GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota softball team will begin postseason play on Wednesday evening with a showdown against in-state rival North Dakota State at 5:30 p.m. from Fargo, N.D. 

ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT
The 2021 Summit League Softball Championship presented by the U.S. Air Force Special Warfare will take place May 12-15 at North Dakota State's Tharaldson Park at the Ellig Sports Complex in Fargo, N.D. The winner of the Summit League Championship receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

UND enters the weekend as the No. 6 seed, the final team to clinch a spot in the tournament, and will face the No. 3 seeded Bison in the opening round of the championships. The first round of play is a single-elimination format, with the winner advancing to play No. 2 seed Omaha at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. The final four teams in the championship will then participate in a double-elimination tournament on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 

TICKETS/PARKING
All seating is general admission and tickets may be purchased at the gate on game day. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth ages 3-17. Parking is available in NDSU parking lot NQ to the north of Tharaldson Park on 17th Avenue. Attendees are strongly encouraged to wear masks.

MEDIA COVERAGE
Every game of the championship will be available live across multiple platforms. Fans can watch all the action on MidcoSN, online through the Midco Sports Plus app or through The Summit League Digital Network for free. 

Live stats will also be available for each game. Links for all can be found here.

LAST TIME OUT
UND did everything it needed to do in the first pair of games last weekend in the regular season finale against Kansas City. Needing only one win to clinch a spot in these championships, Adrianna Dilal limited the Roos to just six hits and one earned run over her seven innings of work, notching her sixth complete game of the season in a 3-2 win. UND picked up nine hits of its own in the win, led by the top-two spots in the order combining for five of those knocks. Jailene Carpio went 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored from the No. 2 spot in the lineup while Jocelyn Kirk started off her big day with a 2-for-4 performance at the leadoff position. 

Kirk helped the Fighting Hawks rally once again in the final game on Friday, launching a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall for her first-career walk-off home run to give the Fighting Hawks a 3-2 victory and the Friday sweep. The homer capped off a solid afternoon for Kirk, finishing the second game with three hits in four at-bats with an RBI and two runs scored to pace the UND offense at the top of the order. 

UND honored its six seniors on Saturday, but fell in a pair of contests to close out the regular season. 

TOURNAMENT HISTORY
This will be UND's second appearance in the Summit League Tournament in as many seasons, with the 2020 postseason not happening due to COVID-19. In 2019, the Fighting Hawks fell to South Dakota State, 4-2, in the opening round of the tournament. 

2021 marks the fourth straight year that North Dakota has made the conference tournament, excluding 2020, dating back to the Big Sky era. The Fighting Hawks won their first tournament game as a Division I program in the 2018 Big Sky Tournament before play was halted due to weather. 

AROUND THE LEAGUE
• Two weeks ago, South Dakota State earned its first league title in program history and will be the top seed in this week's #SummitSB Championships, presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare in Fargo, N.D.
• The Jackrabbits boast the top-two pitchers in league play in freshmen duo Tori Kniesche (1.31 ERA) and Grave Glanzer (9-1, 0.99 ERA) and also have two players hitting over .400 in league play in Jocelyn Carrillo (.484) and Cylie Halvorson (.411). Halvorson also leads the league in home runs (16) and RBI (51).
• Omaha made quite the run in the final two weeks of league play, as the Mavericks made the league tournament for the first time since 2018 and earned the No. 2 seed and a first round bye after winning eight of its last 10 games, including back-to-back four-game series wins against Kansas City and South Dakota.
• This is also the first time since the 2016 league tournament that the Mavericks have earned the No. 2 seed.
• Omaha's Kamryn Meyer has pitched nine complete game this season and leads the Mavericks in wins (8), ERA (3.25), shutouts (4), innings pitched (110.0) and strikeouts (148).
• Teammates Jamie White, Emily Klosterman and Lynsey Tucker have played and started in all 42 games this season as White leads the team in home runs with four, while Izzy Eltze leads the team with a .379 batting average during the season.
• North Dakota State earned the No. 3 seed in the league tournament and will host No. 6 seed and in-state rival North Dakota in the opening round on Wednesday.
• NDSU's Madyson Camacho and Stephanie Soriano have sparked the Bison this season, as they both lead the team with 41 hits, while Avery Wysong has recorded a team-high seven home runs.
• In their return in the Summit League, Kansas City claimed a spot in the tournament and will take on No. 5 seed South Dakota on Wednesday in the opening game at 3 p.m. CT. The last time the two squads faced each other was three weeks ago in Vermillion, as both teams captured two wins.
• Kansas City pitcher Mia Hoveland has proved to be a difference maker for the Roos, as the McFarland, Wis., native has recorded a 2.53 ERA with five wins in league, while outfielder Kloe Hilbrenner has put on a display in league play, batting .381 with 32 hits and has a league-high 43 stolen bases, which ranks near the top of the nation.
• South Dakota won their regular season finale against Omaha on Saturday and with the win, the Coyotes were slated as the No. 5 seed in the league tournament and will face Kansas City, with the winner taking on top-seeded South Dakota State on Thursday at noon.
• In the previous meeting between the Roos, senior infielder Lauren Eamiguel was 6-for-12 in that series with two home runs and the Mesa, Ariz. native has a .517 slugging percentage and is batting .350 in league play, while teammate Courtney Wilson is batting a team-high .373 with 25 hits.
• USD's Camille Fowler leads the Coyotes batting .283 on the year and has started and played in 48 games this season and totaled 45 hits, two triples and ten RBI along with 15 stolen bases.
• North Dakota rounded out the tournament field this year, as they clinched a spot Friday winning two home games against Kansas City. UND pitcher Adrianna Dilal will look to advance past the Bison as the graduate student boasts a 1.97 ERA in league play with 23 strikeouts and has recorded three victories.