May 7, 2001
Bulldog Softball to Make Third Straight trip to NCAA DII Regional Tournament
The Truman softball team was one of four teams to earn a bid to the NCAA Division II North Central regional championships in Fargo, N.D.., Friday and Saturday, May 11-12.
The Bulldogs will be making their third consecutive trip to the regional tournament, and will be looking to advance to the DII World Series after finishing as the regional runner-up the last two seasons.
The No. 1 seed and defending national champion North Dakota State, will host the two-day tournament. The No. 2 seed was University of Nebraska-Omaha, while Missouri Southern State College was third and Truman was fourth.
Truman is 41-9-1 heading into the NCAA DII regionals, and is led by senior all-America catcher Kristi Bredbenner (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) with a .391 batting average. Freshman shortstop Elizabeth Economon (Affton, Mo./Notre Dame) follows close behind, hitting .386. Freshman right fielder Stephanie Cepicky (St. Louis/Lindbergh) rounds out Truman's .300 hitters with a batting average of .318.
Junior Jennifer Hulsopple (Peculiar, Mo./Raymore-Peculiar) leads the 'Dogs on the mound with a 21-6 record and 0.82 ERA. Hulsopple hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat Washburn 6-3 in game two of the MIAA tournament last weekend.
The 'Dogs lost to NDSU at the UNO tournament on March 31, 2-0, when the Bison scored two runs in the sixth. Truman also fell to the host, 3-2, in the next game.
In the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association postseason tournament this past weekend, MSSC beat the Bulldogs twice by 2-1 scores to take the tourney crown. The Lions also swept the 'Dogs in the regular season, 4-0 and 2-0.
Truman is 7-3 all-time vs. Nebraska-Omaha, and is 2-4 against North Dakota State and 8-17 in the all-time series with MIAA foe Missouri Southern.
NDSU heads into the DII regional tournament with a 52-4 record, while UNO is 46-5 and MSSC is 52-10.
The Bulldogs will likely depart for the regional tournament on Wednesday morning.