Fullerton, CA – The No. 20 Hope International University Softball team (35-13) has earned an at large bid for the 44
rd Annual NAIA Softball National Championship and will head to the Ashland bracket hosted by Southern Oregon for the opening round as announced by the NAIA on Wednesday afternoon. The Ashland bracket will be held from May 12-15 at University Field in Ashland, OR.
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The 2024 Opening Round features a 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 22-28. The Royals will be the No. 3 seed and will be joined by No. 1 Southern Oregon, No. 2 Saint Xavier, No. 4 Keiser and No. 5 College of Idaho.
The top seeded and host Raiders of Southern Oregon University are the No. 4 team in the country and finished tied for first in the Cascade Conference finishing the regular season with a 45-8 overall record and 23-4 in conference play. The Raiders fell out of the Cascade Tournament after dropping the first game to Eastern Oregon 5-4 before defeating College of Idaho 7-0 and then falling to British Columbia 6-3. The Raiders will take on the winner of Keiser and College of Idaho in their first game. The Raiders are led by CCC Pitcher of the Year Ayla Davies who leads the team with a 28-4 record to go with a 1.13 ERA and 215 strikeouts and six saves. Five more Raiders earned All-CCC honors and three were named to the Gold Glove team with Kailer Fulton leading the Raiders with a .441 batting average to go with 21 RBIs.
The second seeded No. 18 Cougars of Saint Xavier University earned an automatic bid after winning the CCAC Regular Season and Tournament Championship after finishing the regular season with a 36-6 overall record and a 16-0 record in conference play. The Cougars won the CCAC Tournament defeating Indiana South Bend 8-0 and then Saint Ambrose 9-6 and 13-3. The Cougars will take on the Royals for the first time in program history in game two of the tournament. The Cougars are led by CCAC Player of the Year Fiona Crane, Pitcher of the Year Lily Strand and Freshman of the Year Payton Antkiewics. Head Coach Erin Mollohan also received Coach of the Year honors with the team receiving 10 All-CCAC honors and 7 Gold Gloves. Crane leads the offense with a .519 batting average to go with one home run and 20 RBIs while Strand leads the team with 97 strikeouts to go with a 16-4 record and a 2.68 ERA.
The third seeded No. 20 Royals received an at large bid after winning the GSAC Regular Season Championship for the third time finishing the season with a 35-13 overall record while going 16-4 in conference play. The Royals fell out of the GSAC Tournament after losing 8-5 to Park Gilbert and 13-11 to Arizona Christian. The Royals will take on second seeded Cougars for the first time in program history in game two of the tournament. The Royals are led by GSAC Freshman of the Year
Kaitlyn Maaske who leads the pitching staff with a 16-5 record and a 1.96 ERA to go with 63 strikeouts. Five more Royals received All-GSAC honors and two were named to the Gold Glove team including
Emma McCraw who leads the offense with a .413 batting average to go with two home runs and 37 RBIs.
The fourth seeded Keiser University Seahawks received an at large bid after finishing third in the SUN Conference with an overall record of 39-15 and 19-5 in conference play. The Seahawks fell out of the SUN Tournament after losing their first game to New College of Florida 1-0 before taking down Coastal Georgia 6-2 and Webber International 1-0 and then falling 7-3 to Southeastern. The Seahawks will take on the College of Idaho for the first time in program history in the third game of the tournament. Six Seahawks received All-Conference honors including Genesis Iglesias who leads the team with a .377 batting average to go with two home runs and 47 RBIs. Mackenzie Masternak leads the Seahawks with a 17-6 record to go with a 1.53 ERA and 75 strikeouts.
The College of Idaho Yotes are the fifth seed and received an at large bid after finishing fifth in the Cascade Conference with an overall record of 26-18 and 14-13 in conference play. The Yotes fell out of the Cascade Tournament after losing 8-4 to British Columbia and 7-0 to Southern Oregon. The Yotes will take on the Seahawks for the first time in program history. Four Yotes were named to the All-CCC team while two more received Gold Glove honors including Ashlynn Nixon who leads the team with a .358 batting average to go with two home runs and 29 RBIs. Abbey Brooks leads the pitching staff with a 12-7 record and a 2.90 ERA to go with 87 strikeouts.
SOUTHERN OREGON BRACKET
University Field | Ashland, Ore. | May 12-15
MONDAY, MAY 12
Game 1 | 11 a.m. | (4) Keiser (Fla.) vs. (5) College of Idaho
Game 2 | 1:30 p.m. | (2) Saint Xavier (Ill.) vs. (3) Hope International (Calif.)
Game 3 | 4 p.m. | (1) Southern Oregon vs. G1 Winner
TUESDAY, MAY 13
Game 4 | 11 a.m. | G1 Loser vs. G2 Loser (loser eliminated)
Game 5 | 1:30 p.m. | G2 Winner vs. G3 Winner
Game 6 | 4 p.m. | G3 Loser vs. G4 Winner (loser eliminated)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 14
Game 7 | 11 a.m. | G5 Loser vs. G6 Winner (loser eliminated)
Game 8 | 1:30 p.m. | G5 Winner vs. G7 Winner (championship round)
THURSDAY, MAY 15
Game 9 | 11 a.m. | G8 Rematch (if necessary)
