University of Southern Indiana Softball faces No. 6 Minnesota State University-Mankato in the opening round of the NCAA II Softball Championship Thursday at 3 p.m. (CDT) in Salem, Virginia.
The No. 9 Screaming Eagles (46-12) enter the tournament as the No. 7 seed, while the Mavericks (59-7) are the No. 2 seed in the eight-team field. Thursday’s meeting is the second time this year that USI and Minnesota State-Mankato will meet after the Eagles suffered a 2-1 setback to the Mavericks at The Spring Games in Florida two months ago.
In addition to USI’s matchup with Minnesota State-Mankato, other first-round games feature the No. 3 seed, Armstrong Atlantic State University, versus the No. 6 seed, the University of West Florida; the No. 1 seed, Angelo State University, taking on the No. 8 seed, Humboldt State University; and the No. 4 seed, West Virginia Wesleyan College, against the No. 5 seed, Molloy College.
Armstrong Atlantic State is under the direction of former USI Assistant Coach Kim Dean, who is in her first year with the team after aiding USI Head Coach Sue Kunkle from 2010-16.
All of USI’s games will be broadcast on WSWI 95.7 FM and online at www.957thespin.com; while live stats and video will be available at GoUSIEagles.com.
