May 1, 2023

BURNSVILLE, MINN. – The NSIC announced their 2023 Softball Tournament bracket today with Sioux Falls as the eighth seed. The top ten teams in the final regular season standings will participate in the double-elimination tournament starting on Wednesday, May 3, and running through Saturday, May 6.

The Cougars will open up the tournament in Rochester, Minnesota as they take on Concordia-St. Paul (9) at 10am on Wednesday, May 3 at the RYFSA Complex.

The winner of the NSIC Softball Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The 42-team NCAA Central Region is made up of teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis.

The NCAA softball selections will be announced on NCAA.com on Monday, May 8.  The NCAA Championships are set for May 25-29 at Frost Stadium at Warner Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

2023 Regular Season Recap

Sioux Falls enters the NSIC Softball Tournament with a 24-24 overall record and a conference record of 15-14. The Cougars have outscored their opponents 250-216 while playing 48 games thus far.

At the plate, Lexie Swift boasts a .382 batting average while Kennedy Thomas holds a .343 average along with a .635 slugging percentage. Kait Van Der Zwaag leads the team with nine homeruns on the season followed by Thomas (8) and Kylie Madrid (5).

On the base path, Rylie Jones leads the way with 19 stolen bases on 20 attempts this season followed by Swift going 9-for-10.

In the circle, Van Der Zwaag holds a 15-7 record on the season along with 49 strikeouts in 144.1 innings pitched and an ERA of 4.55. Hanna Cress leads the way with 87 strikeouts on the season and an ERA of 6.48. Thomas picked up her first career win earlier this season and has sat down 27 batters in 41.2 innings pitched.

For all things Cougar Softball, be sure to down the USF Cougars app as well as follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.