River States Conference

Rio Grande, IU Southeast headed to NAIA Softball National Championship

5/16/2016 12:00:00 AM

NAIA SOFTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OPENING ROUND COVERAGE:
AUBURN MONTGOMERY (AL) BRACKET
May 16 at 4:30 p.m. ET
#3 Rio Grande vs. #2 Central Methodist (Mo.)
Watch Live (Rio Grande Stretch Internet Portal):http://portal.stretchinternet.com/rio/
Live Stats (Dakstats): http://bit.ly/1TjQJOv

NAIA RELEASE

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- KIAC Softball Tournament champion the University of Rio Grande and runner-up IU Southeast received their automatic bids to the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round with the unveiling of the pairings and sites by the NAIA office on Tuesday (May 10) night.

Rio Grande (40-7, 17-1 KIAC), ranked No. 22 in the NAIA Softball Top 25 Poll, earned the No. 3 seed in the Auburn-Montgomery Bracket and will face No. 2 seed Central Methodist (Mo.) (41-16), ranked No. 19 in the NAIA Top 25, in its first game May 16.

IU Southeast (33-17, 15-3 KIAC) received the No. 4 seed in the St. Gregory's Bracket and will face host team and No. 1 seed St. Gregory's (Okla.) (43-5), which is ranked No. 3 nationally, to begin the tournament on May 16.

The complete NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round bracket and pairings can be found at the link above. Below are capsules about the RedStorm and the Grenadiers in the national tournament from Rio Grande and IU Southeast sports information.

RIO GRANDE DRAWS NO. 3 SEED IN AUBURN-MONTGOMERY BRACKET
(By Rio Grande Sports Information)
RIO GRANDE, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande softball team will start its hunt for a national title as part of the Auburn-Montgomery Bracket in the 2016 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round.
The pairings for the 10, four-team regional sites were announced Tuesday night by the NAIA national office.
The third-seeded RedStorm (40-7) will face No. 2 seed Central Methodist (Mo.) University (41-16) at 4:30 p.m. EDT, while No. 1 seed and two-time defending national champion Auburn-Montgomery (48-6) meets fourth-seeded Lourdes (OH) University (18-28) in the 7 p.m. EDT nightcap of the regional on Monday, May 16, at the AUM Softball Complex.
The winner's bracket final and a pair of elimination games are slated for Tuesday, May 17, while the championship first final - and a second final, if necessary - will take place on Wednesday, May 18.
Aside from Lourdes, all three teams are currently ranked in the NAIA Top 25 - Auburn-Montgomery is No. 2, Central Methodist is No. 19 and Rio Grande is No. 21.
Rio Grande punched its ticket to the double-elimination tournament for the second straight year by winning the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament crown with a pair of victories over Indiana University-Southeast on April 30 in Owensboro, Ky.
The RedStorm, which has tied the single-season school record for wins, is one of only two KIAC programs - IU Southeast is the other - in the tournament field, which includes 31 automatic qualifiers and nine at-large selections.
Rio Grande is making its third trip to the national tourney overall. In addition to the 2015 berth, the school was also part of the field in 2004 as the champion of the now-defunct America Mideast Conference.
That season, the then-Redwomen lost their opening game against Brescia (Ky.) in Decatur, Ala. before posting consecutive wins over No. 10 North Georgia, St. Xavier (Ill.) and No. 11 St. Scholastica (Minn.). However, Rio saw its season end with a school-record 40 wins in its fifth game of the tournament - a 3-2 loss in nine innings to No. 6-ranked Columbia (Mo.).
Last year, the RedStorm upended top-seeded Campbellsville University in the opening game of the South Carolina-Beaufort Bracket in Hardeeville, S.C. before falling to second-seeded host USC-Beaufort and dropping a one-run decision in a rematch with Campbellsville.
The 10 opening round site winners will advance to the 36th Annual NAIA World Series, which is slated for May 27-June 2, at Morningside College's Elizabeth & Irving Jensen Softball Complex in Sioux City, Iowa.

IU SOUTHEAST RECEIVES NO. 4 SEED IN ST. GREGORY'S (OKLA.) BRACKET
(By IU Southeast Sports Information)

NEW ALBANY, Ind. - The IU Southeast softball team will head to Shawnee, Okla and St. Gregory's University for the 2016 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round.
The event will take place from May 16 - 18 at 10 different locations. The format is a double-elimination, four-team tournament. For more information on the 10 host sites, click here.
The Grenadiers (33-17) join the host Cavaliers of the Sooner Athletic Conference, the Arizona Christian Firestorm of the Golden State Athletic Conference and the Park (Mo.) Pirates of the American Midwest Conference.
IU Southeast earned an automatic bid as the runner-up in the KIAC Tournament.
St. Gregory's University (43-5) is ranked No. 3 in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll and earned an automatic bid as champion of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament.
Arizona Christian (37-14-1) is ranked No. 18 in the Coaches' Poll and earned an automatic bid as tournament champion of the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament. The Firestorm are making their first appearance in the opening round.
Park University (30-15-1) earned an automatic bid as the American Midwest Conference Regular Season Champion.
IU Southeast is the No. 4 seed in the bracket and will face top seed St. Gregory's in the second game of the day on May 16.
Game times and broadcast information will be announced at a later date.