Softball will travel to Decatur, Ill., to face No. 22 Millikin (Ill.) in First Round of NCAA III Tournament

By Tim Glon

| NCAA III Tournament Page | NCAA III Softball Page |

ADA — The Ohio Northern softball team will travel to Decatur, Ill. and will face No. 22-ranked Millikin (Ill.) in the First Round of the Millikin Regional on Friday in the NCAA III Softball Tournament.

The Polar Bears (24-9 overall) earned the Ohio Athletic Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA III Championships by winning the OAC Tournament title with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Mount Union on Sunday.

Millikin (32-7) earned an at-large bid to the NCAA III Tournament after winning the CCIW Regular Season title.

The two other teams in the double-elimination tournament are Alma (Mich.) (25-13) and Illinois College (21-12-1).

The NCAA Tournament is a 62-team field with 15 four-team Regional double-elimination tournaments and one two-team double-elimination tournament this weekend.

The 16 teams advancing from regionals will compete in a two-team, best-of-three tournament at eight super regional sites.

The eight teams advancing from super regionals will compete at the finals site in a double-elimination tournament. The final two teams will compete in a best-of-three series to determine the national champion.

The eight Regional champions advance to the NCAA III Softball World Series May 26-31 at Salem, Va.

This marks the third time in the past four seasons that ONU has won the OAC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA III Tournament.

Ohio Northern will be making its eighth NCAA III Tournament appearance.