The Iowa Conference softball race could have a thrilling title chase this spring. Simpson is the defending national champion but despite losing a number of standouts from a year ago, including All American pitcher Kelly Schade, the Storm head into to their league opener as the nation’s top ranked team.Simpson coach Henry Christowski says the team is different with losses to graduation. He says this team will be more offensive than last year’s defensive oriented team.Central and Coe are expected to challenge Simpson for the title and Christowski says before the Storm even think about defending their national title they have to get in the N-C-A-A tournament. He says they’ve changed the number of at-large berths, making it tougher to get in if you don’t win your conference.Simpson opens the league race tomorrow at Buena Vista.