CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — Campbellsville University and the Mid-South Conference are co-hosting the NAIA Softball World Series Opening Round Championship May 17-19 and all four teams from the region are traveling to Bowling Green for a chance to move on to the NAIA World Series.
 
The two-seeded Lady Tigers are joined by No. 1 seeded Indiana Wesleyan, No. 3 seed Olivet Nazarene and No. 4 seed Aquinas University. Indiana Wesleyan ranks No. 6 in the NAIA and Olivet Nazarene is No. 12. 
 
Campbellsville and Olivet Nazarene will start the four-team double elimination tournament on Monday, May 17 at 2 p.m. ET. Indiana Wesleyan and Aquinas are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET in the first round.
 
No. 1 seed Indiana Wesleyan:

• The Wildcats enter as the No. 6 ranked team in the NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll with a 44-7 record and went 29-5 inside the Crossroads League. 
• Indiana Wesleyan received its automatic bid to the Opening Round after winning the Crossroads League Tournament Championship. IWU is making its sixth appearance with a 10-7 record.
• The Wildcats, coached by Steve Babinski, only played on team in the NAIA Top 25 all season and split with No. 6 Marian University. The Knights won their first matchups, 6-3 and 5-2, before IWU won the last two at home, 3-0 and 5-0.  
• The wins at home propelled IWU to the regular season title over Marian
• The Wildcats rank No. 1 in stolen bases (152) and No. 4 in batting average (.363) while their pitching staff is holding opponents to hitting just .198 – which is No. 7 in the country. 
• Jennah Yost and Julianne Bell are major threats on the base paths with 39 and 32 stolen bases, respectively. 
• The Wildcats are led at the plate by Chloe Tragresser's .457 batting average. She leads the team in average and doubles (21) and is second in RBI (4%). Her 21 doubles ranks No. 5 in the NAIA. 
• Miranda Wehrle also does it at the plate as she was named to Crossroads League Player of the Year. She hit .429 with 14 doubles and team-high 18 home runs and 59 RBI. The home runs ranks No. 2 in the NAIA and her RBI rank No. 6. 
• The Wildcats have four batters hitting above .400 and the team averages 6.4 runs per game. 
• In the circle, Alyssa Wagner was named the Crossroads League Pitcher of the Year after tallying a 22-2 overall record with a 1.48 ERA through 29 games. She's tossed 142 innings and struck out 175 while holding opponents to hitting .164. 
• She's flanked by Mckenzey Ridge and Danielle Munn. Ridge is 11-3 overall with 82.2 innings under her belt while Munn is 8-2 overall through 76.2 innings this year. 
• The Wildcats finished with seven All-Conference players – Wagner, Wehrle, Tragesser, and Jennah Yost were all First-Team members. Julianna Bell, Munn and Rebecca Schrad were named Second-Team members.
• Five were named to the Gold Glove Team – Mckenzey Ridge (P), Miranda Wehrle (C), Makenna Pace (1B), Jennah Yost (3B), Julianna Bell (OF).

• The Lady Tigers are making their sixth opening round appearance after claiming the Mid-South Conference regular season (co-champ) and tournament championships. 
• CU is 40-11 on the year and went 27-5 inside the MSC. 
• The Lady Tigers rank highly in many statistical categories at the NAIA level – No. 4 in home runs per game (1.1) and slugging percentage (.563), No. 8 in runs scored (350), No. 10 in batting average (.351) and doubles (97).
• Individually, the Lady Tigers had nine players on the All Mid-South Conference Team – Ryley Whitney, Mia Aldridge, Payton Blades, Riley Hurst, Tori Humphrey, Karson Williams, Katy Chadwell, Lexi Miller and Madison Davis. 
• Whitney earned MSC Player of the Year honors – which is the ninth in program history. 
• Head coach Shannon Wathen was named the MSC Coach of the Year for the 10^th time – which leads all coaches in CU history. 
• The Lady Tigers won 28 of the final 32 games including 17 of the final 18 and 11 straight after sweeping through the MSC Tournament.
• This year's squad has already broken many single-season team records – batting average (.351), on-base-percentage (.430), slugging percentage (.563). The 319 RBI are tied for second, 483 hits is second, 350 runs is third, 97 doubles is fourth, and 59 HR is fifth.  

• The 12^th-ranked Tigers enter with a 31-6 record and went 19-1 inside the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC). 
• ONU received an automatic bid after claiming the regular season championship in the CCAC and they are making their sixth appearance in the Opening Round with a 9-8 record.
• ONU has played eight games against ranked opponents and are 3-5 in those games. The Tigers lost, 8-1 and 6-4, to No. 5 Marian and to No. 14 Saint Xavier in the conference tournament, 5-1 and 5-3. 
• The Tigers hit .373 as a team ranking them second in the NAIA and average 2.1 doubles per game – which is No. 4. Their 7.3 runs per game is fifth and .552 slugging percentage is sixth. 
• Individually, Olivet Nazarene is led by Alli Davis' .447 average, four triples, 13 home runs and 54 RBI. She also has six stolen bases – which is tied for the team lead with Katie Marker. 
• Davis was named the CCAC Player of the Year – which is the third in four years for Olivet Nazarene Emily Carstens in 2019 and in 2017. 
• Davis is second in the NAIA with a .911 slugging percentage and is on pace to break the school single-season record, which was previously held by head coach Hannah Gardner. Additionally, Davis leads the CCAC in batting average (.447), RBIs (54), home runs (13), and total bases (112). 
• Miranda Southall, a two-way player for the Tigers, is another slugger hitting .438 with seven home runs and 35 RBI. In the pitching circle, she's 14-2 overall with a 2.16 ERA through 110.1 innings. 
• Emily Blucker is 5-0 with a 1.41 ERA in 13 games and 44.2 innings, while Kori Fricke is 7-2 overall through 60 innings. 
• Along with Davis earning All-Conference, the Tigers had Sara Beers, Miranda Southall picking up first team honors. Haley Dobson, Kori Fricke, Sydney Harrison, and Katie Marker earned Second-Team mentions. 

• The Saints are playing in their first NAIA postseason after going 29-10 overall and winning the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) with a 16-4 record. They also beat Madonna in the tourney championship game, 1-0, to claim their first-ever title. 
• Eight players were named to the WHAC All-Conference team as Courtney Hardin was named the Newcomer of the Year and coach Brad Koch earned Coach of the Year honors.
• On the season, Aquinas has stolen 113 bases ranking them fifth overall in the NAIA. 
• Like all four teams, Aquinas scored at a high rate of 7.1 runs per game as well. 
• Three players are hitting above .400 on the season led by Izzy Dawson's .423 mark. She has five homers and 36 RBI along with nine stolen bases this year. 
• The big bats in the order are Courtney Hardin, Jordan Humitz, and Darrien Roberts. Hardin, a freshman, is hitting .414 with a team-high nine home runs along with 30 RBI and 11 steals. Humitz is hitting .412 with eight home runs and a team-high 39 RBI. Roberts has seven homers and 34 RBI. 
• Booke Wila has 40 percent of the steals on the year as she's 41-of-42 – ranking her fourth in the NAIA. 
• In the circle, the Saints have a team ERA of 3.48 as they're led by Kayla Fessenden's 11-1 mark through 22 games. Leah Ash leads the team in innings tossing 81.1 with a 9-2 record and 2.67 ERA.