By: SOU Sports Information
NAIA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS OPENING ROUND – ASHLAND BRACKET
(All games at University Field)
Monday, May 15:
Game 1 – (2) Southeastern (Fla.) vs. (3) Reinhardt (Ga.), 11 a.m.
Game 2 – (1) Southern Oregon vs. (4) Vanguard (Calif.), 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 16:
Game 3 – G1 Winner vs. G2 Winner, 11 a.m.
Game 4 – G1 Loser vs. G2 Loser, 1:30 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 5 – G3 Loser vs. G4 Winner, 4 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Wednesday, May 17:
Game 6 – G3 Winner vs. G5 Winner, 11 a.m. (championship)
Game 7 – If necessary, 1:30 p.m.
OPENING ROUND QUALIFIERS | BRACKETS
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ASHLAND – Hosting for the fifth consecutive tournament, Southern Oregon knows the drill when it comes to the NAIA Softball Championships Opening Round but will welcome three new postseason visitors while holding the double-elimination affair at its on-campus home for the first time next week.
Reinhardt (Ga.), Southeastern (Fla.) and Vanguard (Calif.) are set to join the Raiders in the Ashland Bracket, which will play out May 15-17 at University Field. The NAIA office revealed the complete 40-team tournament field on Tuesday afternoon.
The Raiders (42-11 overall), ranked No. 4 in the final NAIA Top 25 coaches' poll, are the top seed in the bracket and will open at 1:30 p.m. Monday against No. 4-seeded Vanguard (26-28). The Lions had an up-and-down regular season – which included a 1-3 record in home-and-home doubleheaders against SOU – but earned an automatic bid by winning the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed. They're in the tournament for the first time since 2019 and seeking their sixth World Series appearance.
Ranked No. 20 in the NAIA, Southeastern (33-16) is the No. 2 seed and will open the tournament with Monday's early game against No. 3 seed Reinhardt (35-11) at 11 a.m. Southeastern was among the last four teams standing at last year's World Series and went 19-5 to finish second in the Sun Conference this season. Reinhardt won the Appalachian Athletic Conference regular-season title with a 26-2 record and will be vying for its first Opening Round title since 2014.
The tournament continues with three games Tuesday, including two of the elimination variety. The last two teams standing will meet Wednesday in the final round. The champion will move on to Columbus, Ga., for the NAIA World Series from May 25-31.
SOU is making its seventh consecutive Opening Round appearance and advanced to the World Series every postseason from 2017-21, a run capped by back-to-back national championships. The Raiders captured their first Opening Round title in 2017 by defeating Southeastern two games in a row in Hattiesburg, Miss. They won three straight Opening Round titles while hosting in Medford before falling against Grand View (Iowa) in last year's final.
A complete bracket preview will be published later this week.