NAIA Championship Opening Round | Ashland Bracket
Laurel Park | Ashland, Ore. | May 11-14
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MONDAY'S GAMES
G1 | 11 a.m. – (4) Dordt (Iowa) vs. (5) Ottawa (Ariz.)
G2 | 1:30 p.m. – (2) Texas A&M Texarkana vs. (3) Saint Francis (Ind.)
G3 | 4 p.m. – (1) Southern Oregon vs. G1 Winner
TUESDAY'S GAMES
G4 | 11 a.m. – G1 Loser vs. G2 Loser (loser eliminated)
G5 | 1:30 p.m. – G2 Winner vs. G3 Winner
G6 | 4 p.m. – G3 Loser vs. G4 Winner (loser eliminated)
WEDNESDAY'S GAMES
G7 | 11 a.m. – G5 Loser vs. G6 Winner (loser eliminated)
G8 | 1:30 p.m. – G5 Winner vs. G7 Winner (final round)
THURSDAY'S GAME
G9 | 11 a.m. – G8 Rematch (if necessary)

(1) SOUTHERN OREGON (41-13)
Ashland, Ore. | Cascade Collegiate Conference (16-8, 3rd)
Record vs. Top 25: 9-9
Runs-Allowed/Game: 6.2-2.5
Team OPS (on-base plus slugging %): .834
Opponents' OPS: .610
Long Streak: W12
Last 10: 10-0
What to Know:

• Southern Oregon's new Laurel Park will see its first postseason action, but the stage is nothing new to the Raiders. They're in the Opening Round for the 10th consecutive postseason and attempting to reach their eighth World Series in that period. This marks the seventh time they've hosted in the last eight years, and they've failed to advance in just one of those. The 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025 national champions have 14 players back from last year's title-winning roster, including five who started for that team.
• Following a relatively up-and-down regular season, the Raiders played their best softball of the spring at the Cascade Conference Tournament – going 4-0 with a 30-5 run differential, beating the likes of No. 2-ranked Oregon Tech and No. 6 Eastern Oregon, and extending their overall winning streak to 12 games. They'd won four World Series titles since their last CCC Tournament title in 2019.
• The most critical recent development for SOU has been the play of sophomore pitcher Ayla Davies, who enters the tournament at 23-7 with a 2.01 ERA. The reigning NAIA Pitcher of the Year and World Series MVP earned all four decisions at the CCC Tournament and has gone 9-0 with a 1.04 ERA, 52 strikeouts and 16 walks in 54 innings over her last 10 outings. In her postseason career, Davies is 15-2 with a 1.61 ERA and 16 complete games in 18 starts.
• Redshirt-freshman right fielder Kalea Thomas is swinging SOU's hottest bat from the leadoff spot. She went 11-for-16 at the CCC Tournament to raise her batting average to .401, the third-best in the CCC. She made the All-CCC team along with three more regulars who are batting over .350: Vanessa Lang (.392), Ari Williams (.356) and Lexi Ramirez (.353).
• The Raiders had only 10 home runs – their lowest total since 2014 – before crushing eight at CCC Tournament. Williams and Avery Coffin hit two apiece in the tourney, and Brooke Nordahl totaled seven RBIs. Nordahl was selected to the 2025 All-World Series team following a tournament in which she went 11-for-29.
• The Raiders had never qualified for the national tournament before four-time NAIA Coach of the Year Jessica Pistole took over in 2015. Since then, they're 55-16 overall in the national postseason and 30-4 in elimination games.

(2) TEXAS A&M-TEXARKANA (37-14)
Texarkana, Texas | Red River Athletic Conference (21-5, 3rd)
Record vs. Top 25: 2-7
Runs-Allowed/Game: 6.4-3.0
Team OPS (on-base plus slugging %): .874
Opponents' OPS: .683
Long Streak: W7
Last 10: 8-2
What to Know:

• The Eagles came up two wins short of their first World Series appearance last season, falling in extra innings to Cumberlands (Ky.) in the final round of the Williamsburg Bracket as the No. 2 seed. They're in the Opening Round for the third time – all in the last five seasons – after finishing third place in the RRAC.
• They boast one of the tournament's true aces in senior Rylee Glenn, who is 31-6 in two seasons with the Eagles. The two-time All-RRAC selection has gone 15-4 with a 2.06 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.9-to-1 this spring, limiting opponents to a .206 batting average.
• Their lineup, which collectively bats .340, is bolstered by junior star Mackenzie Williams. The left fielder gets on base at a .569 clip and has scored 42 runs. She is one of seven regulars in the lineup with OBPs over .400.
• Grace Cantu, a McNeese State transfer, has logged team-highs of 19 extra-base hits and 48 RBIs.

