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Fourth-seeded Fort Hays State will take on fifth-seeded Central Missouri in the first round of the MIAA Softball Championships, May 1-3, in Overland Park, Kan.  Game time is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday (May 1) at the Blue Valley Recreation Complex.
 
The Tigers (28-18, 17-9 MIAA) finished the regular season in a tie for third in the conference standings, but earned the fourth seed after a tiebreaker with Missouri Western.  UCM (27-21, 14-12 MIAA) finished fifth in the standings, three games back of FHSU.
 
Fort Hays State swept the Jennies in a doubleheader earlier this season, winning the first game by run-rule, 11-3, on Amy Dunn's walk off triple, and taking Game 2, 8-6.

Courtney Dobson finished the regular season as the Tigers' offensive leader, hitting .350 with seven doubles and 26 RBI, while Bianca Adame ended the season a hot streak, raising her average to .348 and finishing with three doubles and five triples.  Adame's seven-RBI performance against Nebraska-Kearney last Saturday (April 26) tied her for the school's single-game RBI record.  In the power categories, Danie Brinkmann (.306, 30 RBI) and Amanda Vaupel (.284, 16 RBI) each had 10 doubles and three home runs, while Samantha Villarreal led the team with four home runs.

Kelsey Kimminau picked up win No. 10 on the season last Saturday, throwing 5.1 shutout innings with just one hit allowed.  Kimminau's 108.1 innings thrown and 71 strikeouts are second highest on the squad, behind Paxton Duran (16-8), who has tossed 139.1 innings with 127 strikeouts, holding opponents to a .249 batting average against.
 
The winner/loser of the first round game will face the winner/loser of No. 1 Emporia State versus No. 8 Northeastern State, respectively, at 8 p.m. on Thursday evening.
 
The MIAA postseason will likely have NCAA Tournament implications for the Tigers, slotted eighth in the most recent Central Regional rankings (released April 23).  Automatic bids are given to conference tournament champions from the MIAA, NSIC and GAC.