THE OPENING PITCH: The University of Minnesota Duluth plays St. Cloud State University to open the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament on Thursday, May 1 at 10:00 a.m. The top 10 teams in the NSIC received an invitation to play for the NSIC crown with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA II Central Region field. The fifth-seeded Bulldogs look to capture their sixth NSIC tournament title and second in the last three seasons when action starts Wednesday and runs through Saturday in a single elimination tournament at Bowden Field on the campus of Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D.

SCOUTING REPORT ON ST. CLOUD STATE: The Huskies are 41-14 overall and 20-7 in the NSIC. They finished fourth in the NSIC and won the last six games heading into the postseason. 

SCSU is second in batting average (.327), second in on-base percentage (.404), and third in slugging percentage (.492) in the NSIC. It is also first in runs per game (6.24) and have the 12th most RBI (312), 11th most doubles (95),11th most hits (482), and the most sacrifice flies (28) in Division II. In the circle, the Huskies are third in ERA (2.26), fourth in opposing batting average (.250) and ninth in strikeouts per game (5.12).  SCSU has the sixth best fielding percentage (.964) in the conference.

The Bulldogs will have to contain Reese Holzhueter, the premier senior outfielder for the Huskies. Holzhueter, who is the second ever back-to-back NSIC first team selection in SCSU history, is hitting .421 on the season with 82 hits including 15 doubles and five triples, both team highs. Hart is a speed demon with a team-leading 18 stolen bases. Five Huskies have at least 30 RBI with Brooke Holmes pacing the team with 51 RBI. Holmes has a team-leading 12 home runs and is also the other Husky hitting above the .400-mark with a .410 batting average. 

Macey Clark and Emma Eickhoff are the two main starting pitchers with Justyce Porter closing up shop heading into the tournament. Clark, the 2025 NSIC Newcomer of the Year, is 18-6 with a 2.18 ERA in 157.1 innings. She has a team-high 132 strikeouts. Eickhoff is 17-2 with four shutouts. She has posted a 2.40 ERA in 122.2 innings. Porter has appeared in 28 games this season and has posted a 1.49 ERA and 11 saves in 65.2 innings.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and its NSIC opponents stack up head-to-head with its respective records this season, its records in the NSIC, and how each team has done in its last 10 contests.
 

TEAM	RECORD	NSIC	LAST 10
1. Augustana	43-9	25-3	10-0
2. Minnesota State	37-17	21-7	6-4
3. Winona State	40-13	21-7	8-2
4. St. Cloud State	41-14	20-7	7-3
5. UMD	38-16	18-8	9-1
6. Concordia-St. Paul	25-28	17-11	6-4
7. Minot State	27-24	15-13	2-8
8. Wayne State	31-23	14-13	5-5
9. Southwest Minnesota State	29-26	11-17	5-5
10. MSU Moorhead	19-36	11-17	5-5

AGAINST THE HUSKIES: The Bulldogs are 1-2 this season against St. Cloud State. UMD won 10-3 in the lone non-conference battle back on opening day. Freshman Lauren Jenkins and senior Nicole Schmitt each had a homer in the contest and junior Kendal Jenkins had a pair of doubles. Senior Allison Luoma started the game but sophomore pitcher Maddy Walsh picked up the victory in relief.

SCSU got its revenge in the rematch at Malosky Stadium sweeping UMD in the doubleheader. The Huskies won game one 6-4 then got the best of the Bulldogs with their high-octane offense in game two, winning 13-4. The 13 runs was the third most runs put up by the Huskies this season. 

COMING IN HOT: Only two other teams have a better winning streak heading into the postseason (Augustana -- 18 and St. Cloud State -- 6). UMD has won the final four games of the regular season and has won 10 of the last 11 games.

IN THE NSIC TOURNAMENT: The Bulldogs have claimed the postseason crown on five different occasions with them hoisting their last tournament championship in 2023 defeating Augustana twice on Championship Day (2002, 2000, 1997, 1996). Only Winona State has more NSIC Tournament Championships  with seven. The Bulldogs are 56-40 in the NSIC Tournament. The 56 wins are the second most only behind Winona State who has 74 victories. 

WE'RE TALKING PLAYOFFS!: UMD is looking to get back into the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time and the second time in the last three seasons. Since 2018, the Bulldogs have made it to the NCAA Tournament three times.

FOLLOW THE 'DOGS: The NSIC tournament will be streamed on the NSIC Network for a charge of $10 per game or $25 for a tournament pass. FAQ and troubleshooting information is available on the NSIC Network Help page.

LAST PLATE APPEARANCE: The Bulldogs ended the regular season with a pair of NSIC sweeps. UMD thumped U-Mary twice on Saturday then upended Minot State in the Sunday finale. The Marauders lost 3-0 and 4-1 to the Bulldogs. The Beavers suffered a similar fate, losing 1-0 and 5-1. 

BULLDOGS IN THE HUNT FOR NCAA CENTRAL REGION BID: With the NCAA II Softball selections less than a week out, UMD sits in tenth in the final edition of the NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings, which was released Wednesday afternoon. The eight-team NCAA Central Region field is comprised of 40 teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC).

