WAVERLY, Iowa-- The Wartburg softball team (23-16 overall) will face #23 Millikin (30-9) in the First round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday, May 18 at 2 p.m. (eastern). Trine University will serve as host.

Tournament schedule
Thursday, May 18
Game one: 2 p.m. Wartburg vs. Millikin; Wartburg 3-2
Game two: 4:30 p.m.    Waynesburg vs. Trine; Trine 7-0

Friday, May 19
Game three: 10 a.m. Wartburg vs. Trine; Trine 8-0
Game four: 12:30 p.m. Millikin vs. Waynesburg
Game five: 3 p.m. Wartburg vs. Millikin, Wartburg 8-0

Saturday, May 20
Game six: 12 p.m. Wartburg vs. Trine
Game seven: 2:30 p.m. (if necessary) 

Tickets

Adult	$ 10
Senior Citizen/Veteran	$ 7
Student	$ 7
Children under 12	$3
Child < 2="">	Free

Gates open 60 minutes prior to first game time of each day

Links
Click here for the complete NCAA program.
Click here for the complete bracket.
Click here for the tournament website (live stats and live video links).

The Series
Millikin holds the all-time series lead at 4-2, which includes the last four straight-meetings. The most recent contests between the programs occurred in the Super Regional round of last year's NCAA Tournament.

Wartburg
The Knights make their 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history. The Orange and Black defeated then-No. 23 Luther 9-3 in the American Rivers Conference Tournament Championship on Sunday to earn the automatic bid.

Wartburg
Reegan Deputy leads the team with her .383 batting average. Lauren Frerichs follows at .336, Sydney Fellows at .333, Sydney Illg at .330, Ella Link at .319, and Kaylie Springer rounds out those above .300 at .317.

Fellows has a team-best 33 RBIs, while Deputy and Link both have 32. Illg leads the team with 26 stolen bases.

Avery Mull leads the starting pitchers with her 3.60 ERA and Ashley Nelson has a team-best 86 strikeouts and 12 wins.

National Stat Rankings
Wartburg ranks in the top 100 of nine national stat categories. The Knights are: seventh in double plays (18), 10th in double plays/game (0.46), 11th in home runs (32) and home runs/game (0.82), 12th in stolen bases/game (2.97), 14th in stolen bases (116), 57th in slugging percentage (.457), 71st in walks (111), and 82nd in on base percentage (.385).

Individually, four players rank in the top 100. Link is 34th in home runs (9), and 36th in home runs/game (0.24).

Deputy is 86th in home runs (7), and 91st in home runs/game (0.19).

Nelson is 36th in appearances (29).

Illg is 45th in stolen bases (26), 35th in stolen bases/game (0.74), and Frerichs is 85th in triples (4).

Career record watch
Illg ranks first in runs scored (170), assists (470) and stolen bases (119), second in double plays (36), games played (169) and games started (169), third in home runs (27), fourth in RBIs (111) and hits (181).

Link is fourth in home runs (25), and eighth in RBIs (96).

Frerichs is sixth in stolen bases (48). Nelson is seventh in games started (52), ninth in appearances (72), and 10th in innings pitched (341.1) and wins (32).

Season record watch
Illg is tied for first in assists (120) and ninth in stolen bases (26). 

Link is tied for seventh in home runs (10). Nelson is tied for fifth in appearances (30).

Millikin
The Big Blue enter the week on an 11-game winning streak. Millikin won the CCIW Tournament Championship for the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Anna Enlow leads the team at the plate with her .396 average.

Aly Armstrong leads the pitchers with her 1.65 ERA, 114.1 innings pitched, 141 strikeouts, and 16 wins.