Drovers Earn No. 1 Seed as the Field for the NAIA Softball Opening Round is Announced
CHICKASHA, Okla. – On Tuesday, the NAIA announced that the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (39-13, 25-7 SAC) would be a No. 1 seed for the 2023 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round, in addition to being one of 10 host sites around the nation. The Drovers will host No. 2 seed Mobile University (Ala.), No. 3 seed Cottey College, No. 4 Avila University.
USAO has recent history with all three teams coming to Chickasha, having put together a 9-3 win-loss record against the three opponents (0-2 vs Mobile, 5-1 vs Cottey, 4-0 vs Avila).
Each of the 10 opening round sites will feature four teams. Play will be from May 15-17 and the format will be double elimination. The winner of each will advance to the NAIA Softball World Series in Columbus, Ga., beginning on May 25, 2023.
The field for the opening rounds consists of 33 automatic qualifiers – given to conference regular-season champions, tournament champions or tournament runners-up – and seven at-large teams. Conferences with 10-or-more members receive two automatic qualifiers, while leagues with less than 10 get one.
#1 SCIENCE & ARTS – 39-13, 25-7 SAC
The Drovers earned their way into the tournament with an automatic bid as a host, as well as the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Champions. The national tournament appearance is the eighth in program history, and it's the fifth consecutive season that the Drovers enter the Opening Round as a No. 1 seed.
Science & Arts has put together an impressive overall record of 39-13, and a 25-7 record against opponents in the Sooner Athletic Conference. USAO finished second place in the SAC regular season but was able to claim their third SAC Tournament championship in program history.
POSTSEASON AWARDS
SAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR– JACLYN GRAY
Jaclyn Gray became the fourth player in program history to earn the conference's top honor for a position player. During the regular season, the SAC selected Gray as the Player of the Week on three separate occasions. Gray improved her numbers astronomically from a season ago, when she earned her first, first-team All-SAC selection. Through 51 games played this season, Gray has produced an incredible .434 batting average, along with 72 hits, 19 doubles, four triples, 11 homeruns, 44 runs scored, and 77 runs batted in. Furthermore, the senior catcher owns a phenomenal .795 slugging percentage and a .461 on base percentage.
This season, Gray led the Sooner Athletic Conference in hits, homeruns, runs batted in, and slugging percentage, while ranking second in doubles and second in batting average. Additionally, she leads the NAIA in RBIs and ranks in the top 20 of nearly every other offensive category.
In her historic career, Gray has appeared in 102 games, recording a .391 career batting average, along with 124 hits, 36 doubles, four triples, 16 homers, 74 runs scored, and 116 RBIs.
SAC CO-PITCHER OF THE YEAR– SOPHIE WILLIAMS
Sophie Williams extended the incredible streak of a USAO pitcher being selected as the conference's pitcher of the year. A Drover has earned at least a share of the award for the sixth consecutive season, after Emily Cerny earned the recognition in each of the last five seasons.
After earning a second-team NAIA All-American selection and a first-team All-SAC selection as a freshman, Williams looked like a seasoned veteran as a sophomore, delivering a 21-6 record, along with a perfect game and a no-hitter, a 1.37 earned run average and 233 strikeouts in 183.1 innings pitched. For her numerous impressive performances, she was selected as the SAC Pitcher of the Week three times.
Among conference ranks, Williams led the SAC in strikeouts, and she ranked second in wins and earned run average. She ranks 10th in the NAIA in wins and strikeouts and in 24th in ERA.
In her career, she has appeared in 68 games and owns a 39-11 win-loss record and has recorded four no-hit performances (2 no-hitters, 2 perfect games). Williams boasts a sterling career ERA of 1.46 and she has struck out 419 batters in 324.2 innings pitched.
All-Conference First Team (4) : Sophie Williams, Jaclyn Gray, Sierra Selfridge, Malea McMurtrey
All-Conference Second Team (3) : Jadyn Goucher, Macenzie Ruth, Jaylee Willis
All-Conference Honorable Mention Team (2) : Slater Eck, Jaycee Kievit
Gold Glove winners (1) : Malea McMurtrey (SS)
#2 UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE (Ala.) – record: 38-13, 23-5 SSAC
The University of Mobile qualified for the tournament as an at-large bid, but they were the regular season champions of the Southern States Athletic Conference and the runner-up in the SSAC Tournament.
