Lincoln, NE (May 8th, 2025)- Nebraska Wesleyan is set to face Luther in the first round of the 2025 American Rivers Conference softball tournament. 
 
LOCATION, GAME TIME, LIVE STREAM & LIVE STATS
Nebraska Wesleyan will face Luther at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, May 9th. The winner will face Wartburg College at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 10th. All games will be played at Simpson College, in Indianola, Iowa. The American Rivers Conference will live stream all games on the Roll Rivers Network. The official tournament site can be found here.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA WESLEYAN
Nebraska Wesleyan posted a 28-11 regular season record and earned the third seed in the American Rivers Conference tournament. Nebraska Wesleyan was powered by Lyndsey Roth who led the team with 49 hits and a .454 batting average, As a team, eight athletes have a batting average of .300 or better. Overall, NWU holds a slash line of .336/.408/.452, while scoring 225 runs on 335 hits. The duo of Elise Warneke and Eva Fahrnbruch (27 combined wins, 138 strikeouts) anchors a staff with nine shutouts, backed by a .963 fielding percentage. 

HEAD COACH MARY YORI
Head Coach Mary Yori is in her tenth season as the head coach of Nebraska Wesleyan's softball program. Yori was hired as Nebraska Wesleyan's first full time head softball coach in June of 2015. In ten seasons as head coach, Yori has complied a 205-150 record and was the 2016 AD3I All-Independent Co-Coach of the Year in her first season leading the Prairie Wolves. Yori coached Nebraska Wesleyan to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 2022. Last season, Yori helped lead the team to a 26-11 record and an A-R-C tournament appearance. Coach Yori also had five athletes named to the A-R-C All-Conference Team, with Lyndsey Roth and Val Gerlach also earning NFCA All-Region Third Team honors. 

NEBRASKA WESLEYAN SOFTBALL TRADITION
Nebraska Wesleyan's lone conference championship occurred in 1986. That season saw Nebraska Wesleyan post an 8-4 conference record in the NIAC. Nebraska Wesleyan's only NCAA tournament appearance occurred in 2022. That season saw Nebraska Wesleyan go 23-16 overall, and 8-8 in American Rivers Conference Play. 

SCOUTING THE NORSE
Luther enters Friday with a 23-17 record. Luther holds a slash line of .288/.363/.373, while scoring 194 runs on 321 hits. Defensively, the Norse have a .944 fielding percentage with 804 put outs. Luther's pitchers have combined to post an ERA of 2.38. The Norse are coached by Renae Hartl, in her 24th season.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST LUTHER
Friday will mark the 20th meeting between Nebraska Wesleyan and Luther. The Norse hold a 13-6 all-time series lead.