For the third consecutive season, Lake Forest College, St. Norbert College, Ripon College, and Monmouth College are meeting to determine the Midwest Conference Champion. The teams have actually been frequent participants in the conference tournament for much longer than that. Lake Forest is making its 11th consecutive appearance in the event and Monmouth is the South Division’s other representative for the eighth time during that span. St. Norbert and Ripon have earned the North’s two spots in the last four tourneys and have each made three additional appearances since 2000.

As for winning the tournament, St. Norbert is the defending champion after defeating host Ripon twice on Saturday to claim the 2009 title. The Green Knights also won the championship at home in 2007, ending Lake Forest’s run of five consecutive conference titles. Ripon came out on top in 2008, the last time the event was at Lake Forest. The programs had combined for just four championships before 2002 (St. Norbert in 1991, Lake Forest in 1988, and Monmouth in 1987 and 1979).

While history is interesting to some, 2010 is what really matters to these teams’ players, coaches, and fans. The Foresters, Green Knights, Red Hawks, and Fighting Scots combined for a 32-3 record against the other six members of the league. They each rank among the MWC’s top five in pitching, top six in hitting, and top seven in fielding. In addition, they have outscored their opponents by 127 runs.

St. Norbert, the North Division’s top seed, still has 10 players from last year’s conference championship team. The Green Knights went undefeated in league play, enter the tournament on a 10-game winning streak, and have won 22 of their last 23 contests. They lead the MWC in pitching with a 1.76 earned run average and rank fourth in batting average and second in fielding percentage.

Tracy Palmer leads the Green Knights with a .391 average. Stephanie Ortiz has a team-high 26 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. Brieanne Oehlke has belted four home runs and leads the squad with 33 RBI, the third-highest total in the league.

While Kayla Krueger’s .339 batting average and 17 runs batted in rank second on the team, her 1.24 earned run average and 12-1 record are the best in the entire league. Ranking second in the conference in ERA is teammate Kari Corbeille at 1.40 and she owns a record of 8-3.

Lake Forest, the top seed from the South Division, has the home field advantage this weekend. The Foresters swept their eight divisional games after winning four of five contests at the MWC Classic four weekends ago. The team’s 6.0 runs per game and .962 fielding percentage are the top marks in the league and the squad ranks second with a .324 batting average and 2.57 earned run average.

Six Lake Forest starters are hitting at least .340, led by Mallory Norton at .415. Norton’s 49 base hits on the season are tops in the league and her seven home runs are tied for first. Megan Harkins leads the MWC with 32 runs and ranks third with 16 stolen bases. Tracy Rainey is second in the conference with 35 RBI.

In the circle, the Foresters are led by Jordan Ratliff, the league’s only pitcher to rank among the top three in earned run average (1.62), victories (11 against five losses), and strikeouts (78).

Ripon finished second in the North Division with a league mark of 8-5. The Red Hawks split their eight divisional games and won four of five against the South at the MWC Classic. The team ranks third in the conference in fielding percentage (.951), fourth in ERA (3.74), and seventh in batting average (.270).

Ripon’s leading hitter is Abby Richeson with an average of .374. She has nine doubles and 18 RBI on the year. Alli Jensen is next with a .330 batting average and leads the team with 19 runs, four home runs, 20 RBI, and 10 stolen bases.

Brittnee Peotter has thrown more innings this year (121) and in her career (360) than any other pitcher in the tournament. She is second in the league with 100 strikeouts and seventh with a 3.47 ERA.

Monmouth was second in the South Division with a 7-5 league record. The Fighting Scots were 5-2 in the division and 2-3 at the MWC Classic. They own the conference’s third-best batting average at .313 and rank fifth with a 4.24 earned run average and seventh with a fielding percentage of .940.

Brooke Twohill (.415) and Morgan Seiler (.406) rank among the top seven in the MWC in batting average. Seiler leads the Scots with 27 RBI, 10 doubles, and three homers (tied with Charlotte Hoffmann). Lauren Bergstresser has accounted for a team-high 25 runs and 10 stolen bases.

Monmouth has used seven different pitchers this season. Kelsey Williams has seen the most action and has posted a 2.89 earned run average in 82.1 innings.

Monmouth and St. Norbert will begin the tournament Friday morning and Lake Forest and Ripon will follow at noon. The third and fourth games will eliminate one team and put another in the driver’s seat after day one. Saturday morning’s winner will need to defeat Friday’s 2-0 team twice, like last year’s champion did, to claim the 2010 MWC title.