Consistency remains the driving force as the No. 11 ranked Northeastern A&M Lady Norse host the Baton Rouge (La.) Lady Bears Thursday at noon in the best two-out-of-three Women's Division 1 District B Softball playoffs on the NEO diamond.


"If rain appears imminent, then we will try to start at 10 a.m. and noon," Lady Norse head coach Eric Iverson said. "An "if necessary" game will be played at noon Friday.
"It's very important that we get these games in as soon as possible because the national tournament has been extended to four days and starts on Wednesday of next week." Iverson said. "So there is hardly no wiggle room in trying to get the playoffs done." 
The National Junior College Athletic Association Women's Division 1 National Softball Tournament set for May 15-18 at the Canyons Complex in St. George, Utah. 
Seeding for the double-elimination, 16-team tournament will be completed Sunday. Eleven teams have already earned a berth in the tournament.
The seeding committee will consist of the section directors (NJCAA Region Directors) on a conference call. Seeding will be on the basis of, in no particular order: regional placement in the National Tournament the previous year, strength of region/districts; current national poll ranking and overall and Division 1 NJCAA record.
Not only are the Lady Norse seeking their third straight trip to the national tournament, but Iverson has guided his squad to the “big show” four out of the last six years. He has also produced teams that have crossed the 40-victory plateau in 15 of his 17 years as head coach.
NEO enters the District B playoffs with a 40-9 overall record. The Lady Norse won four straight games last weekend in the Women's Division 1 Region 2 Tournament at Oklahoma City's ASA Hall of Fame Softball Complex. NEO defeated 13th ranked Western State College 6-1 to capture the championship.
"We need to do a lot of what we just did and that's stay consistent," Iverson said. "We also want to stay emotional and not go into these playoff games looking ahead which is what we've done so well.
"If we do those things, that's all we can do," Iverson said. "We want to put together a good game one against Baton Rouge and not think about game two or even Utah."
Eight sophomores return from a Lady Bears team that finished 11-35 in their first season of competition last year. NEO eliminated the Lady Bears 7-0 and 8-0 in the district playoffs last season.
Baton Rouge earned a berth this season after defeating Meridian, Miss., 6-3, in the Region 23 Tournament. The Lady Bears are 24-28 on the season.
"This time of the year, you're not going to make much improvement as a team," Iverson said. "The key is don't loose your identity as a team. Don't go out and do something stupid by changing things that have gotten us to this point.
"Our consistent play, our ability to use our speed and run a lot, good solid defense and pitch the softball," Iverson said. "Those are the things that have allowed us to win 40 games thus far.
"We keep telling our kids to use their emotions to drive each other," Iverson said. "We don't want them wasting pitches or wasting at-bats by staying grounded because every pitch of the game matters.
"The identity of this team are their emotions, their consistency and their intense desire to compete," Iverson said. "That's  why we play up-temo."