INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – In the first of three NCAA Division II Softball Regional Rankings set to be released over the coming weeks, Winona State University has been tabbed No. 3 in the Central Region, announced on Wednesday.

The Warriors (35-5, 20-0 NSIC) matched a program record on Tuesday afternoon by winning their 20th consecutive game. Winona State is currently ranked No. 7 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Poll – its highest mark this season.

Last season, WSU was the No. 1-ranked team in all three releases of the 2018 Central Region Ranking and hosted the NCAA Regional Tournament at Maynard R. Johnson Field in Winona.

Winona State is one of four Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) teams ranked in the Top 10 of this year's initial Regional Ranking. Other NSIC teams include: No. 2 Augustana University, No. 7 Minnesota Duluth and No. 8 St. Cloud State.

The Warriors already own a head-to-head road sweep of Augustana and will host Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State in Winona this weekend.

The 42-team NCAA Central Region is made up of teams from the NSIC, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis. In all, eight teams will advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament on May 9-11, with the top two seeds in the region hosting. 

The NCAA softball selections will be announced on www.NCAA.com on Monday, May 6 at 9 a.m. (CT).  The NCAA Championships are set for May 23-27 at Regency Athletic Complex hosted by Metro State University of Denver.

The NSIC Softball Tournament is set for May 2-4 at RYFSA Complex in Rochester, Minnesota. The top-ten teams in the NSIC standings will participate in the double-elimination tournament.