2023 NAIA softball tournament

2023 NAIA softball tournament
Teams	40
Format	double-elimination
Finals site	South Commons Softball Complex Columbus, GA
Champions	Southern Oregon (3rd title)
Runner-up	Oregon Tech
Winning coach	Jessica Pistole
MVP	Cayla Williams (Southern Oregon)
Television	NAIA Network, ESPN3

The 2023 NAIA softball tournament was the 42nd edition of the NAIA softball championship.The 40-team tournament began on May 15 with Opening Round games at ten different sites and concluded with the 2023 NAIA Softball World Series in Columbus, Georgia on May 25-31.

Southern Oregon won its third NAIA title, defeating Oregon Tech 11-0 in five innings. Cayla Williams of Southern Oregon was named tournament MVP.

Format

A total of 40 teams entered the tournament, with 32 receiving an automatic bid by either winning their conference's tournament, finishing as their conference tournament runner-up, or by finishing in first place in their conference. The remaining 8 bids were issued at large, with selections extended by the NAIA Selection Committee.

Bids

Conferences with 10 or more members received two automatic berths, while conferences with less than 10 received one.^[1] All conferences awarded a bid to their tournament champion.

Automatic


School	Conference	Record	Qualifying Method	Last NAIA Appearance
Avila (MO)	Kansas	34–19	Tournament champion	2019
Campellsville (KY)	Mid-South	31–15–2	Tournament runner-up	2022
Central Methodist (MO)	Heart	38–10	Regular season champion	2022
Coastal Georgia	The Sun	40–10	Tournament champion	2022
College of Idaho	Cascade	46–8	Tournament runner-up	2022
Columbia (MO)	American Midwest	24–17	Tournament champion	2022
Cottey (MO)	American Midwest	34–19	Regular season champion	2022
Cumberlands (KY)	Mid-South	44–3–1	Tournament champion	2017
Embry–Riddle (AZ)	Cal-Pac	37–14	Tournament champion	2022
Georgia Gwinnett	Continental	40–10	Tournament champion	2022
IU Southeast	River States	33–17	Regular season champion	2021
Indiana Tech	Wolverine-Hoosier	40–10	Regular season champion	First appearance
Madonna (MI)	Wolverine–Hoosier	36–12	Tournament champion	2022
Marian (IN)	Crossroads	45–6	Regular season champion	2022
Middle Georgia State	Southern States	46–12	Tournament champion	First appearance
Midland (NE)	Great Plains	36–12	Tournament champion	2022
Mount Mercy (IA)	Heart	32–18	Tournament runner-up	2021
Northwestern (IA)	Great Plains	46–8	Regular season champion	2018
Oregon Tech	Cascade	47–7	Regular season champion	2022
Ottawa (KS)	Kansas	41–9	Regular season champion	2022
Our Lady of the Lake (TX)	Red River	47–5	Regular season champion	2022
Reinhardt (GA)	Appalachian	35–11	Regular season champion	2021
St. Mary-of-the-Woods (IN)	River States	36–14	Tournament champion	2022
Saint Xavier (IL)	Chicagoland	34–12	Tournament champion	2022
Science & Arts (OK)	Sooner	39–13	Tournament champion	2022
St. Francis (IL)	Chicagoland	32–9	Regular season champion	2018
Taylor (IN)	Crossroads	26–30	Tournament runner-up	2022
Tennessee Wesleyan	Appalachian	27–15	Tournament champion	2022
Texas A&M–San Antonio	Red River	30–21	Tournament runner-up	First appearance
USC–Beaufort	Continental	14–43	Tournament runner-up	2019
Valley City State (ND)	North Star	28–21	Tournament champion	2022
Vanguard (CA)	Golden State	26–28	Tournament champion	2019

At–Large


School	Conference	Record	Last Opening Round Appearance
Baker (KS)	Heart	44–9	2019
Freed–Hardeman (TN)	Mid-South	25–13	2022
Hope International (CA)	Golden State	39–14	2021
Indiana Wesleyan	Crossroads	40–13	2022
Mobile (AL)	Southern States	38–13	2022
Oklahoma City (OK)	Sooner	45–9	2022
Southeastern (FL)	The Sun	33–16	2022
Southern Oregon	Cascade	42–11	2022

