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The Terrapin softball team has been tormented by its conference opponents all season, but today it will play host to the entire field and, in particular, one of the nation's biggest stars.

The seventh-seeded Terps (36-21, 7-14 ACC) begin ACC tournament play against No. 2 seed Virginia Tech (41-15, 16-5) and its ace, Angela Tincher.

For the third straight season, Tincher (30-6) has been named a top-10 finalist for player of the year accumulating 532 strikeouts and a 0.56 ERA, first and second in the nation, respectively. She is 16-1 against the ACC with a 0.74 ERA.

"We need to be patient. We need to take good pitches to hit, and make her throw," coach Laura Watten said. "She's one of the best pitchers in the country, but we've also [done well against] her. We're not intimidated by her. Really, I think we're the last team they wanted to see in the tournament because we've actually done pretty well against her."

The Terps are no stranger to Tincher. They went 1-2 against Virginia Tech during the regular season, with both losses coming at the hands of the Hokies' ace.

But despite the result, the Terps actually enjoyed moderate success against Tincher, who pitched a cumulative 13 2/3 innings against the Terps and allowed eight hits and four runs. Still, Tincher struck out 32 and finished the weekend 2-0.

"We hit her the best out of the whole conference," senior outfielder Jenny Belak said. "She's quicker than what we've seen the past few games, [so we have to] focus on putting the bat on the ball and hopefully it goes through [for a hit]."

The Terps will need to do well against her and the rest of the conference to keep their slim hopes of a postseason berth alive.

It was only two weeks ago that the Terps had their sights set on the upper half of the conference, but after two collapses against Georgia Tech and Boston College, the Terps' only chance at the NCAA tournament is a conference title. But Watten says her team is no longer concerned about the postseason.

"We don't really have any pressure at all," Watten said. "What we're focused on is not next week. We're focused on Virginia Tech. I think the only pressure we're putting on ourselves is to play well. We can do it. The girls need to believe that and they need to know that they can beat anybody."

One thing working in the Terps' favor is the venue. It is the second time in four years that Robert E. Taylor Stadium has played host to the tournament.

"It's nice to be at home, in our own beds, in our comfort zone," Watten said. "Also, to have a lot of our fans present, that's what I think is going to be the best thing about the tournament."

After Virginia Tech, the Terps will be playing either third-seeded Florida State team or sixth-seeded Boston College team, which plays at 10 a.m., due to the tournaments double-elimination format. If the Terps beat the Hokies, they will play the winner at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow; if they lose, they will play the loser at 8 p.m. tonight.

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