Softball 5/13/2018 8:56:00 PM Jordan Alves

Lady Tiger softball faces four-seeded Madonna Crusaders on Monday in NAIA Opening Round

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — For the fourth straight season, Campbellsville University softball has reached the NAIA Opening Round Championship and the Lady Tigers start their run at another World Series appearance on Monday.

For the second straight season, No. 4 Campbellsville is hosting one of the 10 NAIA Opening Rounds sites at Michael Buchanon Park in Bowling Green. The top-seeded Lady Tigers play four-seeded Madonna University on Monday, May 14 at 2:30 p.m. ET.

With inclement weather moving into the south-central Kentucky area this week, the NAIA has moved Tuesday's second-round games to Monday.

In addition to Bowling Green Bracket No. 2, second-seeded Faulkner University and three-seeded University of Rio Grande will play at 12:30 p.m. ET in the first round.

Each team will now play two games on Monday. If the Lady Tigers win game one over Madonna, CU will play at 6:30 p.m. ET against the winner of Faulkner and Rio Grande. If the Lady Tigers lose, they will play at 4:30 p.m. ET against the loser in an elimination contest.

Every game of the Bowling Green Bracket will air on the Campbellsville University Sports Network with Jordan Alves broadcasting each game – www.campbellsvilletigers.com/watch.

No. 4 Campbellsville Lady Tigers (45-8)
Campbellsville earned its fourth straight opening round bid after winning the Mid-South Conference Tournament Championship last week at Buchanon Park. CU defeated Georgetown on a walk-off RBI single by senior Brianna Scott in the 10^thinning, 3-2.

CU is led by three-time MSC Player of the Year Jacqueline Roof. Roof is hitting .399, slugging .720 and has an on-base-percentage of .498 – all which lead CU. In addition, her 10 home runs are tied for the team-high with Tori Humphrey and Alexis Smith, while her 43 runs batted in is third.

Roof has a season-high 29-game on-base streak alive, while fellow Senior Rebecca Miller is also in double-digits with 10. Roof also has an eight-game win streak coming into the tournament.

As a team, the Lady Tigers have out-scored opponents, 349-139. The 349 runs are 10^thin the country, while 314 RBI is 11^th.

In the circle, Campbellsville is led by MSC Pitcher of the Year Neely Quint. Quint has matched the CU program record with 28 wins this season and leads the Lady Tigers with a 1.60 ERA. Quint's 28 wins is second in the country, while her 0.82 walks per game ranks 12^th. She's coming off a 10-inning performance in the MSC Tournament, as she tossed a career-high 136 pitches.

Junior Morgan Gailor also has a sub-two ERA at 1.93. Gailor has a 16-6 record in 137.2 innings and opponents are hitting .226 off her. She also strikes out 4.1 batters a game to lead CU.

Madonna University (27-15)
The Crusaders earned the first automatic bid for the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. Madonna, which enters the postseason tournament 27-15 on the year, are making their third opening round appearance and second in as many years. Madonna is 5-4 in opening round contests and fell in the Lindsey Wilson Bracket championship contest to eventual national runner-up, Corban.

Madonna is led by Kattie Popko's .422 average, while Halee Warren has a team-high five home runs and 35 RBI.

In the circle, the Crusaders' Madisen Henry boasts an 11-7 record and has tossed a team-high 129.2 innings. In addition, Ciera Jones is 9-6 in 16 starts with a team-low ERA of 2.48.

Overall, Madonna is not a power team as the Crusaders have only hit 15 home runs compared to 45 for Campbellsville.

No. 17 Faulkner University (44-13)
The Lady Eagles received their first-ever qualification to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round after securing at-large bid No. 7 of 10.

Faulkner enters the tournament with a program-best 44-13 record. The Lady Eagles are meeting Rio Grande for the first time in program history. The Lady Eagles also have yet to ever play four-seeded Madonna.

Campbellsville faced Faulkner University earlier in the season at the Gulf Coast Invitational and lost 2-0 in early March.

The Lady Eagles boast a team-ERA of 1.32, while Caitlin Perry has a 19-5 record and Emma Cornell is 17-7 on the year. Perry leads Faulkner with an ERA of 1.22 – which is 14^thin the NAIA. Cornell's ERA of 1.52 ranks 30^thin the country.

University of Rio Grande (35-11)
The RedStorm climbed to No. 24 in the final NAIA coaches' poll released Tuesday night. Rio Grande earned its spot in the national tournament by winning the River States Conference regular season and tournament championships.

Rio Grande is making its fifth national tournament appearance overall and its fourth under the tournament's current format.

The RedStorm have a team-ERA of 1.90, which is led by Kelsey Conkey's 17-2 record. Conkey has an ERA of 1.56 and has tossed 121.1 innings while holding opponents to hitting .192.

World Series Information
The champions from each of the 10 opening round tournaments advance to the 38th annual NAIA Softball World Series in Clermont, Fla., from May 25 – 31. These programs will participate in a double-elimination national championship at the Legends Way Ball Fields.

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Players Mentioned

#17 Morgan Gailor: P; 5' 7"; Junior; Louisville, Ky.

#9 Tori Humphrey: INF; 5' 8"; Sophomore; Paducah, Ky.

#22 Rebecca Miller: C; 5' 5"; Senior; Louisville, Ky.

#7 Neely Quint: P; 5' 6"; Senior; Brookport, Ill.

#20 Jacqueline Roof: INF; 5' 9"; Senior; Paducah, Ky.

#2 Brianna Scott: OF; 5' 6"; Senior; Summersville, Ky.

#24 Alexis Smith: INF; 5' 11"; Sophomore; Louisville, Ky.

Players Mentioned

#17 Morgan Gailor
: 5' 7"; Junior; Louisville, Ky.
: P

#9 Tori Humphrey
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; Paducah, Ky.
: INF

#22 Rebecca Miller
: 5' 5"; Senior; Louisville, Ky.
: C

#7 Neely Quint
: 5' 6"; Senior; Brookport, Ill.
: P

#20 Jacqueline Roof
: 5' 9"; Senior; Paducah, Ky.
: INF

#2 Brianna Scott
: 5' 6"; Senior; Summersville, Ky.
: OF

#24 Alexis Smith
: 5' 11"; Sophomore; Louisville, Ky.
: INF