NCAA DIVISION III SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS • PELLA REGIONAL
Dates	May 18-20, 2023
Location	Pella, Iowa
Tickets	$10 - adults • $7 - college students/senior citizens • $7 - youth • Free - Children under the age of 3 • All tickets sold at the gate. Cash only.
Fan Info	Attractions/Visit Pella • Campus Map  parking in green lot with shuttles provided • Concessions and merchandise can be purchased by card or cash
Live Stream	Central Dutch Network
Live Stats	athletics.central.edu/sidearmstats/softball/summary
NCAA.com	Bracket • DIII Scoreboard • Digital Program • Merchandise

The No. 11th-ranked Bethel University softball team is set to open up NCAA Regional play in Pella, Iowa Thursday afternoon against WIAC Tournament Champion Wisconsin-La Crosse at 2 p.m.
 
BU will face off against the winner or loser of game two which features the host and No. 22 Central, who earned at at-large bid, and Midwest Conference champion Grinnell.
 

#22 Central College • 31st NCAA Appearance	Wisconsin La-Crosse • 7th NCAA Appearance	Grinnell College • 1st NCAA Appearance
2023 Record: 31-9, 11-5 A-R-C All-Time Record: BU leads 5-4 Streak: Won 2 Last Meeting: BU won 9-1 & 7-3 on 3/26/22 at Pella, Iowa	2023 Record: 28-13, 9-5 WIAC All-Time Record: Series tied 1-1 Streak: Won 1 Last Meeting: BU won 8-0 on 2/26/22 at the Mankato Dome	2023 Record: 29-12, 15-1 MWC All-Time Record: First Meeting

 

GAME SCHEDULE

Thursday, May 18
Game 1             2 p.m.             Wis.-La Crosse (28-13) vs. #11 Bethel (Minn.) (33-3)
Game 2             4:30 p.m.        #22 Central (31-9) vs. #Grinnell (29-12)
Friday, May 19
Game 3             11 a.m.            Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 4             1:30 p.m.         Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5             4 p.m.              Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3
Saturday, May 20
Game 6             1 p.m.              Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7             3:30 p.m.         Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)
 

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

All-time NCAA Tournament Record: 4-3
• 2022 • St. Paul Regional
W, 5-1 vs Bethany Lutheran
L, 2-1 vs. WashU
W, 3-2 vs. Buena Vista (elimination game)
W, 4-3 (15 inns.) vs WashU (regional championship game 1)
W, 6-5 vs WashU (regional championship game 2)
 
• 2022 • Mount Berry Super Regional
L, 2-0 (9 inns.) at #10 Berry
L, 3-1 at #10 Berry
 

ROYAL NOTES

• Bethel enters on a 23-game winning streak which ties last year's record mark.
• Head coach Penny Foore is chasing the 200-career win mark coming into the tournament 199-114 all-time. Now in nine seasons as the helm of the program she has produced back-to-back 30 win seasons and have had five years with 25-plus wins.
• The Royals defense has a lot of clean sheets ranking fourth in fielding percentage at .978.
• On the base paths, the Royals average 2.72 stolen bases per game which led the MIAC and is 17th nationally.
• Kayla Simacek boasts a 1.03 ERA this year, 17th in the nation, and is the DIII leader with 319 strikeouts.
 

IN THE RECORD BOOKS

• Allie Fauth-Kilgore is a speedster on the base paths with 35 stolen bases this season, the second most in a single-season that is chasing her 42 from last year. She is the Royals' all-time steals leader with 141 stolen bags.
• Going for extra bases, Izzy Wilhelm has 15 doubles this year tying the second most in a single-season for BU.
• The rubber arm of Kayla Simacek is all over the record books. Her 319 strikeouts are the second most in program history, chasing her 349 from last season. With a 31 wins she is chasing her single-season record 35 from last year. Career wise she is knocking on the door of 900 Ks with 897 as Bethel's all-time leader, that mark also ranks 30th all-time in Division III. Her 83-15 all-time mark shattered the previous career win mark of 47 held by Karli Persson.