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GRINNELL, Iowa - The 2014 Midwest Conference (MWC) Softball Championship opens on Friday, May 2 with the first four games and concludes on Saturday with the MWC Champion being crowned.

Lake Forest hosts the tournament after finishing atop the South Division with St. Norbert heading into play as the top seed in the North Division. Monmouth and Lawrence join the two division winners in Lake Forest and battle to be the next MWC Champion.

The double elimination tournament kicks off on Friday when St. Norbert faces off against Monmouth at 10 a.m. Lake Forest and Lawrence square off at 12 p.m. with the two losing teams play at 2 p.m. and the two winning teams of the first game playing at 4 p.m. Saturday features as many as three games with the first game starting at 10 a.m. The winner of the tournament will earn the conference’s bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Lake Forest Foresters - 23-8 (9-1 MWC South)

Lake Forest claimed the top spot in the South Division after posting a 9-1 conference record and 23 overall wins. The Foresters are part of the four-team tournament for the 15th straight season and aim for their first championship since 2006. Lake Forest posted the league’s lowest team ERA (1.79) and the second-best batting average (.324) during the regular season. Kayla Borgra leads the offensive charge as she tops all MWC hitters with a .530 on base percentage while also finishing in the top three in both batting average (.426, second) and slugging percentage (.745, third). Sally Snarski provided some of the best power in the conference as she was second in the league with a .758 slugging percentage and topped all hitters with 10 home runs. Sam Ritsema (.402/.460/.686) and Tara Airola (.390/.500/.636) added to the Forester offense, combining for 16 doubles and 10 home runs. In the circle Lake Forest turned to the duo of Jenny McTague and Jessi Werner, who threw all but seven innings this season. Both pitchers notched 11 wins with Werner picking up four shutouts and 112 strikeouts (tops in MWC) in 108.2 innings. McTague led the MWC with a 1.12 ERA and held hitters to a league-low .202 average in 87.2 innings of work.

Monmouth Fighting Scots - 20-16 (7-3 MWC South)

Monmouth earned a trip back to the MWC Tournament after missing out last season after a 20-16 overall record and a 7-3 mark in league play. The Fighting Scots send out a well-rounded lineup that posted a top three ranking in batting average (.317, third), slugging percentage (.476, third), hits (312, first), runs (226, second), home runs (30, second), ERA (3.86, third), and batters struck out (160, second). Kaitlyn Winkler headlines the Monmouth offense with a .412/479/.635 line with four doubles and five home runs. Caitlin Lingle posted a .404 average with 17 extra base hits while Charlotte Park (.370/.409/.700) had eight home runs and nine doubles to supply more power to the potent Fighting Scots offense. Erin Kennelly leads the pitching staff with a 3.50 ERA in 42 innings. Alyssa Edler finished the season ranked fifth in the league in strikeouts (63) while Skyler Johnson held hitters to only a .268 average in 52 innings.

St. Norbert Green Knights - 16-15 (7-1 MWC North)

St. Norbert won the North Division for the third straight season thanks to a 7-1 conference record and 16 overall wins. The Green Knights are in the championship tournament for the eighth straight season and are in search of the school’s first championship since the 2012 season. The Green Knights enter the tournament hitting .279 as a team and posted a 4.06 ERA and allowing the fourth-fewest runs in the league (152). Codi Jenshak headlines the offensive charge with a .402/.510/.622 line with nine doubles and three home runs. Emily Laufer (.301/.363/.578) had 12 extra base hits, that included five home runs, with Abby Gildernick hitting three home runs and posting a .311/.361/.456 line. In the circle the Green Knights rely on Morgan Rusch who posted a 3.53 ERA in 121 innings with 12 complete games and two shutouts.

Lawrence Vikings - 18-10 (6-2 MWC North)

Lawrence earned a spot in the championship tournament for the second straight season and aims for a championship for the first time since the 1999 season. Lawrence enters the tournament with one of the best offenses in the league with the top batting average (.336) while finishing second in both on-base percentage (.397) and slugging percentage (.489). Amanda Jaskolski finished the regular season with the league’s third-best average (.422), top slugging percentage (.759), and fifth-best on-base percentage (.484) while striking out only four times in 93 plate appearances. Anna Wawiorka (.363/.463/.575) had five doubles and three triples and is joined by Samantha Belletini (.362/.400/.580) who had 10 doubles to fuel the Vikings offense. Liz Barthels leads the Lawrence pitching staff with a 3.23 ERA and picked up six wins in 15 appearances (six starts) while Kara Vance had 11 wins and eight complete games in 86.1 innings pitched.