HARROGATE, Tenn. — The moment wasn't ever too big for Kelsie Hocutt.
 
She had been in those shoes before with the game-winning run in scoring position, but the seasoned senior, who was sixth on deck entering the seventh inning down two, just never thought it'd come to her Saturday versus Anderson.
 
But it did with the bases loaded and one out.
 
Her nerves were flowing, but her teammates made sure to keep the senior's spirits high.
 
"Allie (Jones) was like 'Nah, my girl's got this,'" Hocutt recalled.
 
"The last time she did this, she hit a walk-off home run," fellow senior Allie Jones chimed in with.
 
"Ty-Kella (Goins) was on third and said, 'Everything is good. She's got it,'" Hocutt finished the sentence saying.
 
Jones and Goins were right on cue as Hocutt sliced the walk-off RBI through center field, scoring Goins, who doubled in a run two batters before to bring the deficit to one, and keeping the Lincoln Memorial University softball team living the ultimate dream with a NCAA Division II Softball Southeast Region 2 championship to pair with the Lady Railsplitters' South Atlantic Conference regular-season championship.
 
Now, No. 3-seeded LMU becomes the first SAC team to host a NCAA Division II Super Regional — in the Lady Railsplitters' first-ever appearance — as No. 5-seeded Young Harris returns to the Supers for the second consecutive season for the best-of-three series, beginning at 4:30 Thursday at Dorothy Neely Field. More detailed information can be found on the Tournament Central Page.
 
"I'm just still in shock," LMU senior Jacie Pittman said. "When we came in — everybody who comes into college — they are like, 'That's what I want. I want to be the highest in everything.' But where we've came from the beginning of our college career to now, it's a pretty sweet way to end it, and we aren't done yet.
 
"Just living the dream, baby."
 
The Lady Railsplitters' dreamy season, which has already reached a program-record 38 wins behind a perfect stay at the regional, will again continue with a familiar opponent when the Mountain Lions (40-18) come to Harrogate for the second time this season.
 
Like the Lady Railsplitters, Young Harris is coming off a thrilling regional, defeating top-seeded North Georgia twice on its home field after the storied program ended the Mountain Lions' second a year ago in sweep fashion at Supers.
 
When LMU (38-13) faced Young Harris in February, the Mountain Lions were ranked No. 18 as they edged the Lady Railsplitters, 5-4, in the first game before LMU shut them out in the night cap of the doubleheader, 5-0.
 
Seeing the Mountain Lions already — and having proved the ability to win — sits well with the Lady Railsplitters.
 
"I know we split with them, so they can say the same thing," Jones said. "It's just something to do with the fact that you've already played the team and beaten the team that's standing in your way of going to Denver and taking the final step with your team.
 
"For me, personally, it makes me a little more comfortable because I think we can beat anybody, personally, but I know for a fact we've already beaten this team and we can do it again."
 
LMU has shown it's capable of beating the odds all season long, winning the program's first SAC championship after being picked eighth followed by the Lady Railsplitters' first Southeast Regional to answer to head coach Ritchie Richardson's belief this team could hang banners across the padded-outfield wall.
 
"I was telling Kelsie, 'We added the first banner and we've added a couple more since then,'" Jones said, smiling. "It's definitely not the first for LMU softball, but it's crazy to think if it was, you were here when it happened, and you can come back and show that to your friends and family."
 
These three seniors — Hocutt, Jones and Pittman — will be able to say what any incoming player wants to: that they left the program better than they found it.
 
And with two more wins, the trio could add onto that betterment and list of firsts as the very first LMU softball team to be one of the last eight teams remaining with a trip to the Women's College World Series.
 
"We're coming across a lot of firsts," Pittman said.
 
"This is lined up perfectly that we are hosting this, and it's right there, all we have to do is take it," Jones added.