By conference


Conference	Total	Schools
Cascade	3	College of Idaho, Oregon Tech, Southern Oregon
Crossroads	3	Indiana Wesleyan, Marian (IN), Taylor (IN)
Heart	3	Baker (KS), Central Methodist (MO), Mount Mercy (IA)
Mid-South	3	Campellsville (KY), Cumberlands (KY), Freed–Hardeman (TN)
American Midwest	2	Columbia (MO), Cottey (MO)
Appalachian	2	Reinhardt (GA), Tennessee Wesleyan
Chicagoland	2	Saint Xavier (IL), St. Francis (IL)
Continental	2	Georgia Gwinnett, USC–Beaufort
Golden State	2	Hope International (CA), Vanguard (CA)
Great Plains	2	Midland (NE), Northwestern (IA)
Kansas	2	Avila (MO), Ottawa (KS)
Red River	2	Our Lady of the Lake (TX), Texas A&M–San Antonio
River States	2	IU Southeast, St. Mary-of-the-Woods (IN)
Sooner	2	Oklahoma City (OK), Science & Arts (OK)
SSAC	2	Middle Georgia State, Mobile (AL)
The Sun	2	Coastal Georgia, Southeastern (FL)
Wolverine-Hoosier	2	Indiana Tech, Madonna (MI)
Cal-Pac	1	Embry–Riddle (AZ)
North Star	1	Valley City State (ND)

Opening Round

The Opening Round brackets were held May 15-17.^[2]

Ashland Bracket

Hosted by Southern Oregon University at University Field^[2]


First Round			Semifinal			Championship



1	Southern Oregon	4

4	Vanguard (CA)	8
			4	Vanguard (CA)	0

			3	Reinhardt (GA)	1⁽⁸⁾
2	Southeastern (FL)	4

3	Reinhardt (GA)	6
						3	Reinhardt (GA)	4	0

						1	Southern Oregon	8	11⁽⁵⁾
First Elimination Round			Second Elimination Round



			1	Southern Oregon	10

1	Southern Oregon	2	4	Vanguard (CA)	4

2	Southeastern (FL)	0

Baldwin City Bracket

Hosted by Baker University at Cavaness Field^[2]


First Round			Semifinal			Championship



1	College of Idaho	4

4	Valley City State (ND)	1
			1	College of Idaho	1

			2	Baker (KS)	5
2	Baker (KS)	3

3	IU Southeast	0
						2	Baker (KS)	2	5

						1	College of Idaho	4	3
First Elimination Round			Second Elimination Round



			1	College of Idaho	8

4	Valley City State (ND)	9	3	IU Southeast	2

3	IU Southeast	12

Chickasha Bracket

Hosted by University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma at Bill Smith Ballpark^[2]


First Round			Semifinal			Championship



1	Science & Arts (OK)	4

4	Avila (MO)	0
			1	Science & Arts (OK)	3⁽⁹⁾

			2	Mobile (AL)	2
2	Mobile (AL)	2

3	Cottey (MO)	0
						1	Science & Arts (OK)	1	–

						2	Mobile (AL)	0	–
First Elimination Round			Second Elimination Round



			2	Mobile (AL)	6

4	Avila (MO)	4	4	Avila (MO)	2

3	Cottey (MO)	0

Henderson Bracket

Hosted by Freed-Hardeman University at Tucker Field^[2]


First Round			Semifinal			Championship



1	Central Methodist (MO)	2

4	St. Francis (IL)	1
			1	Central Methodist (MO)	9⁽⁶⁾

			3	Freed–Hardeman (TN)	1
2	Ottawa (KS)	4

3	Freed–Hardeman (TN)	5
						1	Central Methodist (MO)	6⁽¹⁰⁾	–

						3	Freed–Hardeman (TN)	4	–
First Elimination Round			Second Elimination Round



			3	Freed–Hardeman (TN)	2

4	St. Francis (IL)	1	2	Ottawa (KS)	0

2	Ottawa (KS)	4

Indianapolis Bracket

Hosted by Marian University at Marian Softball Diamond^[2]


First Round			Semifinal			Championship



1	Marian (IN)	3

4	Tennessee Wesleyan	0
			1	Marian (IN)	2

			3	Columbia (MO)	4
2	Middle Georgia State	0

3	Columbia (MO)	5
						3	Columbia (MO)	0	1

						1	Marian (IN)	1	8
First Elimination Round			Second Elimination Round



			1	Marian (IN)	5

4	Tennessee Wesleyan	0	2	Middle Georgia State	0

2	Middle Georgia State	5

Klamath Falls Bracket

Hosted by Oregon Tech at Stilwell Stadium^[2]


