INDIANAPOLIS – After making an improbable run to capture the 2021 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference championship as the No. 5 seed, the UW-Superior softball team is headed to the NCAA Waverly regional, the organization announced Monday.
 
The Yellowjackets take on No. 24 St. Olaf in their first game Friday at 10 a.m., at Lynes Field on the Wartburg campus. The Oles come into the regional as its No. 1 seed and ranked No. 19 in the latest NFCA Division III poll with a 24-6 record.
 
UWS won its way into the field of 48 by beating all of UMAC tournament teams at least once over the course of the three-day event, including winning three games on Saturday to secure the title. Along the way, Superior handed 23rd-ranked St. Scholastica its first loss of the tournament on the Saints' home field, while also eliminating second-seeded Bethany Lutheran, 6-4, in nine innings and avenging its only defeat of the week against Northwestern with a championship-clinching sweep of the Eagles.
 
The NCAA tournament bid is the fourth all-time for the Yellowjackets, who also earned the UMAC's automatic qualification in 2016 while also taking WIAC titles in 2002 and 2004
 
First-year head coach Melissa Fracker's 'Jackets enter the tournament at 22-14 overall, having reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2016 and just the 12th time in the last 34 seasons. 
 
UWS looks to continue to rely on the right arm of starting pitcher Tayler Kraemer (Spring Green, Wis./Wisconsin Heights) who was 5-1 with 1.25 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 44.2 innings and five complete games to earn tournament MVP honors.  Superior batted .314 as a team in the tournament led by Kaela Kraemer (Spring Green, Wis./Wisconsin Heights) who hit .542 (13-for-24) with nine runs scored, five extra-base hits four stolen bases and a .593 on-base percentage. In addition to her exploits in the circle, Tayler Kraemer (Spring Green, Wis./Wisconsin Heights) hit .440 (11-for-25) in the tournament with a double, three RBIs and a .462 on-base percentage.
 
The winner of the double-elimination regional advances the finals at Moyer Park in Salem, Va., May 27-June 1.