UMD in Hunt for Top Spot

NSO – News Release

The University of Minnesota Duluth softball team was among the teams listed as being under consideration for the No. 1 spot in the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament when the league’s first regional rankings were revealed on Wednesday.

This first of what will be three regional rankings is simply an alphabetical list of teams that are currently in the hunt for the top spot of each region. The next two will be more traditionally, numerically ranked.

The Bulldogs (29-8 overall, 26-9 in-region) are just one of two NSIC teams to make the shortlist, the other being Winona State (26-11 overall, 18-9 in-region). UMD swept its home series against the Warriors back on Friday, April 14 with final scores of 10-0 (five innings) and 6-5 (10 innings).

The full Central Region list can be found below:

CENTRAL REGION

School (Conf)

DII Rec

In-Reg

Central Oklahoma (MIAA)

33-6

33-6

Harding (GAC)

35-11

30-11

Minn. Duluth (NSIC)

29-8

26-8

Missouri Western (MIAA)

25-14

23-14

Mo. Southern St. (MIAA)

31-8

31-8

Okla. Baptist (GAC)

37-9

34-9

Rogers St. (MIAA)

33-8

28-8

Southern Ark. (GAC)

31-12

31-12

Washburn (MIAA)

33-11

24-11

Winona St. (NSIC)

26-11

18-9

The NCAA’s Central Region is made up of 42 teams spanning across three conferences, those being the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Eight of those 42 teams will qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Each conference tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the dance, with the five remaining spots being awarded on an at-large basis.

The NCAA Tournament field is made up of 64 teams. A total of 16 regional sites will host four teams apiece for double-elimination tournaments from May 12 to May 13. The 16 teams that advance from these regionals will square up in a two-team, best-of-three super regional split across eight sites from May 18 to May 19. The finals are made up of the eight super regional winners, with the championship being determined by a best-of-three series.

Selections for the DII NCAA softball tournament will be revealed on NCAA.com on Monday, May 8. The NCAA Championships will kick off at Frost Stadium at Warner Park in Chattanooga, Tenn. and span from May 25 to May 29.

The NSIC Softball Tournament is set for May 3-6 at the RYFSA Complex in Rochester, Minn. The top ten teams in the NSIC by the end of the regular season will qualify for the double-elimination tournament.