The College of Saint Benedict softball team is headed back to the NCAA Division III tournament.
The Bennies (24-17 overall) found out Monday morning they had received an at-large selection to the 62-team field and will take on Wisconsin-Oshkosh (34-4) in the first game of a four-team, double-elimination regional at noon Thursday in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Illinois Wesleyan (30-10) and Wartburg (Iowa) (23-16) are the other two teams in the regional and will meet at 2:30 p.m. following the CSB/Oshkosh matchup.
Wisconsin-Oshkosh won this season’s Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title, but fell 2-1 to Wisconsin-Whitewater in the WIAC title game this past Saturday (May 11). The Titans were ranked No. 12 in the most recent NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll.
The Bennies – who fell 5-3 to 18th-ranked Bethel in the MIAC semifinals Saturday – return to the tournament for the second time in the past three seasons, having hosted a four-team regional in 2022.
Illinois Wesleyan was this season’s College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tournament champion, having earned the title for the 16th time since 1995. Wartburg – which won both games of a doubleheader against CSB during the regular season – fell 4-1 to Luther on the first day of play in the American Rivers Conference tournament Friday (May 10).
In all, this marks the sixth NCAA tournament appearance in CSB program history. The Bennies also made the field in 1993, 1994, 2018, 2019 and 2022.
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