GREENWOOD - For the first time in the program's 42-year history, the Lander Softball team has earned a bid into the NCAA Division II Softball Tournament. The Bearcats were selected as the fifth-seed in the Southeast Regional and will play Lenoir-Rhyne on Thursday at 3:30 PM in the opening round a double elimination bracket hosted by Wingate. The top-seeded Bulldogs will play the eight-seeded Anderson Trojans on the other side of the bracket.

The Southeast Regional consists of two double elimination brackets. The other bracket will be hosted by second-seeded North Georgia and will feature third-seed Francis Marion facing sixth-seeded Columbus State while the Nighthawks will face seventh-seeded Flagler.

The winners of the two regional brackets will face each other in a best-of-three Super Regional which will be hosted by the highest remaining seed for a spot in the Division II Softball Championship in Longwood, Fla.

Lander opened the season against the Bears in Hickory and split a doubleheader with the eventual SAC Tournament Champions, winning the first game, 10-7, before dropping the second one, 9-1. The Bearcats dropped their only meeting with Wingate in the 2024 season in a 10-2 loss on February 16th. Lander and Anderson have not played so far this season.

The regional gets started on Thursday, March 9th with Wingate and Anderson playing the first game at 1:00 PM.

Full Regional Schedule:
Thursday, May 8 (at Wingate)
Game 1 | 1 p.m. - #1 Wingate vs. #8 Anderson
Game 2 | 3:30 p.m. - #4 Lenoir-Rhyne vs. #5 Lander

Friday, May 9 (at Wingate)
Game 3 | 10:30 a.m. – WU-AU Winner vs. LR-LU Winner
Game 4 | 1 p.m. – WU-AU Loser vs. LR-LU Loser
Game 5 | 3:30 p.m. – 10:30 a.m. Loser vs. 1 p.m. Winner

Saturday, May 10 (at Wingate)
Game 6 | 1 p.m. – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner
Game 7 | 3:30 p.m. – If Necessary