Upper Iowa Softball Team Earns NCAA Tournament Bid

The Upper Iowa softball team will be making its first appearance in the NCAA Division-II Tournament when the Peacocks travel to Arkansas to play a first-round game later this week. The NCAA unveiled the bracket for the 64-team field during an online selection show Monday morning (May 2).

Upper Iowa (39-16) was placed as the No. 8 seed in the eight-team Central Region, which includes Northern Sun Conference (NSIC) rivals Minnesota State-Mankato and Minnesota-Duluth. Central Region games will be played in two different Arkansas cities, beginning Thursday.

The Peacocks are among four teams that will compete in Russellville. They'll battle top seed and region host Arkansas Tech (46-9) in the second game of a first-round doubleheader that's scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Thursday. No. 4 seed Minnesota State-Mankato faces fifth-seed Northwest Missouri State in the opener.

Upper Iowa's opponent is in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. The Golden Suns are ranked eighth nationally and earned an at-large bid from the Great American Conference.

The other four teams in the split region will play their games in Magnolia, Ark. No. 3 seed Missouri Western State (43-11) faces No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth (35-15) in the first-round. The other match-up features No. 2 seed Southern Arkansas (46-9) hosting No. 7 Central Oklahoma (39-18).

Upper Iowa earned its first-ever trip to the NCAA Championships by winning the Northern Sun Conference tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D over the weekend. The Peacocks defeated Minnesota State-Mankato, 3-2, in the second title game on Sunday, after falling to the Mavericks in the championship opener, 2-1, in 16-innings.

The teams had to play two championship games because Upper Iowa came from the winner's side of the bracket in the double-elimination tournament. Powered by strong pitching and timely hitting, the Peacocks prevailed after 23 innings.

Senior Brooke Redmond and sophomore Sammy Garrett were named to the All-Tournament Team. Redmond earned victories against Winona State and Minnesota State-Mankato (twice) to go 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA over the weekend. Garrett hit .333 (5-for-15) over the five tournament games, including a walk-off home run in the opening round against Winona State and a solo home run in a 1-0 semifinal win over Minnesota State-Mankato to reach the championship games.

Upper Iowa opened its 2016 season at a tournament in Bentonville, Ark., in mid-February.