Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.

NAIA Opening Round: Ashland Bracket Guide

5/11/2025 6:18:00 PM

By: SOU Sports Information

The Raiders are familiar with this stage, in the Opening Round for the ninth consecutive postseason and attempting to reach the World Series for the seventh time during that span. This is the sixth time they've hosted; they failed to advance just once previously in this position. SOU and Oklahoma City are the only teams in the tournament with multiple national titles. The Raiders won their third in 2023, and five players who started during that run are on the active roster.
Ayla Davies, the CCC Pitcher of the Year, is in the midst of the most dominant season ever for a Raider pitcher. The freshman is 28-4 with six saves and a 1.13 ERA, and three of her four losses have come in extra innings. She already owns the SOU single-season strikeout record (215) and has tied the team record for shutouts (15).
The nine days off since their last game should have theoretically done the Raiders a lot of good on the injury front. All-American senior catcher Piper Love was in and out of the lineup late after missing three weeks in April, and All-CCC outfield Kailer Fulton – who has the conference's highest batting average at .441 – missed the entirety of the CCC Tournament.
Sarah Kerling, a three-time Gold Glove winner in center field, has been the Raiders' most consistent plate presence with a .440 average and 12 extra-base hits. She's batting 148 points higher than she did last year, when at this time she was limited to underhand throws from the outfield due to injury.
Hailey Seva (.354, 6 HR, 14 XBH) and Kennedy Kila (.328, 12 XBH) have provided the power lately, hitting three home runs apiece since the start of April.
The Raiders are 19-3 at home this season and 136-20 since the start of 2019.

(2) SAINT XAVIER (36-6)
Chicago, Illinois | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (16-0, 1st)
NAIA Ranking: No. 18
Record vs. Top 25: 4-6
Runs-Runs Allowed/Game: 7.9-2.7
Team OPS (on-base plus slugging %): .933
What to Know:

The Cougars are seeking their first World Series berth since 2016, when they made a run to the national championship game. They're in the Opening Round for the seventh consecutive postseason, but this is the first time they've had a top-two seed since 2021.
They enter the postseason on a 22-game winning streak – the second-longest active streak in the NAIA – after rolling through the CCAC's regular season and tournament. No team has played them within two runs since March 25.
On the NAIA leaderboard, they rank third in batting average (.390) and sixth in OBP (.440) and are especially dangerous at the top of the order. Aubrey Wroble (.519) and CCAC Player of the Year Fiona Crane (.419) have not only combined for 146 hits – they're also at 111 combined stolen bases and have been caught three times.
Lily Strand (16-4, 2.68 ERA), the CCAC Pitcher of the Year, is a transfer from NCAA Division I Saint Louis. She is arguably not even the team's ace: Payton Antkiewicz, the CCAC Freshman of the Year, is 15-1 with a 2.32 ERA.

(3) HOPE INTERNATIONAL (35-13)
Fullerton, California | Golden State Athletic Conference (16-4, 1st)
NAIA Ranking: No. 20
Record vs. Top 25: 1-4
Runs-Runs Allowed/Game: 6.0-3.0
Team OPS (on-base plus slugging %): .854
What to Know:

This marks the Royals' third trip to Southern Oregon for the Opening Round. They were also here in 2019 and '21, falling to the Raiders in the championship on both occasions. They've missed the Opening Round just once since 2018 but are still seeking their first World Series berth.
The Royals were dominant in the GSAC regular season on their way to a title before going two-and-out in the conference tournament. They also struggled against Top 25 teams, dropping four of five games, but only one of those setbacks – an 8-0 decision against SOU on Feb. 21 – was decided by more than two runs.
Like the Raiders, they rely heavily on a freshman pitcher. Kaitlyn Maaske (16-5, 1.96 ERA) was the GSAC Freshman of the Year, helping HIU to a 2.55 team ERA.
Emma McGraw, a three-time all-conference first baseman, is a staple in the lineup with 178 hits over three seasons. All-GSAC second baseman Asia Chacon (.368) has the most pop with 20 extra-base hits and 37 RBIs for a team that bats .339 collectively.

(4) KEISER (39-15)
West Palm Beach, Florida | Sun Conference (19-5, 3rd)
NAIA Ranking: RV (No. 28)
Record vs. Top 25: 3-6
Runs-Runs Allowed/Game: 5.2-2.8
Team OPS (on-base plus slugging %): .759
What to Know:

The Seahawks are in uncharted territory with their first-ever national tournament appearances. Third-year coach John Pryor led them to a team-record 34 wins last season and helped them take the next step this spring with a third-place showing in the Sun Conference.
They bat just .297 as a team but have recorded five times as many stolen bases (129) as their opponents. Genesis Iglesias (.404, 20 XBH, 49 RBI) and Claire Czajkowski (.310, 23 XBH, 43 RBI) are dangerous gap-to-gap hitters, while Faith Campos owns 43 steals on 45 attempts.
Junior pitcher Mackenzie Masternak, an All-Sun first-team selection, is 17-5 with a 1.49 ERA over 155 innings. The Seahawks have a 2.06 team ERA. Nine of their last 10 opponents mustered two or fewer runs.

(5) COLLEGE OF IDAHO (26-18)
Caldwell, Idaho | Cascade Collegiate Conference (14-13, 5th)
NAIA Ranking: RV (No. 27)
Record vs. Top 25: 2-11
Runs-Runs Allowed/Game: 6.0-4.0
Team OPS (on-base plus slugging %): .851
What to Know:

The Yotes' late-season struggles were somewhat deceiving: They lost nine of their last 10 games, but all but one of those were against No. 4 SOU or No. 2 Oregon Tech. Al Mendiola, their 20th-year head coach, has them in the national postseason for the sixth consecutive postseason and is attempting to book a fifth World Series trip. His team was among the Top 25 all season until two weeks ago.
All-CCC selections Kamryn Ham (.355, 22 SB) and Ashlynn Nixon (.345, 16 XBH) carried the offense this season as the Yotes struggled at times to a .290 team batting average. Lolo Walker could be the week's biggest wild card: she is batting just .215 but was an All-American a season ago with a .479 average and 16 home runs.
C of I's pitching has also been up and down. The Yotes will go to Abbey Brooks (12-7, 2.90 ERA) and Grace Neer (6-4, 3.71 ERA) with control being a key. They've issued 155 walks compared to just 166 strikeouts.
The Yotes went two-and-out last year but were a round away from advancing in both 2022 and '23.

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