We are heading down the stretch with this year's USA Softball of North Dakota/Monsta Tournament Series and this weekend's McQuades Tournament in Bismarck-Mandan could help a current dark horse climb into contention. 

Class C finds Sports on Tap (Minot) with a narrow lead on a pack of 4 second place teams. The top finisher at Clem Kelly on Sunday may find themselves leading this division.

Another Minot team - Aftermath - leads Class D. The top 3 have a comfortable margin on the field, but not enough to get complacent should some of them make a deep run at McQuades.

Warning Track Power (Bismarck) is well ahead in Rec 1 thanks to 5 solid invitational finishes already this season. There's not a lot of space between the numerous teams that follow WTP, though, so expect a lot of changes by next week.

Minot's D&M Young Guns and New Town's Sportsman Bar are in a similar position to WTP in Rec 2 and Rec 3, respectively, albeit with a smaller margin. Rec 4 is a much closer battle overall, however, with Prairie Brother Brewing (Fargo) currently atop the standings.

Following McQuades, the remaining Series invitationals will be played in Grand Forks, Bismarck, Dickinson, Oakes, Lisbon, & Minot, then the state tournament schedule begins. Please keep in mind that teams can earn points in multiple state tournaments this year (Masters tournaments excluded).