Bison Claim No. 1 Seed in Summit League Softball Championship Tournament

ELMHURST, Ill.--Three-time defending Summit League Tournament Champion, North Dakota State captured its second regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the 2012 Summit League Softball Championship with a league record of 18-6.  Joining NDSU in the championship field are IPFW, Southern Utah and UMKC. 

The softball championship will be played Thursday through Saturday May 10-12, at the UMKC Softball Field in Kansas City, Mo.

IPFW earned the No. 2 seed with a league record of 17-7, while Southern Utah claimed the No. 3 seed with a final league record of 15-9. 

UMKC and Western Illinois both finished the regular season with a league record of 13-11.  The Kangaroos secured the final spot and the No. 4 seed in the tournament over the Fighting Leathernecks but virtue of sweeping WIU in their three-game series.

No. 1 North Dakota State (34-19, 18-6 Summit) will face No. 4 UMKC (26-28, 13-11 Summit) in the first round of the championship on Thursday.  The Bison make their fourth-straight tournament appearance and earn their first No. 1 seed, while the Kangaroos claim their second consecutive berth in the league tournament.  NDSU won its first regular season title in 2008 but was not eligible for the league tournament. 

No. 2 IPFW (42-12, 17-7 Summit) will meet No. 3 Southern Utah (29-23, 15-9 Summit) on Thursday.  The Mastodons set a school record for wins (42) and matched their highest seed in the league championship, as they were also the No. 2 seed in 2010.  This marks the third consecutive tournament berth and fourth in five years for IPFW.  In their final season in The Summit League, the Thunderbirds capture their second-straight tournament berth and 11^th in 12 years.

The double elimination tournament will continue Friday with the championship game(s) taking place Saturday. The winner claims The Summit League Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.