tournament win since 2007. Ghent led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch and then advanced on a sacrifice bunt by outfielder Sara Acosta and a single by outfielder Vangie Galindo. Then, Hanafin did the rest.

The late innings were not without drama, however, as the Wolfpack (26-23) did everything it could to make it interesting and try to pull the upset over the Terps (39-16). The Wolfpack loaded the bases in the fifth and seventh innings, but the Terps pitching staff was able to work out of the jams behind Kerry Hickey in the fifth and Kendra Knight in the seventh.

Hickey, the newly crowned ACC Pitcher of the Year, pitched six innings, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks while striking out four. The Wolfpack jumped on Hickey early, scoring three runs in the first two innings on two home runs, but the senior settled down and worked through the rest of her innings with little trouble, save for the fifth.

The Terps got runs in the first and third innings behind a single from infielder Marisha Branson and a sacrifice fly from Hickey in the first and a play in which infielder Nikki Maier reached on an error.

The first ACC Tournament win for any of the players on the team (and second of coach Laura Watten’s tenure) sets up a rematch for the Terps with North Carolina, which took down Boston College, 9-0, in the next game on the afternoon. The Tar Heels took two of three in College Park last weekend, setting up the opportunity for the Terps to exact some revenge.

The game is at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live in the ACC’s website.

The Terrapin softball team had three of its players honored by the ACC as it unveiled its year-end awards. Pitcher Kerry Hickey, outfielder Vangie Galindo and infielder Bree Hanafin all garnered various honors.

Hickey was named Pitcher of the Year in addition to All-ACC First Team. She is the first Terp pitcher to win the award since its inception. On the year, Hickey was 18-8 with a 1.49 ERA, which tied for the league lead, while her ERA of 1.53 in conference games led the league. She also struck out 225 batters in 178.1 innings pitched and pitched her 11th career no-hitter against Florida State on April 23. Hickey was named All-ACC Second Team in 2009.

This is Galindo’s first time being honored by the conference. She ranks second in the league with a .418 average, behind Player of the Year Kelsi Weseman of Georgia Tech. Galindo’s .418 mark is also the highest single-season mark in Terp history, and her 71 hits on the year is also a team record. Galindo’s .329 career average is also the highest in team history. More on Galindo’s season can be read here.

After transferring back to the East Coast from Baylor, Hanafin, an Arlington, Va., native, made an immediate impact in the field, playing at third and first base, and at the plate, ranking second on the team with a .365 average. This performance, in addition to leading the team with eight home runs and 33 RBI earned Hanafin All-ACC Second Team recognition. Hanafin ranked in the top 10 in the conference in average, slugging percentage, hits, doubles, total bases and sacrifice bunts.

The Terps are currently in Atlanta for the ACC Tournament taking on NC State in their first round game today. Check back to Terrapin Trail for more updates on the team.