Game Time...Northwestern College will play Midland in a best-of-three GPAC Softball Tournament Championship on Monday, May 7 in Fremont, Neb. First pitch of game one at Christensen Field is at 11am. Northwestern, the No.3 seed and champions of the Morningside bracket, bring a 33-10 overall record into Monday's championship. Midland, the No.1 overall seed and champions of the Midland Bracket, is 33-13 overall. 

Follow the games live on the Midland webcast at this link:  Midland webcast

Listen live to the games, via the KSOU broadcast: Listen Live!

GPAC Bracket Updated | 

Postseason Tournament Trail...Northwestern posted a 3-1 record and won the Morningside bracket championship to advance to Monday's series.

        Northwestern def. Doane, 3-0
        Northwestern def. Morningside, 5-0
        Northwestern lost to Doane, 4-2
        Northwestern def. Doane, 6-5

    Midland went 4-1 and won its bracket championship, defeating Dordt 3-1 in the winner-take-all title game.

        Midland lost to Mount Marty, 6-1
        Midland def. Dakota Wesleyan, 6-2
        Midland def. Mount Marty, 11-6
        Midland def. Dordt, 3-0
        Midland def. Dordt, 3-1

At Stake...The GPAC Tournament Softball postseason championship....Northwestern has not won the tournament title since the 2002 season when it won its second straight. Midland has not won the postseason title since claiming back-to-back championships in 2003 and 2004.  Both teams have already secured the two automatic bids to the NAIA Softball Championship Opening round; Midland by winning the regular season title and Northwestern advancing to the championship game against Midland, the regular season champion.

Earlier This Season...These teams split with one another during the regular season in a doubleheader played in Fremont on April 13. Midland defeated the Red Raiders 3-2 in eight innings in game one while Northwestern picked up a 6-4 win in game two. 

    April 13 Recap

All-Time vs Midland...The Red Raiders are 38-27 all-time against Midland and 3-2 over the last five games.

Scouting Reports...

    Midland Warriors: 16-4, T1st GPAC, 33-13 overall        Head Coach: Mike Heard (3rd year)

Midland was the co-regular season champion with Morningside, finishing 16-4 in league play, for its third overall regular season title and first since 2004. The Warriors earned the top overall seed in the eight team postseason tournament by way of tie-break procedures and closed the regular season by winning nine of 10 games. They won their four-team, double-elimination bracket with a 4-1 record and are 33-13 overall. 

Heard, in his third season as the head of the Midland softball program, returns four starters and nine players from a 2017 team that just missed out on the GPAC postseason tournament, finishing tied with Doane for eighth place with an 8-12 record, 18-24 overall. 

By the Numbers:   (GPAC rank / NAIA rank if top 10)
    Batting Average: .320 (2nd)     Opponent Batting Average: .241 (1st)
    Runs / Game: 5.2 (5th)             Runs Given Up / Game: 3.1 (2nd)
    Hits / Game: 8.9 (3rd)               Hits Given Up / Game: 6.4 (1st)
    Stolen Bases: 44/54 (4th)        Stolen Bases by Opponent: 38/46

    Individual Players:
    Sierra Athow: .379 BA (10th), 22 runs, 23 2B (1st), 32 RBIs
    Nicole O'haver (2nd team all-conference): .364 BA, 25 runs, 8 RBIs
    Katlin Anders (1st team all-conference): .364 BA, 18 runs, 12 2B (8th), 28 RBIs
    Bobbi Singleton: .342 BA, 14 runs, 19 RBIs

    Jaylee Hinrichs: 18-6, 1.95 ERA (2nd), 150.2 IP, 58 BB, 219 K's (1st)
    Madison Plummer: 9-4, 3.25 ERA (8th)  99 IP, 21 BB, 51 K's

(RV) Northwestern College: 15-5 (3rd), 33-10     Head Coach: Chris Nachtigall (7th year)

Seeded third in the postseason tournament, Northwestern finished third in the GPAC regular season with a 15-5 record. They won the Morningside Bracket with a 3-1 record and are 33-10 overall, the most wins since the 2012 season. This is the 13th time the Red Raiders have won at least 30 games and they have a 77% win percentage, highest since the 2000 season and third best overall (behind the 1997 and 2000 seasons). 

The Red Raiders have hit a season-record 46 home runs, eclipsing the old mark of 44 set in 1996

Nachtigall has won two GPAC regular season titles in his seven seasons as the head coach, claiming the title in 2012 and 2014. By reaching the tournament championship game, the Red Raiders earn a spot in the upcoming NAIA Softball Championship Opening Round, its first since the 2002 season and third overall. 

By the Numbers: (GPAC rank)
    Batting Average: .291 (5th)       Opponent Batting Average: .246 (2nd)
    Runs / Game: 5.2 (4th)              Runs Given Up / Game: 2.9 (1st)
    Hits / Game: 8.1 (5th)                Hits Given Up / Game: 6.6 (2nd)
    Stolen Bases: 68/82 (1st)          Stolen Bases by Opponent: 19/23

    Individual Players:
    Jensen Boger: .366 BA, 23 runs, 18 RBIs 
    Emily Bosch: .354 BA, 23 runs, 5 HR, 23 RBIs
    Cheyenne Wilcke: .317 BA, 29 runs, 12 HR (1st), 30 RBIs
    Madison Beaver: .299 BA, 23 runs, 3 HR, 14 RBI
    Jessica Sandbulte: .282 BA, 30 runs, 12 2B (7th), 4 HR, 18 RBI
    Emma Schnell: .282 BA, 14 runs, 4 HR, 18 RBIs
    

    Emma Schnell: 17-3 (3rd in wins), 1.70 ERA (1st), 136 IP, 20 BB, 90 K's
    Kayla Tindall: 15-6 (4th in wins), 2.11 ERA (3rd), 136 IP, 37 BB, 123 K's (2nd)