The NCAA Central Region is made up of 40 teams spanning across three conferences, those from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Eight teams will qualify for the NCAA Tournament with automatic bids awarded to the tournament champions from each conference and the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis.
 

Rank	Team	Record	In Region
1	Augustana (NSIC)	43-9	40-8
2	Central Oklahoma (MIAA)	43-8	39-8
3	Southern Arkansas (GAC)	39-8	37-8
4	Rogers State (MIAA)	35-12	33-9
5	Pittsburg State (MIAA)	37-13	33-11
6	Missouri Southern State (MIAA)	36-16	36-15
7	Harding (MIAA)	38-15	34-13
8	Minnesota State (NSIC)	37-17	28-15
9	Washburn (MIAA)	31-20	25-18
10	Minnesota Duluth (NSIC)	38-16	31-15

30 FOR 15: The Bulldogs have won at least 30 games in 15 straight seasons -- not counting the shortened 2020 season -- dating back to 2009. UMD will finish with an above .500 record --again not accounting for the 2020 season --  for the 19th straight season.

TWO AWAY FROM 40: The Bulldogs are in search of their third straight 40-win season with two wins in the NSIC Tournament. UMD has had five seasons with 40-plus wins in program history with three of those seasons coming in the last seven years. 

ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES: UMD had a pair of players honored as NSIC All-Conference players as senior infielder Nicole Schmitt and junior catcher Kendal Jenkins were each selected by the league coaches to the NSIC All-Conference First Team. It is Schmitt's third first team honor and it is Jenkins first all-conference citation. Since 2010, UMD has had 24 First Team recognitions and, in total, 59 players have been bestowed as a first team league member. 

Schmitt went 34-for-85 with three doubles, nine home runs, 23 RBI and 27 runs in 26 conference games. She carried a slash line of .400/.469/.753. Among the conference ranks, the Verona, Wis. native was tied for the league lead in runs scored, second in home runs and slugging percentage, third in RBIs, sixth in hits and on-base percentage, and  eighth in batting average.

Jenkins collected her first NSIC honor after hitting .342 in 26 league contests. She had 11 doubles in NSIC play which tied for the league lead. The Hastings, Minn. native has 19 doubles overall this spring which is No. 1 in the NSIC and No. 10 among the Division II landscape. She racked up three home runs and 16 RBI and 10 walks. Jenkins finished the season with hits in nine of the last 10 games including six straight matches with at least two hits.

THE GOLD STANDARD: The excellence in the field continues for the Bulldogs. Junior pitcher Allyssa Williams was given the All-Defensive Team nod at pitcher this season for her supreme fielding around the circle. Formerly known as the NSIC Gold Glove Team, Williams is the first Bulldog since Taylor Koehnen was given the NSIC Gold Glove at second base in 2021 and the first pitcher since Sam Hartmann received the honor in 2016. Williams is the 11th Bulldog -- 14 total -- to be bestowed with the honor. She collared a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 27 chances. The Yuba City, Calif. native had 26 assists and a putout in 12 conference games including a double play. She only allowed 10 stolen bases and had six caught stealing. Her quick-twitch reactions and flashy glove helped the Bulldogs go 9-3 in her 12 starts as she tossed 50 strikeouts in 63 innings.

NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK ACCOLADES: Senior infielder Nicole Schmitt and junior outfielder Morgan McMillan have each been bestowed as NSIC Player of the Week award winners this season, both for the first times in their careers. Schmitt was named the player of the week twice (Feb. 4 and Feb. 10) and McMillan nabbed the honor back on March 10. UMD had three of the first six NSIC Player of the Week recipients this spring – the first team to accomplish the feat since St. Cloud State had three separate winners in the first five weeks of the 2019 season.

In addition, the duo were the first Bulldogs to win a league award since Lauren Dixon claimed Pitcher of the Week honors back on Apr. 22, 2024 for the second time last season. In addition, Schmitt was the first Bulldog since Sidney Zavoral to earn the Player of the Week accolade, earning that distinction back on Feb. 14, 2023. 

THE FIRST OF MANY TO COME: Head Coach Nat Wagner grabbed his first win -- in his first game -- as the head coach of the UMD softball team against Southwest Minnesota State University. The Bulldogs defeated the Mustangs in convincing fashion, blanking the Mustangs 7-0 in the season opener on Feb. 1.

CLOSING IN A MILESTONE: Additionally, Head Coach Nat Wagner needs two more wins to hit his 100th career coaching victory as a head coach.

THE WAGNER FILES: A new era of Bulldog softball commences this season with the addition of head coach Nat Wagner. The newest manager of the maroon and gold becomes just the fifth head coach in the program's 44-year history after serving as an assistant coach for the University of Saint Thomas the past two seasons. Prior, Wagner was at the helm of the Minot State University program for three years, leading the Beavers to a 60-48 record and one NSIC Postseason appearance.

ON DECK: The Bulldogs will need to either win the NSIC Tournament to lock up an automatic bid into the NCAA Central Region Tournament or put forth one last resume builder to receive one of the five at-large bids available. UMD will find out its national tournament fate on Monday, May 5.