Last season, the Rams completed the season as the national runner-up after falling to Oklahoma City University in the NAIA national championship game. Prior to facing the Stars in the championship, the Rams defeated the Drovers twice, including a 4-3 win in a 10-inning thriller in the national semi-final, in Columbus, Ga.
POSTSEASON AWARDS
SSAC PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Brinkley Goff
All-Conference First Team (5) : Brinkley Goff, Caitlin McRee, Emily Butts, Madilyn Sheffield, Erin Degruise
All-Conference Second Team (2) : Tempest Hebert, Lillie Lanham
SSAC All-Freshman Team (3): Erin Degruise, Lillie Lanham, Avery Harrell
Gold Glove winners (2) : Lillie Lanham, Kristen Black
For McRee, Butts, and Goff, all three are repeats as first-team all-conference selections, with each earning NAIA All-American status last year. Sheffield made the second-team all-conference team last season and freshman Degruise earns first-team all-conference nods during her first year as a Ram.
#3 COTTEY COLLEGE (Mo.) – record: 34-19, 17-3 AMC
The Cottey College Comets qualified for the tournament as an automatic bid and the runner-up in the American Midwest Conference Tournament. The Drovers and Comets have some recent history against each other, with USAO owning a 5-1 record against CC over the last three seasons. Earlier this season, the Drovers hosted the Comets and swept the double-header with a 7-0 win, followed by an 8-2 victory. In 2022, the two teams split a double-header with USAO winning 3-0 in game one and CC won a 1-0 battle in game two. USAO swept Cottey in 2021, with wins of 6-0 and 5-0.
POSTSEASON AWARDS
Player of the Year: Lauren Johnson
Co-Pitcher of the Year: Lacey Cruz
Coach of the Year: Jamie Taylor
All-Conference First Team (5) : Lacey Cruz, Amelia Gassman, Lauren Johnson, Aryana Palencia, Jenna Wilson
All-Conference Second Team (1) : Alyssa Montoya
#4 AVILA UNIVERSITY (Mo.) - record: 34-19, 16-8 KCAC
Avila earned their way into the tournament with an automatic bid after winning the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time in program history.
The Drovers faced Aliva in their last national tournament appearance, defeating the Eagles twice (10-3 and 6-3) on their way to the NAIA World Series. Overall, USAO is a perfect 4-0 against Avila all-time, with all four meetings coming in the 2019 and 2020 seasons (2x in each season).
POSTSEASON AWARDS
All-Conference First Team (1) : Talley Cole
All-Conference Second Team (2) : Chelsea Kurtz, Payton Walter
All-Conference Honorable Mention (5) : Julia Douglass, Brooke Belflower, KaZem Wood Stephanie Hayes, Chaunelle Penn
Gold Glove (1) : Chelsea Kurtz
**MORE INFO**
GAME TIMES
DAY ONE - MAY 15
- 2:30 PM – Game 1 - #2 Mobile vs #3 Cottey
- 6:00 PM - Game 2 - #1 Science & Arts vs #4 Avila
DAY TWO – MAY 16
- 11:00 AM – Game 3 - Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
- 2:30 PM – Game 4 - Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (Loser eliminated)
- 6:00 PM – Game 5 - Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
DAY 3 – MAY 17
- 12:00 PM – Game 6 - Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5
- 3:00 PM – *if necessary*
SPECTATOR PARKING: Parking is FREE at Bill Smith Ballpark. Spectators can park in lot beyond the fence in leftfield.
- SPECTATOR ENTRANCE: Gates will open to spectators one hour prior to the first game each day. The ONLY entrance for spectators will be the main entrance to the left of home plate.
TICKETING:
Tickets will be available for purchase at the gate. Ticket prices are as follows:
Military, first responders, senior citizens: FREE
ADULTS: $10
18 AND UNDER: $5
12 AND UNDER: FREE
SCIENCE & ARTS FAC, STAFF, STUDENTS: FREE
LIVE VIDEO:
Live HD broadcast & play-by-play will be available on the SAC Sports Network, FREE of charge.
SAC SN: https://www.sacsportsnetwork.com/usao/
SAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME HIGHLIGHT VIDEO--> CLICK HERE
WHAT'S NEXT?
Science & Arts will open the national tournament on Monday, May 15 as they host No. 4 seed Avila University at 6:00 PM at Bill Smith Ballpark.
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