First Round			Semifinal			Championship



1	Oregon Tech	4

4	Saint Xavier (IL)	3
			1	Oregon Tech	10⁽⁶⁾

			2	Northwestern (IA)	2
2	Northwestern (IA)	6

3	Embry–Riddle (AZ)	5
						1	Oregon Tech	0	5

						4	Saint Xavier (IL)	3	2
First Elimination Round			Second Elimination Round



			2	Northwestern (IA)	2

4	Saint Xavier (IL)	6	4	Saint Xavier (IL)	10⁽⁶⁾

3	Embry–Riddle (AZ)	5

Lawrenceville Bracket

Hosted by Georgia Gwinnett College at Grizzly Softball Complex^[2]


First Round			Semifinal			Championship



1	Georgia Gwinnett	4

4	St. Mary-of-the-Woods (IN)	1
			1	Georgia Gwinnett	7

			3	Indiana Tech	1
2	Coastal Georgia	1

3	Indiana Tech	2⁽⁸⁾
						1	Georgia Gwinnett	6⁽¹¹⁾	–

						2	Coastal Georgia	5	–
First Elimination Round			Second Elimination Round



			3	Indiana Tech	0

4	St. Mary-of-the-Woods (IN)	4	2	Coastal Georgia	3

2	Coastal Georgia	8

Oklahoma City Bracket

Hosted by Oklahoma City University at Yukon High School in Yukon, OK and Ann Lacy Stadium^[a]^[2]


First Round			Semifinal			Championship



1	Oklahoma City (OK)	11⁽⁵⁾

4	Texas A&M–San Antonio	2
			1	Oklahoma City (OK)	1

			2	Midland (NE)	2
2	Midland (NE)	2⁽⁹⁾

3	Mount Mercy (IA)	1
						2	Midland (NE)	1	2

						1	Oklahoma City (OK)	3	1
First Elimination Round			Second Elimination Round



			1	Oklahoma City (OK)	5

4	Texas A&M–San Antonio	0	3	Mount Mercy (IA)	2

3	Mount Mercy (IA)	1⁽¹²⁾

San Antonio Bracket

Hosted by Our Lady of the Lake University at St. Mary's University Softball Stadium^[2]


First Round			Semifinal			Championship



1	Our Lady of the Lake (TX)	9

4	Taylor (IN)	1
			1	Our Lady of the Lake (TX)	0

			2	Hope International (CA)	1
2	Hope International (CA)	1

3	Campellsville (KY)	0
						2	Hope International (CA)	0	0

						1	Our Lady of the Lake (TX)	2	2
First Elimination Round			Second Elimination Round



			1	Our Lady of the Lake (TX)	10

4	Taylor (IN)	6	4	Taylor (IN)	3

3	Campellsville (KY)	2

Williamsburg Bracket

Hosted by the University of the Cumberlands at UC Softball Complex^[2]


First Round			Semifinal			Championship



1	Cumberlands (KY)	3⁽⁸⁾

4	USC–Beaufort	2
			1	Cumberlands (KY)	4

			3	Madonna (MI)	2
2	Indiana Wesleyan	0

3	Madonna (MI)	2
						1	Cumberlands (KY)	4⁽¹⁰⁾	–

						3	Madonna (MI)	1	–
First Elimination Round			Second Elimination Round



			3	Madonna (MI)	11⁽⁵⁾

4	USC–Beaufort	8	4	USC–Beaufort	1

2	Indiana Wesleyan	4

NAIA Softball World Series

The 42nd annual NAIA Softball World Series was held May 25-31 at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Georgia.

Participants


School^[4]^[5]^[6]	Conference	Record (conference)	Head Coach	World Series Appearances (including 2023)	World Series Record (excluding 2023)
Baker	Heart	47-10 (21-5)	Dana Goss	1 (2023)	0-0
Central Methodist	Heart	41-10 (21-5)	Pat Reardon	4 (2023, 2015, 2012, 1981)	3-6
Cumberlands	Mid-South	47-3-1 (21-0)	Bailey Dillender	1 (2023)	0-0
Georgia Gwinnett	Continental	43-10 (7-1)	Kat Ihlenburg	3 (2023, 2019, 2018)	4-4
Marian	Crossroads League	49-7 (31-5)	Scott Flemming	6 (2023, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2003)	3-10
Midland	GPAC	39-13 (16-6)	Beth Singleton	4 (2023, 2011, 2010, 2003)	2-7
Oregon Tech	Cascade	50-8 (29-1)	Greg Stewart	8 (2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2015, 2012, 2011, 1997)	18-12
Our Lady of the Lake	Red River	51-6 (28-0)	Bruce Lenington	1 (2023)	0-0
Science & Arts	Sooner	42-13 (25-7)	Jaydn Wallis	7 (2023, 2022, 2019, 2018, 2006, 2005, 2004)	16-12
Southern Oregon	Cascade	46-12 (25-5)	Jessica Pistole	5 (2023, 2021, 2019 2018, 2017)	16-6

