Fullerton, CA – The No. 23 Hope International University Softball team (35-15) has earned an at large bid for the 43^rd Annual NAIA Softball National Championship and will be headed to the San Antonio bracket hosted by Our Lady of the Lake for the second year in a row for the opening round as announced by the NAIA on Tuesday afternoon. The San Antonio bracket will be held from May 13-15 at St. Mary's University Softball field. Click here for Tournament Central.

The 2024 Opening Round features an expanded field of 48 teams. There will be two opening round sites that will feature four teams and eight which will be five-team brackets, each played in double elimination format. The winner of each will advance to the NAIA Softball World Series at the South Commons Complex in Columbus, Ga., from May 23-29. The Royals will be the No. 2 seed and will be joined by No. 1 Our Lady of the Lake, No. 3 Evangel and No. 4 Cottey.

The top-seeded Saints are the No. 1 team in the country and won the Red River Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship for the third year in a row with an overall record of 50-3 and 24-0 in conference play. The Saints 43 game winning streak was snapped when they fell to LSU Alexandria 3-1 in the Red River Conference Tournament. The Saints made their way back up through the loser's bracket but once again fell to LSU Alexandria in the final. The Saints are led by Cassandra Valdez who leads the team with 14 home runs and 42 RBIs to go with a .360 batting average. She's also been lights out in the circle as well with a 23-1 record to go with a 0.67 ERA and 228 strikeouts.
 
The second-seeded No. 23 ranked Royals return to San Antonio seeking to avenge their loss in the opening round when they were one win away from making it to the NAIA World Series for the first time. The Royals finished the regular season third in the GSAC with an overall record of 35-15 and 10-10 in GSAC play. The Royals made a run to the GSAC Tournament final as they upset No. 7 Jessup 10-4 in the semifinals but unfortunately, they fell short in the title game falling 2-1 in a close one to the No. 19 Vanguard Lions. The Royals are led by GSAC Pitcher of the Year Allie Puente who is 25-12 with a 1.30 ERA and 291 strikeouts.

The third-seeded Valor of Evangel University are the KCAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions finishing with an overall record of 36-8 and 22-4 in conference play. The Valor won the KCAC Tournament after coming back through the loser's bracket to beat Friends twice 8-1 and 1-0. This will be the first meeting between the Royals and the Valor. The Valor are led by Kenna Mayfield who leads the team with a .407 batting average to go with 22 RBIs.

The Comets of Cottey College are the fourth seed and won the American Midwest Conference Tournament to earn an automatic bid to the opening round. The Comets finished with a 31-19 overall record and 11-7 in conference play. They won all three games at the tournament upsetting Missouri Baptist in game one before taking down Central Baptist and Williams Baptist to win the tournament. Lauren Johnson leads the Comets with a .396 batting average to go with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs.
 

Game Time (All times Local)	Game Information
May 13
Game 1 - 12:00 p.m.	Hope International (Calif.) vs. Evangel (Mo.)
	Live Stats/Box Score | Live Video
Game 2 - 3:00 p.m.	Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) vs. Cottey (Mo.)
	Live Stats/Box Score | Live Video
May 14
Game 3 - 12:00 p.m.	Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
	Live Stats/Box Score | Live Video
Game 4 - 3:00 p.m.	Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
	Live Stats/Box Score | Live Video
Game 5 - 6:00 p.m.	Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
	Live Stats/Box Score | Live Video
May 15
Game 6 - 12:00 p.m.	Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
	Live Stats/Box Score | Live Video
Game 7 - 3:00 p.m.	Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6
(If Necessary)	Live Stats/Box Score | Live Video