No.7 UMD softball set to face No.2 seed Missouri Southern State in NCAA tournament

After being crowned NSIC champions the the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) softball team slotted in at No.7 in the Central Regional of the NCAA tournament.

Hearing the news Monday morning when the team gathered at Amsoil Arena for a selection show watch party.

Hearing that they will now play a fresh opponent in the No.2 seed and pod host Missouri Southern State.

“We’re rolling right now, so we’re super excited to just play someone new and give it all we’ve got. We’ve been playing a lot of the same teams, like we played Augustana four times in the last week, so we’re super excited to play someone new,” said junior infielder Elle Potts.

“Coming out on a clean slate for both teams is going to be big. They don’t know what we have and we don’t know what they have. So just playing our own game and just like doing all we can is going to be the key,” added other junior infielder Kiana Bender.

This will be the first meeting of the season between the Bulldogs and Lions which adds to the atmospher of the stage.

Missouri Southern State closed the season with a 40-14 overall record while UMD was 40-11.

This is the 10th time that the Bulldogs are heading to the NCAA tournament, the last of which was in 2019.

“We are super excited and for all of us to experience this for the first time together is something really special. Just trying to take it all in and being in the moment when we go is going to be the main thing,” bender concluded.

First pitch of the tournament slate will be this coming Thursday, May 11th at 2:00 p.m. located at the Pat Lipira Softball Complex in Missouri.