(3) SAINT FRANCIS (36-11)
Fort Wayne, Ind. | Crossroads League (29-7, 2nd)
Record vs. Top 25: 3-4
Runs-Allowed/Game: 7.1-3.8
Team OPS (on-base plus slugging %): .933
Opponents' OPS: .640
Long Streak: W18
Last 10: 7-3
What to Know:

• The Cougars are in the midst of a historic season, in the Opening Round for the first time after winning their first-ever Crossroads League Tournament championship in extra innings against Spring Arbor (Mich.). They were likely to get a spot even without that title based on a 29-7 Crossroads regular season record, which landed them in second place. From late March to mid-April, they went on an 18-game winning streak that included back-to-back wins over then-No. 11 Marian (Ind.).
• Abby Robakowski, their All-America third baseman, is one elite hitters in the NAIA. The Crossroads Player of the Year tops the national leaderboard in home runs (25) and slugging percentage (1.103), ranks second in total bases (172) and sixth in batting average (.494).
• As a team, the Cougars have hit the fourth-most home runs (54) and own the seventh-best slugging percentage (.531) in the NAIA.
• Ellie Sauder is their No. 1 pitcher, standing at 12-5 with a 3.02 ERA, but freshman Olivia Fuentes leads them in wins (15-2) and ERA (2.60) despite making more than half of her appearances out of the bullpen. Both pitch to contact, having totaled only 116 strikeouts in 216 innings combined.

(4) DORDT (39-12)
Sioux Center, Iowa | Great Plains Athletic Conference (18-4, t-1st)
Record vs. Top 25: 0-4
Runs-Allowed/Game: 7.3-3.0
Team OPS (on-base plus slugging %): 1.023
Opponents' OPS: .640
Long Streak: W9
Last 10: 8-2
What to Know:

• Outside of SOU, the Defenders are the only team in the bracket that has advanced to the World Series, doing so in 2001. They're also the only team that won a regular-season conference championship, sharing the GPAC title with No. 24-ranked Midland (Neb.). They're making their first appearance in the Opening Round since the format was adopted in 2013 on the strength of a 13-win turnaround over last season.
• Like Saint Francis, they're among the best power-hitting teams in the country. They've hit an NAIA-high 63 home runs – 44 more than their opponents – and rank second nationally with a .603 slugging percentage.
• Chloe Kreuz, the GPAC Player of the Year, is a primary reason for their offensive success. The junior has 20 home runs, 45 total extra-base hits and 67 RBIs, and she is an effective pitcher in spot stints with a 2.27 ERA over 52 1/3 innings frames. Two more Defenders have double-digit home run totals: Lauren Steenstra (13 HR, 16 2B) and two-time All-GPAC performer Annabelle Hensley (10 HR, 11 2B).
• Their ace in the circle is the GPAC Freshman of the Year, Rylee Yager. She has started more than half of Dordt's games, compiling an 18-8 record and a 2.42 ERA, and is one of only six players in the NAIA to hit the 200-strikeout mark with 206 in 173 1/3 innings.

 
(5) OTTAWA ARIZONA (33-16)
Surprise, Ariz. | Great Southwest Athletic Conference (16-8, 2nd)
Record vs. Top 25: 0-2
Runs-Allowed/Game: 6.3-4.3
Team OPS (on-base plus slugging %): .913
Opponents' OPS: .753
Long Streak: W13
Last 10: 7-3
What to Know:

• The Spirit have been playing elimination games since the end of April, winning four in a row at the GSAC Tournament to capture the title after dropping their tourney opener. That championship put them in the Opening Round for the second time in team history and first since 2021. Their program launched in 2018.
• Two-time All-GSAC selection Elysa Moreno fuels the Spirit from the top of the lineup with a .401 batting average and a team-high 71 hits. They have a few power bats in the middle of the order in Brianna Humphries, Alexis Jimenez and Ava Seguin, each of whom have registered over 20 extra-base hits and 40 RBIs. Humphries, an All-GSAC team member, leads the team with 13 home runs and a .488 batting average. Seguin, the GSAC Newcomer of the Year, has 19 doubles and hits .416.
• They'll feature sophomore Alexis Ayersman (15-9, 3.61 ERA) and Stephanie Cortazar (15-3, 2.46 ERA) in the circle. The pair has combined for 14 complete games, though opponents are batting .280 against them.
• The Spirit haven't faced a Top 25 team since dropping both ends of a doubleheader to Oregon Tech on the first day of the season. They had some success against the other tournament qualifiers on their schedule, however, going 3-4 against Arizona Christian and British Columbia.