BREAKING: Northwestern softball selected to seventh-consecutive NCAA tournament

The ‘Cats will be heading south as they’ll play in the Clemson, South Carolina regional.

Evanstonians, rejoice. Yet another Northwestern team will be making a postseason appearance.

After a somewhat tame winter season, Northwestern softball joins lacrosse as another spring sports team to make it to NCAA postseason action. The ‘Cats (29-18-1, 16-6 B1G) got off to a rocky start to begin their year; but after finding their footing in Big Ten play, they ended with a really strong regular season finish, capped off with a series win over eighth-ranked UCLA.

Heading into the Big Ten Tournament, though, NU was still squarely on the bubble and in need of a win or two to feel comfortable enough to guarantee a spot in the Women’s College World Series. That’s when disaster hit.

Fifth-seeded Northwestern lost 4-2 against No. 12 Purdue in the first round of its conference tournament in a game it never led, seriously hurting the hopes of a chance at postseason play and potentially pushing the Wildcats straight off the bubble.

But the softball gods — that is, the committee — remained in favor of NU, granting it an opportunity to bounce back after a rough loss with a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Northwestern will begin its run at the College World Series in the Clemson regional, which includes the No. 11-seeded Tigers alongside USC Upstate and Kentucky.

Northwestern’s first matchup in the regional, which runs from May 16 to 18, will be against the Kentucky Wildcats (29-26, 7-17 SEC).