KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Just four days after taking down No. 12 Oregon Tech in the championship of the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Softball Tournament, the No. 22 Corban University softball team learned it will be headed back to Klamath Falls, Ore., as the Warriors snagged a No. 3 seed in the Oregon Tech Bracket of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship Opening Round.
Corban's opponent in game one of the bracket is all too familiar, as the third-seeded Warriors will battle the second-seeded Owls of Oregon Tech on May 11 at 1 p.m. This marks the eighth time the two CCC schools have met this season.
In addition to the Owls, the Navy and Gold (38-16) is joined in the Oregon Tech bracket by first-seeded Saint Xavier University (Ill.) and fourth-seeded seeded Avila University (Mo.). Since the opening round format began in 2013, host schools have mustered a 49-22 record, including a 26-8 mark in 2014. Meanwhile, No. 3 seeds hold an all-time clip of 25-39 in the opening round games.
The NAIA National Championship includes 40 teams and will take place from May 11-13 at 10 different locations across the country. The format for each bracket is a double-elimination, four-team tournament. The field is composed of 31 automatic qualifiers, four Opening Round host berths, and five at-large berths. The winner of each bracket will punch its ticket to the 35th annual NAIA Softball World Series in Sioux City, Iowa, on the Morningside College campus from May 22-28.
For more information and to view the 40-team field, click here.
A total of three teams from the CCC earned a spot in the field, as No. 17 Concordia notched an at-large bid to join Corban and Oregon Tech.
The Navy and Gold earned the automatic bid from the CCC after taking down the Owls, 8-6, in the CCC Tournament Championship. Corban's other wins in the tournament came against then-ranked No. 16 Concordia and another game against Oregon Tech.
In the tournament finale, the Navy and Gold used a total-team effort to muscle past the Owls in a back-and-forth affair. Both sophomore center-fielder Annie Owen (Corvallis, Ore.) and senior third baseman Kyrianna Sorensen (Salem, Ore.) registered homers in the victory, while sophomore left-fielder Taylor Eilders (Cameron Park, Calif.) plated two runs and batted 3-for-4 with one RBI. In the fifth inning, senior right-fielder RaeAnna Dorcas (Everett, Wash.) hit the go-ahead two-run double to give Corban the lead for good. Junior pitcher Danielle Horne (Vacaville, Calif.) collected her seventh triumph in the circle, while junior lefty Jessica Holsinger (Eagle, Idaho) notched her third-career save.
In addition to winning its first CCC Tournament in program history and sealing an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament, Corban rose to No. 22 in the final regular-season edition of the 2015 NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, as announced by the NAIA office on Thursday afternoon. The Navy and Gold has remained in the top-25 for seven-consecutive weeks, and the No. 22 spot marks the highest ranking the Warriors have received all season.
To watch the promo video for the Corban softball team's second appearance in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, click the 'Play' button in the photo above.
Stay tuned for ticket price information and a full preview of the each team in the Oregon Tech Bracket of the NAIA National Championship.
Music credit: "Eclipse" (Dos Brains)
Oregon Tech Bracket
May 11 - 13 | Oregon Tech Softball Field | Klamath Falls, Ore.
Tournament Host Website – includes live audio and video
*live audio-streaming and video-streaming is a production of hosts, brought to you by Stretch Internet
No. 1 Saint Xavier (Ill.) (43-5-2, 0-0 OR)
No. 2 Oregon Tech (41-14, 0-0 OR)
No. 3 Corban (Ore.) (38-16, 0-0 OR)
No. 4 Avila (Mo.) (32-11, 0-0 OR)
