St. Thomas softball heading to D-III College World Series
The University of St. Thomas softball team is headed to the Division III Women's College World Series for the seventh time under John Tschida. ((credit: University of St. Thomas))
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of St. Thomas softball team rallied in a big way over the weekend to earn the program’s seventh appearance in the Division III College World Series, and first since 2019.
The Tommies (32-8) won the NCAA regional title on Sunday in Waverly, Iowa, beating No. 1 seed St. Olaf 3-0 behind a combined three-hit shutout from Kendall Hopkins and Kierstin Anderson-Glass. St. Thomas had to rally earlier Sunday against the Milwaukee School of Engineering just to get the chance to play for a region title.
Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh, St. Thomas scored three runs for a 4-3, walk-off victory. Over an 11-day span, the Tommies went 4-0 in the MIAC Tournament and 4-0 in the NCAA Regional to advance to the College World Series.
The Tommies finished the regular season fourth in the MIAC, weren’t ranked all season and didn’t have any players land First Team All-Region. St. Thomas is now ranked No. 20 nationally, and earned the No. 7 seed for the College World Series. The Tommies will open the tournament Thursday afternoon in Salem, Va., against No. 2 seed Virginia Wesleyan.
Coach John Tschida is leading the Tommies to the World Series for the third time in the last five seasons (2016, 2019 and 2021) that it’s been played after coming up short in 2017 and 2018.. It’ll be his last trip to the College World Series with St. Thomas. Tschida announced late last month he’s stepping down after the season and will take over as head coach at St. Mary’s University, his alma mater, in 2022. He’s been the head coach at St. Thomas for 21 seasons.
St. Thomas athletics is in the process of moving up to compete at the Division I level for the 2021-22 season.
ST THOMAS BASEBALL TOP SEED FOR COLLEGEVILLE REGIONAL
The St. Thomas baseball team, after losing to St. Mary’s in the MIAC title game Saturday, received an at-large bid Sunday night to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Tommies (29-7) are the top seed for the six-team Collegeville Regional, which will be held at St. John’s University.
The Tommies are making their 22nd NCAA Playoff appearance. They came into the MIAC Tournament the top-ranked team in the Midwest Region. St. Thomas was one of six at-large bids to the 48- team field. The Tommies will open play at 11 a.m. Thursday against the University of Scranton.