The #3 moment on our countdown of the top 10 sports stories from the 2024-2025 school year at Central College is an upset victory for the softball team that propelled them into the NCAA tournament.

On April 14th, eventual American Rivers Conference regular season champion Simpson thrashed the Dutch 11-3 and 18-3 in a doubleheader sweep. But the Dutch got their chance for revenge in the conference tournament semifinals on May 10th.

Central took a 3-0 lead after an inning and a half, but the Storm scored two in the second and one in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra innings. After a scoreless eighth, the Dutch finally broke through in the ninth.

Central closed out a 4-3 victory to advance to the conference championship game, which they dropped to Nebraska Wesleyan 5-1.

Their regular season resume, and wins over Loras and Simpson at the conference tournament, were enough to earn Central a trip to its record 33rd NCAA tournament. They finished 2025 with a 26-13 overall record.