Shawnee, Oklahoma – Oklahoma Baptist earned its second straight trip to the NCAA Division II Softball Tournament on Monday, joining a 64-team field in pursuit of a National Championship.
The Bison were selected as the fifth seed in the Central Region and will head to host school Pittsburg State on May 9 to take on the No. 4 seed, Augustana University, based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Thursday's game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Pittsburg State Softball Complex.
OBU was one of three clubs from the Great American Conference who punched their ticket as Southern Nazarene University (Bethany, Oklahoma, and Southern Arkansas garnered the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds, respectively.
Oklahoma Baptist owns a 40-12 record and claimed its second consecutive GAC regular season title this year with a 30-3 conference mark.
Also entering the first round of NCAA Division II games are Central Oklahoma (Edmond) and Rogers State (Claremore). Both those teams play in the Mid-American Interscholastic Association (MIAA).
(https://www.citynewsokc.com/sports/rogers-state-hillcats-win-miaa-title-with-2-1-victory-head-into-ncaa-ii-post/article_3009ab20-0b04-11ef-8db1-0306f05de38a.html )
Thursday will be the second OBU meeting with Augustana this season. The Vikings topped OBU 4-0 in the 2024 season opener at the Mardi Gras Invitational.
Last Friday's loss to the Southern Arkansas University Muleriders was a 5-4 heartbreaker for the Lady Bison. Shelby Warren, a utility player for OBU, had a season-best 3-for-3 day at the plate. Outfielder Sammie Greene, infielders Emily Adler and Kennedy Clark also got on base for the Bison.
In the last week of the regular season, pitcher Kayeigh Jones was named the GAC player of the week.
They and the rest of the squad plan to carry the flag for the GAC and for OBU when they save Augustana (a South Dakota institution) on Thursday 4:30 p.m.
That game will be played at Pittsburg State's Gene Bickel sports complex in Kansas.
SAU is now 33-16 for the year, and 21-12 in the Great American Conference (GAC). They head into post-season play holding the automatic berth for the GAC.
Along with the other Oklahoma teams mentioned, OBU’s selection to continue playing renewed hopes they can punch their ticket to the D-II Women's College World Series.
Regional Play begins next week. The D-II Women’s College World Series will be played in Longwood, Florida from May 19-25.
NOTES: Pat McGuigan, CityNewsOKC editor emeritus, contributed to this report.
Most Popular
Comments / 0