Oklahoma City University enters the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Women's World Series as the top seed. As such, the Stars have a bye on the first day.
They will practice and observe as eight other teams compete in first-round games this Thursday, May 23.
The Stars will face the winner of the Southern Oregon vs. Jessup game, scheduled for Thursday.
Also enjoying a first-round pass is the squad from Our Lady of the Lake, a school based in San Antonio, Texas.
The Saints from Our Lady of the Lake will play on Friday against the winner of the came between Georgia Gwinnett and Madonna on Thursday.
The championship games are being played at the South Commons Complex in Columbus, Georgia.
Science & Arts face a strong opponent at 7 p.m. on Thursday
The University of Science and Arts (from Chickasha) are the second Oklahoma school at the World Series.
The Lady Drovers will play at 7 p.m. Thursday against the Central Methodist Eagles (of Fayette, Missouri).
The Eagles built a strong record this year, going 51-5 thus far. The squad was perfect (24-0) in the Heart Conference.
They secured the trip to Columbus witha 4-1 win over a competitive Indiana Wesleyan squad.
To nail down her team's victory, "[S]ophomore pitcher Jordyn Ball retired the final four batters in order to clinch a spot in the World Series for the Eagles.
"Ball threw her twenty-fourth complete game of the year, giving up just one earned runs on four hits en route to her twenty-seventh win of the year. The win ties the program record for single-season wins, set by Keighlan Cronin back in 2021. Ball also struck out three batters, bringing her season total to 181 strikeouts."
( https://www.cmueagles.com/sports/sball/2023-24/releases/20240517uec5v8 )
As for USAO, they dominated Midland, winning 8-0 to secure their third straight trip to the NAIA Championships.
( https://www.usaoathletics.com/sports/sball/2023-24/releases/20240516yw9vdl )
USAO enter the series with a record of 47-7 overall, and a 31-5 journey through the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC). Among those victories was the fiercely competitive title game, where they defeated the Oklahoma City University Stars, 3-1.
( https://www.citynewsokc.com/sports/science-arts-claims-2024-sooner-athletic-conference-title-with-3-1-win-over-ocu/article_13ba0176-0baa-11ef-812f-871185d07f59.html )
Either the Southern Oregon Raiders (No. 10 seed, ranked No.17 in the country before their late season surge) or the Jessup Warriors (No. 7 seed) will challenge Oklahoma City on Friday.
The Lady Raiders got back to the NAIA title battle via their upset of Marian (from Indiana). The 9-2 victory over a team with 46 wins was impressive.
( https://souraiders.com/news/2024/5/17/softball-sou-seeded-no-10-in-world-series-bracket-opens-with-jessup.aspx )
Jessup (from Rocklin, California) opened the season with a pair of victories over Southern Oregon, adding a degree of intrigue to the this week's first-round proceedings.
The champions of the Golden State Athletic Conference (GCAC) punched their ticket to the title game by defeating William Carey (of Hattiesburg, Mississippi) in the second game of a double-header to determine the title. Carey won the first game 3-2, but Jessup won the deciding second game 4-3.
( https://jessupathletics.com/news/2024/5/16/warriors-punch-ticket-to-2024-naia-softball-world-series.aspx )
Jessup and Southern Oregon face off in the 10 a.m. on Thursday.
The Georgia Gwinnett Grizzley and the Madonna Crusaders will play at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
Some might call the 'Griz' another squad of over-achievers. They have a season mark of 31-15, and defeated Eastern Oregon (who had 39 victories on that elimination day).
The May 16 victory was drama personified, as Georgia Gwinnett played at home.
For the Grizzley, "Morgan McQuagge delivered a dramatic walk-off single with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning that scored the lone run in a 1-0 victory."
( https://ggcathletics.com/news/2024/5/16/mcquagges-walk-off-single-sends-softball-to-naia-world-series.aspx )
Madonna University is highly regarded, and they showed why when they defeated Northwestern College (from Orange , Iowa) on May 16.
The score was 8-2, lifting Madonna to a season mark of 51 wins against only four losses.
( https://mucrusaders.com/news/2024/5/17/softball-ticket-punched-crusaders-win-second-opening-round-and-advance-to-sixth-world-series.aspx )
Our Lady of the Lake (the Saints) will face the team that wins the Georgia Gwinnett-Madonna joust.
The Saints field one of the best teams in college softball. They nailed down their trip to the NAIA Women's World Series with a 2-0 victory over the Hope International Royals on May 16.
Our Lady of the Lake advanced with a record of 53-3, while Hope International closed its year at 31-17. (Another sign of pervasive parity in NAIA softball -- Hope beat the Saints in one of their four encounters.)
( https://www.ollusaintsathletics.com/sports/sball/2023-24/releases/20240515oqzxk4 )
The course of the narrative brings us to the two teams hoping to challenge OCU on Friday.
Oregon Tech and Cumberlands play at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
A group of experienced (and successful) players for the Oregon Tech Lady Owls played their Final game ever at Stillwell Stadium stadium at Klamath Falls.
Few jitters were apparent, as they defeated the Vanguard Lions -- 7-5 and 8-0.
The team from what is fully titled the Oregon Institute of Technology didn't have a secret sauce -- just an experienced group of softball veterans who were credited for the victory .
( https://oregontechowls.com/news/2024/5/16/womens-softball-seniors-lead-lady-owls-back-to-naia-softball-world-series.aspx )
Now, they will roll into the NAIA championships with a record of 47-10.
Cumberland University (from Williamsburg, Kentucky) was expected to win the opening round, and they did. The finale was a 7-1 win over the Coastal Georgia Mariners.
Pitcher Morgan Radford pitched five innings, enjoying strong run support and a strong reliever.
The Patriots of Cumberland arrive for the championship series with a 47-7 mark.
OCU Stars seek their place in the Softball Sun
Oklahoma City University arrives at the NAIA Women’s World Series with a record of 54 wins, against only three defeats. They won 35 games and lost only once in the Sooner Athletic Conference. Their quality wins include a sweep over Mid-American Christian University, the other powerhouse based the state’s largest city. They also defeated Rogers State, another in-state competitor.
They won the regular season series against the University of Sciences & Arts – winning all three games played in Chickasha.
The Lady Stars settled in to play nearly flawless softball in the opening round at Ann Lacy Stadium in Oklahoma City, concluding with a memorable, strong 11-1 victory over a strong team from Ottawa Univesity (of Kansas).
( https://www.citynewsokc.com/sports/oklahoma-city-stars-are-georgia-bound-after-11-1-opening-round-victory/article_1f5b18ce-1331-11ef-9897-c7ac2591cb37.html )
Not so long ago, OCU lost the aforementioned SAC title game to Science & Arts – and some believe the two schools could meet again in the next few days.
But first, the Stars will face the victor of that Cumberland vs. Oregon Tech game.
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