DECORAH, IOWA – It has been a year of firsts for the St. Catherine University Softball team, but making the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Softball Tournament might be the best "first" of the season.  The Wildcats qualified for the Regional Round after taking second in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) to the University of St. Thomas.

On Monday, St. Kate's found out it would travel to Decorah, Iowa to participate in the four team, double elimination tournament hosted by Luther College. The Wildcats, who are the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will open the Regional with a 9 a.m. game against No. 3 Simpson College. Following that, the top seeded Norse will take on Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Champion University of Wisconsin-Superior, who is the fourth seed in the tournament.

Video and live stats will be available for those that are unable to make it to the Wildcats opening game against Simpson. Before first pitch, though, make sure to read these five facts:

19 – St. Kate's and Simpson received two of the 19 at large bids available for the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Both teams finished the season with 30+ wins and only nine losses. The Storm went 30-9 during the regular season and finished second in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Standings.

31 – One of the many "firsts" the Wildcats achieved in 2016 was that they won over 30 games for the first time in program history. Not only that, but their seven losses during the regular season are the fewest losses to date.

5 – St. Kate's played five games during the MIAC Postseason Tournament, including three against conference champion St. Thomas. The Wildcats beat every team in the tournament at least once and made the MIAC Championship Game in their first earned appearance in the tournament. St. Kate's also pushed the Tommies to a Game 7, which is the first time in at least two years the MIAC needed all seven games to determine a conference champ.

3 – This is only the third Wildcat team to make the NCAA Tournament in the history of St. Kate's. The Wildcat volleyball team qualified for the tournament in 1983, and the last team to make the NCAA tournament was the 2004 St. Kate's tennis team, who also traveled to Decorah to take on the Norse.

5 – Host Luther was ranked No. 5 overall in the latest edition of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) rankings. The Norse started the season as the No. 7 team in the country and were at one point in time ranked No. 1. The Wildcats, who beat the Norse in the opening weekend of the season, are currently ranked No. 24 in the country and were ranked as high as 15 during the regular season.

Final Notes:

The Decorah Regional is a four-team, double elimination tournament. All games will be played at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and will take place May 13-15. The winner of the Decorah Regional will advance to Super Regional round, which will take place next weekend.