STORM LAKE, Iowa – Sixth-seeded Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves (21-13, 8-8 A-R-C) and fourth-seeded Wartburg College Knights (25-12, 9-7 A-R-C) are advancing to the semifinals of the 2022 American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Softball Tournament.

The single-elimination tournament will wrap up tomorrow, Saturday, May 7 with action starting at 11:00a between No. 1 Buena Vista and No. 4 Wartburg. No. 2 Dubuque will face No. 6 Nebraska Wesleyan at 1:30p. The championship game is scheduled for a 4:00p first pitch.
 
In the first game of the day, the Wartburg Knights defeated the Luther College Norse by a score of 9-2. The Knights started strong, putting up four runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. Lauren Frerichs went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, two of them coming off a single in the first to get the first runs on the board for the Knights. Ella Link went 1-for-3 with three RBIs and had a big three-run triple in the sixth inning. Wartburg, now 25-12 overall, added another run in the sixth and increased their lead to 9-2. The winning pitcher for the Knights, Ashley Nelson, went the distance in the circle allowing two runs on seven hits and striking out four. Nelson’s season record improved to 11-4 in the circle. Kyal Heydt was the lone Norse to have a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
 
RESULTS: Wartburg 9, Luther 2

Teams	1-2-3	4-5-6	7		R	H	E
LUT (5)	0-0-1	0-1-0	0		2	7	1
WAR (4)	4-0-1	0-0-4	x		9	10	0

WP-- Ashley Nelson (11-4); LP -- Kendra Cooper (9-8)
 
The second game of the day went to the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves, defeating the Coe College Kohawks by a score of 6-3 in a hard-fought battle. Nebraska Wesleyan’s Paige Davison went 3-for-4 with an RBI, Taylor Styskal was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Kailey Meyer was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. In addition to her performance at the plate, Meyer went the distance for the Prairie Wolves in the circle, striking out five and only giving up three runs on six hits. The senior pitcher improved to 16-6 this season in the circle for the Prairie Wolves. Coe had two players with a multi-hit game, Madi Parson was 2-for-3 with a double and Shaylee Dodd was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
 
RESULTS: Nebraska Wesleyan 6, Coe 3

Teams	1-2-3	4-5-6	7		R	H	E
NWU (6)	0-0-3	0-1-0	2		6	9	2
COE (3)	0-1-1	0-1-0	0		3	6	1

WP-- Kailey Meyer (16-6); LP -- Hannah Ausenhus (5-6)
 
The winner of the tournament will receive the American Rivers Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship. The NCAA selection will announce AQ and at-large qualifiers, along with regional sites selected for the Championship on Monday, May 9. The regional round takes place Friday-Sunday, May 13-15 (regionals that include a team with a no-Sunday play policy will be conducted Thursday-Saturday). Winners of the regionals will advance to the super regionals Friday and Saturday, May 20-21. This year's NCAA Division III Championship will take place Thursday-Tuesday, May 26-31 at Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Virginia.
 

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