BELOIT, Wis. - The 2022 American Rivers Conference Co-Champion Spartans earned a non-conference sweep of Beloit College on Monday. The Spartans captured the doubleheader 8-2 and 9-4 and improved to 24-8 overall.

Dariann Diorio led the offense in the opener by going 3-4 at the plate with four RBI's. She was the leadoff hitter in the top of the third inning and homered to centerfield. The next at bat, Cayla Cavanagh homered to left center. UD finished with eight runs in nine hits with an error. Kayla Breunig captured the win by tossing a complete game and allowing just one earned run with three strikeouts.

UD opened game two and put four runs on the board in the first inning to grab an early lead. The Spartans added a pair of runs in the fifth and another three runs in the seventh. UD scored nine runs off 12 hits with no errors.

Rachel Trader went 3-5 with two RBI's as teammate Callie Dutton went 3-4 with two RBI's. Dariann Diorio, Bella Como, and Dutton all finished with a double in the victory. Megan Wolff collected the win and allowed four earned runs with six strikeouts.

The six-team, single-elimination tournament will be staged at Buena Vista University and the Storm Lake Community School District softball field located at the Storm Lake High School campus Friday-Saturday, May 6-7. The No.1 seeded Beavers and No. 2 seeded Spartans will receive the first round byes. First-round games will feature the No. 4 seed Wartburg vs. No. 5 seed Luther at 2:00 p.m. with the winner drawing the No.1 seed in the semifinals. The late first-round game features the No. 3 seed Coe vs. No. 6 seed Nebraska Wesleyan at 4:30 p.m., with the winner moving on to face the No. 2 seed.

The winner of the tournament will receive the American Rivers Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship. The NCAA selection will announce AQ and at-large qualifiers, along with regional sites selected for the Championship on Monday, May 9. The regional round takes place Friday-Sunday, May 13-15 (Regionals that include a team with a no-Sunday play policy will be conducted Thursday-Saturday). Winners of the regionals will advance to the super regionals Friday and Saturday, May 20-21. This year's NCAA Division III Championship will take place Thursday-Tuesday, May 26-31 at Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va.

2022 AMERICAN RIVERS CONFERENCE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
Schedule of Games
Friday, May 6
Game 1 - 2:00 PM #4 Wartburg vs #5 Luther
Game 2 - 4:30 PM #3 Coe vs #6 Nebraska Wesleyan

Saturday, May 7
Game 3 - 11:00 AM #1 Buena Vista vs Winner of #4/5
Game 4 - 1:30 PM #2 Dubuque vs Winner of #3/6
Game 5 - 4:00 PM Game 3 Winner vs Game 4 Winner
(Sunday, May 8 is the rain date.)