Minot State senior Micaela Resler and the Beavers ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak to earn the No. 7 seed in the NSIC Tournament. Minot State plays Minnesota Duluth in the first round on Wednesday, May 6, at noon in Sioux Falls, S.D. Mike Kraft/MDN

In a single-elimination tournament, the seeding in front of the team name is essentially meaningless as anybody can beat anybody on any given day if all the cards fall in the right place.

As the No. 7 seed, the Minot State softball team believes it’s just as capable of making a run as the other nine teams in the field as the NSIC Tournament gets underway on Wednesday, May 6, in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Beavers play No. 10 seed Minnesota Duluth at noon for the chance to play No. 2 seed St. Cloud State in the quarterfinals the following day.

The Beavers (33-21 overall, 18-12 NSIC) enter postseason play on a five-game winning streak, their second longest such streak since winning seven straight from April 7-17. Minot State is 20-6 since April 1 and is coming off a pair of doubleheader sweeps in which they hit eight home runs and outscored their opponents 39-5.

“I feel like the team has been playing extremely well,” Minot State coach Sal Rodriguez said. “When you’re able to have an offensive outbreak like we had last weekend, it’s amazing to watch. We played really clean defense and our pitching held it down for us as well. Right now it feels like everything is clicking as it should and it’s a beautiful time to see it rolling out like this right before the tournament. Hopefully we can continue to keep that energy going into the postseason and that’s a sign of being hot at the right time.”

While Winona State and St. Cloud State separated themselves from the rest of the field to capture the top two seeds, the next six teams were separated by just four games. Minot State finished three games back of No. 3 seed Wayne State in the standings and just missed out on a first-round bye, but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker to Concordia-St. Paul, giving the Golden Bears the No. 6 seed and the last bye.

While the Beavers would have liked to have had an additional day off before starting their postseason run, they aren’t lamenting what could have been.

“There’s some pros and cons to both, but this is the hand we’re dealt,” Rodriguez said. “It would be nice to go in as a higher seed and get that first-round bye, take an extra day to get the bodies right, but ultimately that wasn’t in the cards for us and we’re going to have to play on Wednesday. I don’t think too much changes. You just have to take a deep breath and ultimately go out there and play your best softball like Duluth is going to need to do the same. Once you get to the tournament, you just have to play your best softball. At any point, anyone can make a run, especially with how close the season has been this year. Everyone’s pretty close and anyone can beat anyone at any time.”

Minot State’s first-round opponent has been a bit of a thorn in its side in recent postseasons, as Duluth has ended the Beavers’ season in both 2024 and 2023. Their last postseason victory against the Bulldogs was in 2013. They are 8-24 all-time against Duluth dating back to 2013 and split a pair of extra-inning contests this season.

Offensively, the Beavers ranked in the top six of the conference in several categories, including batting average (.309), home runs (37), triples (20), doubles (95), RBIs (261) and runs scored (284). Paige Kellogg was fifth in batting average at .409, collecting 52 hits and driving in 32 runs. She was named first-team all-NSIC. The Beavers had eight players with at least 50 at-bats hit above .300.

Sara Van Wickler was a second-team all-NSIC selection, hitting .358, registering nine triples, 32 RBIs and 43 runs scored. Sarah Misner hit five home runs and brought in 25 runs. Raivyn Millions hit .331 with 14 RBIs and Anna LaCount had 14 extra-base hits, including four home runs.

Katie Newberry was the team’s ace in the circle, logging a team-best 1.83 ERA in 103 innings pitched. Her ERA was fourth-best in the NSIC. She posted an 11-5 record, limiting opponents to a .221 average, striking out 93 and walking 18.

Kierra Fournier tossed the most innings with 109. She sported a .366 ERA, allowing 64 runs on 114 hits, striking out 77 and walking 69. She won 10 games. Taylor Kruser and Misner also saw extended time in the circle this season for the Beavers. As a staff, Minot State had a .316 ERA with 28 complete games. They struck out 226 batters. Opponents hit just .266.

“You try to pick your best nine offensively that can produce in these high-leverage moments and that’s a conversation we’ll have, but ultimately you’re trying to put out your best nine and find your best pitching combination that’s going to set down your opponents,” Rodriguez said. “That can look different every game, but ultimately you’re taking your best staff based on the information that’s presented to us. We’re going to do our best out there and see what happens.”

The defense behind the pitching staff was sound all season, committing just 45 errors, which was fourth-fewest in the conference. Fournier and Kellogg made the conference’s all-defensive team.

Along with momentum, the Beavers also have experience on their side. The roster yields 10 seniors and four juniors, which is an asset come tournament time.

“It’s really important, especially over the past years, players that have made a run in the tournament and last year we lost that first round game,” Rodriguez said. “There’s a lot of experience on our roster, especially the seniors that have been there and done it for a few years, so hopefully that gives us a little more confidence and hopefully that gives us more comfort and we can settle in and play a good first game knowing that we’ve been here before.”

For Rodriguez, the formula for advancing deep into the tournament is simple: outperform your opponent.

“You just have to play better fundamental softball than the team across the way,” Rodriguez said. “Ultimately, sports are one of those things where you can play your best game and still lose. It takes a lot of different factors. It takes your offense, your defense and your pitching to align at the same time and hopefully you outplay and capitalize on more opportunities than your opponent. If we can do that, we’re going to be in good shape.”