2012 NCAA-II Central Region softball bracket
2012 NCAA-II Central Region softball page

INDIANAPOLIS — Fort Lewis College earned the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Division II Central Regionals and will face top-seeded Minnesota State at 12:30 p.m. (MDT) Friday in the first round of the national playoffs.

The tournament is a double-elimination event, meaning the Skyhawks will play a second game at either 10 a.m. (MDT) Saturday (winners' bracket) or 12:30 p.m. (MDT) Saturday (losers' bracket).

The upper half of the Central Region bracket plays at The Diamond at Gage Towers in Mankato, Minn., Friday through Sunday. Teams include No. 1 Minnesota State (35-7), No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth (37-20), No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul (30-21), and No. 8 Fort Lewis (30-24).

The lower half of the Central Region bracket plays at Augustana College's Bowden Field in Sioux Falls, S.D., Friday through Sunday. Teams include No. 2 Augustana (45-9), No. 3 Winona State (Minn.) (42-9), No. 6 Colorado Christian (31-25), and No. 7 Colorado Mesa (26-22).

Fort Lewis earned an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs by winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament this past weekend in Denver and Golden, Colo.

This marks FLC's second venture into the Big Dance. The Skyhawks lost both of their games in 2008 in San Angelo, Texas, 9-1 to Angelo State and 10-3 to Abilene Christian.

The Skyhawks are 1-0 all-time against Minnesota-Duluth (an 11-0 win on Feb. 22, 2009 in Colorado Springs) and Concordia-St. Paul (a 4-3 win on Feb. 20, 2009 in Colorado Springs). Fort Lewis is 0-3 all-time against Minnesota State (the last meeting was a 3-1 loss on Feb. 20, 2009 in Colorado Springs).

Winners from this weeks' regional competition will advance to super regionals on May 11-12. The finals will be held May 16-19 at Knights Field in Louisville, Ky., and will be hosted by Bellarmine University and the Louisville Sports Commission.