Apr. 30, 2008

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- NSIC Commissioner Butch Raymond has announced that the 2008 NSIC Women’s Softball Tournament has been pushed back a day due to poor weather predictions. The tournament, being hosted by Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall, Minn., has been changed from Friday/Saturday to Saturday/Sunday as fairer weather conditions are predicted for those days.

The first round of the tournament will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday at the SMSU Softball Field and the Marshall Softball Complex. The 2008 NSIC Softball Tournament Champion receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Softball North Central Regional. The NCAA Regional Tournament is scheduled for Thursday-Sunday, May 8-11 at a campus site to be determined.

The Beavers (6-21; 4-14 NSIC) will open up tournament play versus the No. 1 seed, Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday at 12 p.m. from the SMSU Softball Field. The winner advances to face the winner of the 4-5 match up between the University of Mary and Concordia-St. Paul at 4 p.m. at the SMSU Softball Field on May 3. The loser of the first-round game will move into the other half of the bracket, and will play at 4 p.m. at the Marshall Softball Complex.

The other seeds in the tournament include No. 2 Winona State, No. 3 Wayne State College, No. 6 Upper Iowa University and No. 7 Minnesota State University Moorhead.

For updated stats and results go to http://smsumustangs.com/sports/2008/4/30/SB_0430085359.aspx.

Bemidji State University, located in Bemidji, Minn., is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

--Information courtesy Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference--

--beavers--