The Calvin softball team is scheduled to open NCAA III Tournament play on Thursday against Bethany Lutheran at 2:30 (EDT) on the campus of Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minneapolis. This will be the Knights 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their second one in the last three years. Head coach Becky Hilgert, who is in her tenth season at the helm, has led the team to five of those tournament appearances including 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024 and now 2026.
 
Calvin and Bethany Lutheran are part of a four-team, double-elimination NCAA III Regional pod. Host Saint Mary's and Wisconsin-Stevens Point are the other two teams in the regional.
 
Calvin (30-13) enters the tournament at 33rd in the final NCAA National Power Index (NPI) and Bethany Lutheran (32-9) is 36th in NPI. Host Saint Mary's finished with an overall record of 36-6 and sits at 11th in NPI while Wis.-Stevens Point had a 30-13 season and is 50th in NPI. 
 
Of the 64 teams in the tournament field, the Knights have competed against ten this season and have posted a 6-9 record including two wins over No. 2 ranked Trine University. 
 
At 30-13 overall, the Knights hit the 30-win plateau for the fourth time in school history and finished second in the MIAA regular season standings at 13-3 behind defending national champion Trine. Calvin is led at the plate by junior Natalie Bush (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) who has a batting average of .346 and has notched 45 hits. She also leads the team in home runs (10), runs batted in (39), and slugging percentage (.677). Freshman duo Audrey Ford (Kalamazoo, Mich./Mattawan) and Kendall Jordan (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) are also both huge contributors at the plate for the Knights as they have chipped in 52 and 48 hits, respectively. Senior Carly Dole (Mt. Pleasant, Mich./Mt. Pleasant) currently has a .341 batting average and a .419 on-base percentage with 45 hits and 37 runs batted in.
 
In the circle, senior duo Brooke Hunderman (Grand Rapids, Mich./Calvin Christian) and Emma Ludema (Martin, Mich./Martin) have held down the fort for the Knights. Hunderman, who was named the MIAA Most Valuable Pitcher, finished the season with a record of 14-9 with 159 strikeouts while holding teams to just a .213 batting average. Ludema currently has an ERA of 1.98 and a record of 12-3 while notching 55 strikeouts.
 
Hunderman, Ludema, and Ford were all named to the All-MIAA First Team while Bush, Dole, and Jordan made the All-MIAA Second Team.
 
NCAA III SAINT MARY'S (MIN) REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
 
Day 1 - Thursday, May 14
Game 1: Saint Mary's vs. Wis.-Stevens Point - 12 PM
Game 2: Calvin vs. Bethany Lutheran - 2:30 PM
 
Day 2 - Friday, May 15
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 - 12 PM
Game 4 (elimination): Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 - 2:30 PM
Game 3 (elimination): Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3 - 5:00 PM
 
Day 3 - Saturday, May 18
Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5 - 12 PM
Game 7 (if necessary): Game 6 Teams - 2:30 PM