Bracket

Source:^[4]


First Round			First/Second Round			Quarterfinals			Semifinals						Championship



			1	Oregon Tech	4

8	Central Methodist (MO)	2	8	Central Methodist (MO)	1
						1	Oregon Tech	0
9	Baker (KS)	0
						4	Southern Oregon	10⁽⁶⁾
			4	Southern Oregon	5

			5	Georgia Gwinnett	1
									4	Southern Oregon	9⁽⁵⁾

									3	Cumberlands (KY)	1
			2	Our Lady of the Lake (TX)	3

7	Marian (IN)	2	7	Marian (IN)	6
						7	Marian (IN)	6
10	Midland (NE)	0
						3	Cumberlands (KY)	9
			3	Cumberlands (KY)	2

			6	Science & Arts (OK)	1										4	Southern Oregon	11⁽⁵⁾	–

															1	Oregon Tech	0	–

First Round			Second Round			Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Semifinals



						7	Marian (IN)	6

			8	Central Methodist (MO)	7	5	Georgia Gwinnett	0				3	Cumberlands (KY)	0

9	Baker (KS)	2	5	Georgia Gwinnett	9				7	Marian (IN)	5	1	Oregon Tech	3

5	Georgia Gwinnett	6							1	Oregon Tech	8

						1	Oregon Tech	6

			2	Our Lady of the Lake (TX)	5	10	Midland (NE)	0

10	Midland (NE)	3⁽¹¹⁾	10	Midland (NE)	6

6	Science & Arts (OK)	2

Game results


Date^[5]	Game	Winning team	Score	Losing team	Winning pitcher	Losing pitcher	Save	Notes
May 25	Game 1	Marian	2-0	Midland	Sydney Wilson (23-3)	Aliyah Rincon (23-7)	-	-
	Game 2	Central Methodist	2-0 (8 inn.)	Baker	Jordyn Ball (19-3)	Kira Baker (24-2)	-	-
	Game 3	Southern Oregon	5-1	Georgia Gwinnett	Cayla Williams (21-5)	Annalise Wood (23-3)	-	-
	Game 4	Cumberlands	2-1	Science & Arts	Talli Burgess (20-0)	Sophie Williams (24-7)	-	-
May 26	Game 5	Georgia Gwinnett	6-2	Baker	Kailyn Berry (9-4)	Kira Baker 924-3)	-	Baker eliminated
	Game 6	Midland	3-2 (11 inn.)	Science & Arts	Aliyah Rincon (24-7)	Sophie Williams (24-8)	-	Science & Arts eliminated
	Game 7	Oregon Tech	4-1	Central Methodist	Kacie Schmidt (27-1)	Haley Cotter (7-1)	-	-
	Game 8	Marian	6-3	Our Lady of the Lake	Olivia Stunkel (25-3)	Cassandra Valdez (28-5)	Sydney Wilson (2)	-
May 27	Game 9	Georgia Gwinnett	9-7	Central Methodist	Alexa Good (12-4)	Haley Cotter (7-2)	Annalise Wood (4)	Central Methodist eliminated
	Game 10	Midland	6-5	Our Lady of the Lake	Aliyah Rincon (25-7)	Angela Ramirez (17-2)	-	Our Lady of the Lake eliminated
	Game 11	Southern Oregon	10-0 (6 inn.)	Oregon Tech	Cayla Williams (22-5)	McKenzie Staub (23-7)	-	-
	Game 12	Cumberlands	9-6	Marian	Talli Burgess (21-0)	Olivia Stunkel (25-4)	Morgan Radford (1)	-
May 29	Game 13	Marian	6-0	Georgia Gwinnett	Sydney Wilson (24-3)	Kailyn Berry (9-5)	-	Georgia Gwinnett eliminated
	Game 14	Oregon Tech	6-0	Midland	Kacie Schmidt (28-1)	Aliyah Rincon (25-8)	-	Midland eliminated
	Game 15	Southern Oregon	9-1 (5 inn.)	Cumberlands	Cayla Williams (23-5)	Talli Burgess (21-1)	-	-
May 30	Game 16	Oregon Tech	8-5	Marian	McKenzie Staub (24-7)	Olivia Stunkel (25-6)	-	Marian eliminated
May 30	Game 17	Oregon Tech	3-0	Cumberlands	Kacie Schmidt (29-1)	Morgan Radford (15-2)	-	Cumberlands eliminated
May 31	Game 18	Southern Oregon	11-0 (5 inn.)	Oregon Tech	Cayla Williams (24-5)	Kacie Schmidt (29-2)	-	Southern Oregon wins NAIA Softball World Series

