SPOKANE, Wash. - In only its ninth year as a varsity program at Whitworth College, the Pirate softball team has been selected to participate in the 2006 NCAA Division III tournament as an at-large entree this week. Whitworth will play in a regional hosted by the University of Redlands and will meet the host Bulldogs in a first round contest on Thursday. Times are still to be determined.

Sonnett (top) and Case lead the Pirates into the NCAA Tournament

Whitworth finished the regular season with a record of 26-12 and in second place in the Northwest Conference with a mark of 21-7, one game behind Linfield. The Pirates enter the tournament as the sixth seed, having received one of 18 at-large bids reserved for conference runners-up.

"It's an unbelievable feeling," said Whitworth's first year head coach Fuzzy Buckenberger. "We were picked fourth in our league, so for us to come within a game of winning the title and getting selected for the tournament is just a great feeling."

NWC Pitcher of the Year Jo Sonnett (Sr., Puyallup, Wash. - Emerald Ridge) will lead the Pirates into the post season. Sonnett is 19-6 this season with an ERA of 1.96. She has five shutouts and struck out 199 batters in 157 innings. Fellow First Team All-NWC selection Heather Case (So., SS, Poulsbo, Wash. - N. Kitsap) leads the offense. Case batted .416 from her lead off spot in the lineup and led the team with 33 runs scored and six home runs. She also drove in 21 runners.

Redlands, hosting the regional for the second straight season, is the third seed after winning the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (SCIAC) with a record of 29-11. Senior catcher Maritza Padillia leads the team with an average of .437, nine home runs and 40 runs batted in. Whitworth and Redlands have never met in softball.

Chapman University, the defending West Region champions, enters the tournament as the top seed and has a record of 27-8. The Panthers received one of six spots reserved for the top independent teams. As the top seed, Chapman receives a first round bye in the seven team regional. Whitworth played Chapman earlier this season at the Sun West Tournament, falling 8-0.

Linfield College (29-8), champions of the Northwest Conference, is the second seed. The Wildcats, making their third consecutive trip to the regionals, are led by senior outfielder Shelly Steinke - the NWC Player of the Year. Whitworth and Linfield split a four game series in McMinnville, Oregon to end the regular season.

Linfield will play seventh-seeded Hardin Simmons University in the first round. The Cowgirls (29-10) won the American Southwest in only their third year as a varsity program. The winner of the Linfield-HSU game will play the winner of the Whitworth-Redlands game on Friday. Whitworth and Hardin Simmons have never played in softball.

The final first round contest (but the first schedule game on Thursday) matches fourth seeded Trinity University (Texas) and fifth seeded University of La Verne (Calif.). The winner will meet Chapman on Thursday evening in the fourth and final game of the first day. Trinity is 29-12 after winning the Southern Collegiate Athletics Conference (SCAC). The Tigers are making their second consecutive trip to the tournament. La Verne (30-10) was runner-up to Redlands in the SCIAC. Leopard senior Kelley Silagyi is the two-time SCIAC Player of the Year after leading the league with 12 home runs and 55 RBI. Whitworth is 0-0 all time against Trinity and 1-2 all time vs. La Verne.

"To be included with such a select group of teams is quite an honor," said Buckenberger. "This team's work ethic and focus on fundamentals made the difference."

There are a total of eight first-round sites with 59 teams participating in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship. There are five seven-team regionals and three eight-team regionals. The winner of each regional advances to the NCAA Finals, which will be hosted May 19-23 by Peace College in Raleigh, North Carolina.