DAVE KNACHEL | Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech's softball team huddles Wednesday after its final practice prior to the start of the Women's College World Series.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Virginia Tech is not softball royalty like UCLA and Arizona, who have won the Women's College World Series a combined 18 times and are back here again. The Hokies will be making their Series debut today.

Of the eight teams in this Series, Virginia Tech and Louisiana-Lafayette are the only ones who weren't among the NCAA tournament's 16 national seeds. The tournament committee didn't deem Tech as worthy as No. 5 seed Texas A&M, its foe today (3 p.m., ESPN), or No. 1 seed Florida, which it could face later this week.

But the Hokies do have Angela Tincher. They might be able to ride her arm to the crown.

"This is my senior year. This is it, so the last thing I want to do is think about getting tired," the Tech ace said Wednesday after practice at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. "As many complete games as [Tech] needs me to throw, I'm ready to go.

"There's also so much excitement, just being at the World Series, that there's adrenaline. So I'm not really worried about being tired. I feel great."

Tincher (38-8) leads Division I in ERA (0.62) and strikeouts (651). The James River graduate won the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year award on Tuesday.

"She's an incredible kid, and she's got the skills to do it," said Arizona State ace Katie Burkhart, whose team is in the Series for the third straight year. "For their team, as far as experience level, it's going to be really hard. ... They're going to have to jump on Tincher's back, and she's going to have to do a lot of the load."

Arizona ace Taryne Mowatt carried the Wildcats to their second straight crown last year, when she threw eight complete games in the Series.

"I definitely think [Tincher] has ... the talent to carry her team," Mowatt said. "It'll be up to her hitters to produce that one or two runs that she'll need."

On Wednesday, Tincher was named a first-team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association for the second straight season. Also Wednesday, she was chosen the Division I Academic All-American of the Year for softball by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Can the Hokies (49-17) continue to back her with clutch hits?

Last Saturday, they struggled against Michigan ace Jordan Taylor. So they studied the game film that night, made adjustments and beat her on Sunday.

But the Hokies will get only one crack today at A&M pitcher Megan Gibson. They will be facing a different team in their next game.

The Hokies will have to adjust to Gibson during the game. Gibson (38-1, 0.98 ERA) was one of three finalists for the national player of the year award won by Tincher.

"Your first at-bat's going to be kind of like a science experiment," Tech catcher Kelsey Hoffman said. "You've got to kind of test things out."

Each game will be a test of who can make the adjustments more quickly -- the Hokies, or the batters facing Tincher.

"The good-hitting teams, they ... make adjustments from at-bat to at-bat or pitch to pitch," Mowatt said. "That's the difference in the World Series, is you have these great hitters that are making those quick adjustments."

The Hokies have already faced strong competition this year. In March, they upset the U.S. national team; lost to UCLA 1-0; and fell 4-3 in 12 innings to Arizona in a game that featured a combined 41 strikeouts by Tincher and Mowatt. Last weekend, Tech eliminated No. 4 seed Michigan.

"We can play with anybody," Hoffman said. "We belong here."

The Aggies (54-7) are in the Series for the second straight year.

"It feels a lot more comfortable right now," Gibson said. "Last year we were a little overwhelmed."

Tech and Florida are the only newcomers in the field, although the Hokies did upset the U.S. team at this stadium.

"Everyone's going to be overwhelmed when they come to their first World Series," Tincher said. "But I think we're going to handle it well. ... It's okay to kind of enjoy the moment and enjoy the experience. By [today], I think we'll be ready to focus back on softball."

Mowatt is such a regular that she even has favorite restaurants in Oklahoma City. She said Series experience is a big help, in part because of the crowds that will be at the 8,461-seat ballpark.

"It gets loud," Mowatt said. "For the schools that haven't been here before, their challenge in the beginning will be to get the feeling of calmed nerves."