The University of Tennessee is not just hosting an NCAA Division I softball regional, it’s hosting a New Palestine softball reunion.
When the NCAA Selection Show for the 64-team tournament came out Sunday, three of the four teams playing in Knoxville have players that were former standouts and state champions while playing for coach Ed Marcum’s New Palestine Dragons.
This weekend, when they’re not competing against each other, Kinsey Mitchell, Sam Booe and Tatum Biddle will hopefully get a chance to catch up and reminisce.
Mitchell is a sophomore outfielder for Indiana University, which is appearing in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011.
Booe, is a sophomore pitcher for the University of Louisville, a program getting to the tourney for the first time in four years.
Biddle, a senior infielder for Northern Kentucky, is part of a history-making season for the Norse, who won the Horizon League Tournament and are playing in their first-ever NCAA Division I tournament.
“When our name came up (on the selection show) it was one of the coolest things ever. It’s something I’ll never forget. Knowing that we won our conference tournament and made it to the big leagues, a little small mid-major D-I school, it was cool to see,” Biddle said. “Then, I think Louisville came up first. We played them earlier and it was a pretty good game and I was excited to see them and knowing Sam was there, too.
“I don’t know who I was expecting to be the fourth team, and then I saw Indiana and – I think you can see me on our video – I turned to someone on our team and said, ‘I know someone who goes there!’
Biddle is a couple years older than Mitchell and Booe. They all played together on the 2018 and 2019 New Palestine state championship teams. Biddle also played on the 2017 title squad.
“In high school, Sam, Tatum and I were really close. We played high school ball together. We won state titles together. We took hitting lessons together. All of our parents are super close,” Mitchell said. “It’s really special. We played high school level and now we’re getting to play at the collegiate level. It’s pretty awesome.
“I texted Tatum, ‘See you in Knoxville, LOL.’”
Mitchell added that before she, and Sam, had a driver’s license, Biddle would take them home from practice, with an occasional stop at Frosty Boy, of course. They’ve all been on family vacations together, too.
“I think it’s awesome,” Booe said of all three playing in Knoxville this weekend. “It’s not very common that you have three girls from the same high school in one regional. … It’s special for us. We get to see each other fulfill our dreams of playing college ball and being in a regional.”
Biddle called the younger players, “like little sisters.”
Northern Kentucky played Louisville earlier this season. Biddle said even though it had been a long time since her and Booe had talked, they picked things right back up where they left off as if they had been talking frequently.
Louisville, the regional’s No. 3 seed, and Indiana, the No. 2 seed, met in the tournament’s first game Friday. IU won 4-3.
Against the region’s top seed and No. 4 national seed Tennessee, Northern Kentucky lost 12-0 in the double-elimination tournament.
Indiana and Tennessee meet Saturday. Louisville and Northern Kentucky will play in an elimination game. In a third game Saturday, the loser of IU-UT will play the winner of UL and NKU.
“It’s really neat,” Booe added. “I’ve known Kinsey since we were three-years old. We’ve been really close friends ever since. I think it’s awesome that we get to be on that big stage together even though we’re on different sides.”
Marcum often drives to college games to watch his former players, but with practice Saturday to get ready for Monday’s first round sectional game, and having played on Friday at Delta. He didn’t think he’d be able to make the trip to Knoxville, but he’s gone out to see all of his college players this season.
“What a great experience for the kids. As a coach, that would have been just incredible,” Marcum said. “When the NCAA Selection Show revealed that (all three were together), it was kind of strange. I just got goose-bumps. It was such a neat feeling for our kids to be able to, No. 1, be in it, but then to be able to all go to Tennessee to play in a beautiful stadium, a great venue. What an experience. I texted all of them (Friday) and wished them good luck and to enjoy the experience.”
The only thing that could have made the weekend any better, from a New Palestine standpoint, would be playing in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Another former Dragon, Ashley Prange, is a star third baseman and one of the top hitters in the country for the University of Alabama. The Crimson Tide are another national seed, No. 5, and a tourney host.
“I’d probably would have cried (if we were all at Alabama) especially for Ashley’s last year,” Biddle said.
There are currently 15 former New Palestine softball players competing in college, 11 at the Division I level. All four members of this year’s senior class have signed to play in college, too.
“The fact that all three of us are here now, who would’ve thought?” Mitchell said. “All of us here in the same regional in college and four years ago we’re on the same team competing for a state title. It’s really crazy.”
“New Pal softball is such a family and such a community,” Biddle added. “The fact that coach still comes out to our games when we’re four years graduated from high school, that is so cool. I don’t know if you could say this about a lot of high school teams, especially girls teams, there was never any drama with us. We were the most easy going, get-along groups you could ever meet.
“I don’t think you could find that everywhere. To find that in our hometown with the girls we’ve grown up with, I think that’s really cool.”
