The Beaver softball team finished their season this past Saturday, April 29 at Hutchinson Community College. They lost game one 9-1 while losing game two 19-0. They finished their regular season with a 5-43 overall record with a 4-28 conference record. Having finished eighth in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference standings they qualified for the 2023 NJCCA Region VI D1 Softball Championship for the first time since 2018.
The championship tournament will be held at Legends Park in Dodge City, KS starting on Friday, May 5. Pratt will play in the first game of the afternoon against the conference champions and #1 seed the Hutchinson Blue Dragons. The Beavers were swept both times this season when they faced the Blue Dragons which makes game one of the tournament a tough task.
If the team can win game one, they would face the winner of Barton or Garden City. If they lose game one, they will play the loser of either Barton or Garden City. The Barton or Garden City matchup is more ideal game for Pratt as the team had a close game with both teams. Early in the season at Barton, the Beavers lost game two of the series 7-5. Later in the season against Garden City the Beavers had an opportunity to win game one in the seventh inning, but lost 7-6.
Both of those games will take place on the morning of Saturday, May 6. The tournament is double elimination, so the Beavers can play through the losers' bracket when and if they lose that first game.
