The Fighting Scots (13-13) punched their tourney ticket with a come-from-behind 5-4 win over Grinnell on Sunday. They followed that with a 6-2 victory over the Pioneers to finish the MWC season at 5-3. After dropping a conference-opening doubleheader to Lake Forest and the first game to Knox, the Scots ran off five straight league wins to advance to the postseason in coach John Goddard’s first year at the helm.

South Division champion Lake Forest (18-12) will host the tournament, which includes North winner and defending MWC champion St. Norbert (15-14) and runner-up Ripon (17-11). Lake Forest is making its 10th straight tournament appearance, while Ripon qualified for the tournament for the third consecutive year.

While the Scots own wins over St. Norbert and Ripon at the abbreviated Midwest Conference Classic just two weeks ago, Goddard warns it’s anybody’s ball game. "It’s wide open," he said. "These four teams are evenly balanced and it might just come down to who’s playing well and gets on a roll."

The Scots certainly qualify as such a team. After beginning the season with an 0-7 swing through Arizona, the team found just four victories over their next nine games before heating up with a seven-game winning streak. The streak ended with a 3-1 loss to perennial power Augustana. In that game, the Scots loaded the bases in the top of the seventh with two outs but came up just short when the Vikings’ centerfielder speared a tailing line drive off the bat of sophomore Maggie Dort that would have cleared the bases. The Scots are 13-6 after leaving Arizona and 9-1 in their last 10 games.

Monmouth would like to avenge that Lake Forest sweep from April. The Foresters needed a three-run homer from Christy Condon in the bottom of the seventh to edge the Scots 6-5 in the opener. They cruised to a 13-6 win in the nightcap to complete the sweep.

Speaking of avenging losses, St. Norbert and Ripon are also looking for payback. Monmouth used two pitchers and banged out 11 hits in their 9-0 blanking of the Green Knights. Ripon’s seventh inning rally fell short in the Scots’ 7-6 win over the Red Hawks as Monmouth prevailed despite committing three errors and being out-hit 10-8. Senior Emily Willems’ two-out grand slam in the second inning staked the Scots to a 4-1 lead they would not relinquish.

Offensively, Monmouth is paced by Willems (.447/16 RBIs). Her 26 runs scored is one shy of Ripon’s Natalie Geenen, the league leader. Lake Forest’s Christy Condon leads the MWC in home runs, blasting nine roundtrippers. St. Norbert’s Brieanne Oehlke’s 26 RBIs are tied for third-best in the conference.

During the Scots 9-1 run to finish the regular season, the pitching staff has a combined ERA of just 1.72. Juniors Sarah Christensen (0.95) and Amanda Murdock (2.28), who each went 4-0 during the run, figure to get the starts in the tournament.

"We’re playing the best ball of the year right now," said Goddard. "Sarah and Amanda are throwing the best they have in their collegiate careers and we’re doing all the little things that add up to wins. All of the women are contributing and everyone, from the starters to the last person on the bench, has had a hand in getting us to the tournament."