Championship game

Source:^[5]^[7]

May 31, 2023 - 5:00 p.m. EDT at South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Georgia
Team	1	2	3	4	5	R	H	E
Southern Oregon	5	0	0	0	6	11	13	1
Oregon Tech	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	4
WP: Cayla Williams (24-5) LP: Kacie Schmidt (29-7) Home runs: SOU: Ashton Cathey, Riley Donovan OIT: None Attendance: N/A Time: 1:43 Umpires: HP: Terry Hall, 1B: Antonio Flores, 2B: Brian Soule, 3B: Eric Salgado Notes: Game ended after 5 innings due to 8-run rule Boxscore

All-Tournament Team


Position^[8]	Player	School
P	Morgan Radford	Cumberlands
	Aliyah Rincon	Midland
	Sydney Wilson	Marian
P/1B	Cayla Williams (MVP)	Southern Oregon
2B	Deja Acosta	Southern Oregon
2B	Carly Oliver	Cumberlands
SS	Savannah Harweger	Marian
	Kaila Mick	Oregon Tech
	Madison White	Central Methodist
INF	Lindzie Owen	Georgia Gwinnett
OF	Maggie Buckholz	Oregon Tech
	Makenzie Keatts	Cumberlands
	Sarah Kerling	Southern Oregon
	Abby Madere	Marian
C	Riley Donovan	Southern Oregon

Media coverage

Live-streaming

The Opening Round live streams were produced by the host schools. World Series games from May 25-29 were streamed on the NAIA Network with play-by-play by Jack Kreuzer.

Television

The semifinals and national championship were broadcast on ESPN3, with Kreuzer providing play-by-play. Columbus State University softball coach Brad Huskisson served as the analyst.

Notes

↑ The May 15 games (Games 1 and 2) in the Oklahoma City Bracket were played at Yukon High School in Yukon, OK due to heavy rains that made Ann Lacy Stadium unplayable. The remainder of the tournament was then played at Ann Lacy Stadium.^[3]

References

↑ "Softball National Championship Qualifiers Revealed". NAIA. 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "2023 NAIA Softball Opening Round Schedule | Results". NAIA. 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
↑ "NAIA Championship Opening Round set for Yukon". Oklahoma City University Athletics. May 14, 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
1 2 "NAIA" (PDF). NAIA. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
1 2 3 "2023 NAIA World Series Schedule | Results". NAIA Stats. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
↑ "NAIA" (PDF). NAIA. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
↑ "Southern Oregon vs. Oregon Tech - Box Score - 5/31/2023". NAIA Stats. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
↑ "Southern Oregon Blasts Way to Red Banner". NAIA. 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2023-06-01.

[4] The May 15 games (Games 1 and 2) in the Oklahoma City Bracket were played at Yukon High School in Yukon, OK due to heavy rains that made Ann Lacy Stadium unplayable. The remainder of the tournament was then played at Ann Lacy Stadium.^[3]

[1] "Softball National Championship Qualifiers Revealed". NAIA. 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2023-06-01.

[:0-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "2023 NAIA Softball Opening Round Schedule | Results". NAIA. 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2023-06-01.

[3] "NAIA Championship Opening Round set for Yukon". Oklahoma City University Athletics. May 14, 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2026.

[:1-5] 1 2 "NAIA" (PDF). NAIA. Retrieved 2023-06-01.

[:2-6] 1 2 3 "2023 NAIA World Series Schedule | Results". NAIA Stats. Retrieved 2023-06-01.

[7] "NAIA" (PDF). NAIA. Retrieved 2023-06-01.

[8] "Southern Oregon vs. Oregon Tech - Box Score - 5/31/2023". NAIA Stats. Retrieved 2023-06-01.

[9] "Southern Oregon Blasts Way to Red Banner". NAIA. 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2023-06-01.

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