Softball 5/15/2018 7:55:00 AM Jordan Alves

No. 4 Lady Tigers await opponent in #NAIASoftball Opening Round Championship game at 2:30 ET

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — For the first time in program history, fourth-ranked Campbellsville is sitting in the winner's bracket championship game of the NAIA Opening Round. Today, the Lady Tigers are on a quest to punch their ticket to the NAIA World Series and to do so, they need one this afternoon.

Campbellsville (47-8) will play the winner of the loser's bracket final between four-seeded Madonna and two-seeded Faulkner. The championship game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET and the if-necessary contest will follow.

Madonna and Faulkner are squaring off in the elimination game at 12:30 p.m. ET at Michael O. Buchanon Park in Bowling Green.

Fans can tune into the Campbellsville University Sports Network for both games, as Jordan Alves will have the call on www.campbellsvilletigers.com/watch.

Remember that feeling:
In 2015, the Lady Tigers went into the USC Beaufort bracket as the No. 1-seed but lost to Rio Grande in the first round. Campbellsville then had to rally all the way out of the loser's bracket and end up defeating USC Beaufort in the championship series.

In the first championship contest, the Lady Tigers won in 12 innings, 6-5, as Victoria Decker tossed 11.2 innings and Neely Quint closed it out.

In the final game of the USCB Bracket, Campbellsville had all the momentum and put a whippin on the Sandsharks, 7-2. Quint pitched a complete-game and allowed two earned runs, while striking out three in her freshman campaign.

CU punched its ticket to its first NAIA World Series with the rally in its first opening round appearance.

How they got here:
Campbellsville's offense has sputtered at times, but the Lady Tigers know what has got them here…. Pitching, strong defense, and timely hitting.

The pitching has been nothing but spectacular. Morgan Gailor tossed 7.1 innings, allowed four hits and struck out a season-high six in a 1-0 win over four-seeded Madonna. Alexis Smith delivered the timely hit with a solo home run in the eighth inning and Neely Quint came in to earn a two-out save – her third of the season.

Quint then turned right around to pick up her 29th win of the season - breaking the single-season record set by Victoria Decker in 2016 - and the career wins mark with 86 (also set by Decker).

Campbellsville's strong defense had a few lapses yesterday, but it wasn't anything the offense couldn't pick up.

The timely hitting came from Smith in game one vs. Madonna, then in game two vs. Faulkner last night, the Lady Tigers scored four unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings after only tallying one hit through four innings and trailing 2-0.

The big hit came off the bench, though. Not seeing action in almost a month, Mia Aldridge pinch-hit in the fifth with runners on first and second and delivered an RBI single to right field. After Dana Adkins tied it with a suicide squeeze, CU lit a few more fireworks in the sixth thanks to Rebecca Miller's inside the park home run.

Waiting game:
Faulkner and Madonna are squaring off in an elimination game on Tuesday afternoon. Madonna eliminated University of Rio Grande in the first loser's bracket contest on Monday, 7-0.

Faulkner defeated the Red Storm in game one, 1-0. It was a bases loaded walk-off walk that propelled the Lady Eagles to the first-round win.

Strong pitching from both Madonna and Faulkner has put them in the elimination finals. Ciera Jones, who was actually a late addition to the starting lineup due to an injury, held Campbellsville's high-powered offense to only one run in game one. Alyssa Fessenden then tossed a complete-game shutout in game two vs. Rio while allowing only six hits.

Faulkner's staff has been dominant all season. Competing in the Southern States Athletic Conference, the RedStorm have played a tough schedule. In game one, ace Caitlin Perry allowed only three hits and struck out five against Rio Grande. In last night's winner's bracket contest vs. the Lady Tigers, the Eagles used a pair of hurlers. Emma Cornell had a perfect game entering the fourth inning until Jacqueline Roof's leadoff single ended that. Cornell had held Campbellsville scoreless until Aldridge's pinch-hit single in the fifth. Also, Tori Davis pitched 0.2 innings and allowed only one baserunner before getting out of a big jam in the sixth.

I would expect coaches Hal Wynn from Faulkner and Jerry Abraham from Madonna to throw out their best in today's elimination game. But the biggest factor for them…. Madonna or Faulkner will have to win three times in one day to earn a bid to the World Series and knock off Campbellsville.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Dana Adkins: UTIL; 5' 3"; Sophomore; Sedalia, Ky.

#4 Mia Aldridge: OF; 5' 7"; Sophomore; Lawrenceburg, Ky.

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

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

Players Mentioned

#10 Dana Adkins
: 5' 3"; Sophomore; Sedalia, Ky.
: UTIL

#4 Mia Aldridge
: 5' 7"; Sophomore; Lawrenceburg, Ky.
: OF

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

#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

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