South Dakota softball is the No. 4 seed in the Summit League Tournament which runs Wednesday through Saturday at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium in Brookings on the campus of South Dakota State.
 
The Coyotes (22-26, 11-9 Summit) face fifth-seeded North Dakota (12-37, 9-10) in the opening game of the tournament Wednesday at 2 p.m. The winner advances to face top-seeded South Dakota State Thursday at 11 a.m. The loser is eliminated. South Dakota is 3-2 in such contests.
 
South Dakota and North Dakota are meeting in the postseason for the first time as Summit League foes and the first time since 2011 when both teams were part of the Great West Conference.
 
USD and UND met back in late March during the opening weekend of Summit League play. Renovations to South Dakota's home field forced that series to move to Omaha where the Coyotes won game one 3-0 behind a four-hit shutout from Clara Edwards. Game two was played at a high school in North Sioux City, South Dakota, after snow blanketed Omaha overnight. North Dakota protested that change of venue, but South Dakota pummeled them 9-1 in six innings anyway. Game three was cancelled due to cold temperatures.
 
North Dakota entered that series with a 3-27 record. The Fighting Hawks then proceeded to go 9-10 in Summit play with wins against second-seeded Omaha and third-seeded North Dakota State.
 
UND catcher Cassie Castaneda earned first-team all-Summit honors and was named Defensive Player of the Year Tuesday following a vote from the head coaches. She hit .361 in conference play and is batting .325 on the season with five home runs and 30 RBIs. Green Bay transfer Katie Joten bats second, plays short and leads the Hawks with a .944 OPS. She has 10 doubles, two home runs and 21 RBIs.
 
Wednesday's pitching matchup most certainly will include South Dakota's Clara Edwards (13-10, 2.53 EAR), a first-team all-Summit pick who pitched both games against North Dakota earlier this season.  The Hawks will go with either sophomore Jackie Albrecht (4-15, 5.54 ERA) or FIU transfer Makaela Carr (7-10, 5.61 ERA). Albrecht had more success against USD in the earlier matchup. She allowed one earned run on five hits and struck out three in game one's 3-0 loss.
 
South Dakota senior third baseman Aleesia Sainz makes her first swings as Summit League Player of the Year. Sainz led the Summit with a .420 average and 1.236 OPS in conference play. Fifth-year senior center fielder Courtney Wilson is set to compete in her fourth tournament. The three-time all-Summit honoree is 5-for-16 with a double in eight prior tournament games. Edwards was 1-1 with a 2.50 ERA in two starts in the circle at last year's tournament.
 
No. 3 North Dakota State takes on No. 6 Kansas City in the game that follows Wednesday. The winner of that game faces Omaha Thursday. The four remaining teams following Wednesday's two games will compete in a double-elimination tournament with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.