ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Northwestern College softball team (36-9-1, 15-6-1 GPAC) is the No. 2 seed in this year's Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Tournament. The Raiders are set to host the No. 3-seeded Mount Marty Lancers, No. 6-seeded College of Saint Mary Flames, and No. 7-seeded Concordia (Neb.) University Bulldogs.

SEASON IN REVIEW
The Raiders had the one of the best starts in program history, winning their first 14 games and 17 of their first 20 contests. They finished the non-conference portion of the season an impressive 21-3 mark.
 
After a 2-4 conference start the Raiders went on to win 13 of the final 16, only losing two contests and tying one.
 
The Raiders have relied on consistent pitching from their young 1-2 punch of Kameryn Etherington (So., Algona, Iowa) and freshman Kate Kralik (Indianola, Iowa) all season long. Etherington sits first in the conference with 19 wins and fourth in the conference in ERA with an impressive 1.93. She also ranks fifth in strikeouts with 127, while teammate Kralik is third with 151 punch outs entering tournament play. The freshman is tied for first in saves with three. They have combined for the third best ERA in the conference at 2.42.
 
On the offensive side, the Raiders bring in a solid lineup that looks to be aggressive on the base paths and put pressure on the defense. Bri Giordano (Jr., Arroyo Grande, Calif.) and Jennifer Boeve (Jr., Hastings, Neb.) lead the Raiders in batting average, and sit second and fifth in the conference, respectively. Giordano ranks third in the GPAC with 51 RBIs on the season, which leads the team. Gwen Mikkelsen (Jr., Casa Grande, Ariz.) is a tough out in the middle of the Raider order, sitting with a .403 batting average and only six total strikeouts on the season.
 
Madysn Grotewold (So., Larchwood, Iowa) is a threat on the base paths with a team leading 15 steals. Giordano, Charli Bomgaars (Fr., Boyden, Iowa), and Jordyn Kramer (Sr., Larchwood, Iowa) also reached double digits in stolen bases as the Raiders constantly look to manufacture runs via small ball. 
 
Kramer finds herself on base consistently with a team leading 15 walks and bats over .350, she also anchors the outfield defense playing center field. Freshman Chloe Gallegos (Carroll, Iowa) has anchored the pitching staff behind the plate, starting and catching all 46 games for the Raiders this season. Senior Emily Strasser (Sioux Falls, S.D.) provides consistent defense at second base and has provided timely hits throughout the season for the Raiders.
 
As a team, Northwestern leads the conference in team batting average at a clip of .349 and on-base percentage with .403. The Raiders also lead the conference in RBIs with 269 and sacrifice hits with 92. The defense for Northwestern has been solid all season, again leading the conference, this time in fielding percentage at .961.
 
FIRST GAME OPPONENT
The Raiders will face Concordia (Neb.) in their first game of the GPAC Tournament with first pitch set for noon (12:00 p.m.) on Wednesday, May 4, the Bulldogs are  the No. 7 seed and enter with a record of 22-22 (10-12 GPAC).
 
The Bulldogs are led by Camry Moore who pulls double duty for Concordia, as their best pitcher and hitter. Moore posted a .435 average and drove in a team leading 39 RBIs. She had a 1.73 ERA and struck out over 100 batters and only allowed eight walks on the season. Bouman noted on Moore, "I feel like they have the best player in the conference, and they go as she goes. When she's in the circle they can play with and beat anyone."
 
The pod style tournament will be played in double elimination style. The winner of the 12 p.m. game will play the winner of game two (2 p.m.) starting at 4 p.m. The losers of game one and game two will play an elimination game at 6 p.m.
 
Head coach Shane Bouman commented on game one, "Our pitchers have been solid all year, so we will need that to continue. We need to play solid defense behind them and execute offensively to get a win."

The two teams met back on April 7 in what proved to be the home opener for the Red Raiders. The two teams split the doubleheader at the Softball Diamond, Concordia taking the game Moore threw, 3-1. Northwestern took the second game 6-4, behind the arm of Kralik who threw six solid innings. Giordano and Mikkelsen both drove in two runs in the Game 2 victory.
 
POTENTIAL OPPONENTS
Mount Marty – The Lancers are led by Elliot Burns who posted a .533 batting average and drove in 58 runs, and notched 16 home runs, all leading the GPAC. Senior catcher, Karlee Arnold was second on the team in RBIs with 34, she batted .319 on the season. Bailey Kortan was second on the team in batting average at .344, she tallied 30 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.
 
"They've had their best season in school history, so that is impressive in itself," said Bouman. "They have a nice lineup put together and that coupled with good pitching has made for a great season for the Lancers."

The Raiders and the Lancers met on the diamond on March 24, which each team sneaking out a 4-3 decision in Yankton, S.D. Mount Marty is led by first-year head coach Kayla Bryant, leading the Lancers to a season for the record books. 
 
College of Saint Mary – Emma Hofmaier leads the Flames with a .330 batting average, and Maddie Nekola has driven in a team leading 28 RBIs. College of Saint Mary has a combined team ERA of 4.17. Northwestern swept the season series in two one-run games on April 22 in Orange City. 
 
Bouman noted, "The Flames also have a quality pitcher and have had a nice season, so that make them a dangerous opponent for us."
 
LAST FIVE GPAC TOURNAMENTS
2021 – 1-2
2020 – tournament canceled due to COVID-19
2019 – 0-2
2018 – 5-2 & GPAC Tournament Champion; 1-2 NAIA Softball National Championship-Opening Round
2017 – 0-2
Note: Bouman's first season leading the program was 2019, he has a career record of 1-4 in the GPAC tournament. 
 
Coach Bouman concluded with, "All of the teams in the tournament are quality opponents, our job is to focus on Northwestern and play our best softball."

For all tournament information visit nwcraiders.com, the softball team page, and the GPAC softball tournament page. Live stats and Livestream links are posted above. 

---