Columbia Softball to Host NAIA Opening Round

Columbia, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the qualifiers and pairings for the eighth annual NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round.

The 40-team field is made up of 32 automatic qualifiers and eight at-large berths. The 19 NAA conferences receive one automatic bid per six teams and two berths per ten teams. The NAIA Softball National Selection Committee determined the at-large teams.

The Opening Round takes place May 17-19 at ten different locations across the country. The format is a double-elimination, four-team tournament, with the winners of each Opening Round advancing to the 40^th-annual NAIA Softball World Series in Columbus, Ga. on May 27-June 2.

Columbia’s Athletic Department and softball team has been awarded one of the ten Opening Round hosts and will play the games at Antimi Softball Complex. The Cougars will welcome Marian (Ind.), Indiana-Southeast and Mount Mercy (Iowa).

Marian (45-13) is the No. 2-seed in the bracket and earned an automatic bid by way of the Crossroads League regular-season championship. The Knights, from Indianapolis, Ind., have lost two straight entering the Opening Round. Before that, they had rattled off 13 wins-in-a-row. The Knights rank in the top-10 in the nation in ten different categories – No. 1 in fielding percentage (.981), No. 2 in total hits (577) and total at-bats (1,658), No. 4 in total putouts (1,165), and total innings pitched (388.2), No. 5 in total triples (23), No. 8 in hits per game (9.9) and total chances (1,594) and No. 10 in triples per game (0.3). Marian has three players with a batting average over .400 – Shelbie Slotts (.440), Savannah Harweger (.436) and Kassidi Cadle (.409), while Abigail Mcpherson (1.74) and Sydney Wilson (1.98) leads the team in ERA.

Indiana-Southeast earned an automatic bid after winning the River States Athletic Conference Tournament Championship. The Grenadiers are 45-16 overall and are 4-2 in their last six games. IU Southeast ranks No. 2 in the NAIA in total putouts (1,203), total innings pitched (401.0), No. 4 in total doubles (107), total triples (27) and total at-bats (1,623), No. 5 in total chances (1,680), No. 6 in total hits (527), No. 8 in fielding percentage (0.970) and triples per game (0.4) and No. 10 in total batters struck out (334). IU Southeast is led offensively by Ashtyn Sharp, who is hitting .410 on the year with two triples, five doubles and seven RBIs. Hannah Ogg is 29-21 with a 1.68 ERA in the circle with 16 complete games in 33 games started.

Mount Mercy out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the No. 4-seed in the Columbia Bracket after winning the Heart of American Athletic Conference Tournament. The Mustangs are 33-14 and have won four of their last five games. The team is led by Payton Bruner, who has a batting average of .448 with 14 home runs and 42 RBIs. Jayna Witzany is 19-6 in the circle with a 2.40 ERA in 27 games. As a team, the Mustangs are No. 8 in the NAIA in total batters struck out (342) and No. 9 in at-bats per game (28.7).

To view the entire NAIA Softball Opening Round Bracket, click HERE.

NAIA Opening Round – Columbia Bracket
Seeds –
1 – Columbia (Mo.) Cougars (34-5)
2 – Marian (Ind.) Knights (45-13)
3 – Indiana-Southeast (Ind.) Grenadiers (45-16)
4 – Mount Mercy (Iowa) Mustangs (33-14)

Schedule (all times are CST) –
Monday, May 17
Game 1: Columbia vs. Mount Mercy – 12:00 p.m.
Game 2: Marian vs. IU Southeast – 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday, May 18
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 – 10:00 a.m.
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 – 12:30 p.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 – 3:00 p.m.

Wednesday, May 19
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 – 12:00 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if first lost) – 2:30 p.m.