Rio Grande draws Aquinas in NAIA Championship opener

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande will square off with Aquinas (Mich.) College in the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round's Indianapolis Bracket.
     The RedStorm and the Saints will meet on Monday, May 13, in the tournament's 11 a.m. opener at the Marian University Softball Field in Indianapolis, Ind.
     Rio Grande (34-17), which went 5-0 last weekend en route to claiming its first River States Conference Tournament championship since 2021, is seeded fifth in the five-team, double-elimination bracket.
     Aquinas (40-12), which earned its spot in the national tournament as the tournament runner-up in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, is the No. 4 seed in the bracket.
     The Rio Grande-Aquinas winner will face the top seed in the bracket, host Marian University, on Tuesday, May 14, at 11 a.m.
     The Rio-Aquinas loser will face the loser of Monday's second game between No. 2 seed Southern Oregon and third-seeded Middle Georgia State on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.
     Rio Grande (34-17) is back in the national tournament after having a streak of seven consecutive Opening Round appearances snapped last season.
     Head coach Chris Hammond's squad is led offensively by senior shortstop Caitlyn Brisker (Oak Hill, OH), who is hitting .420 with 17 doubles, a team-high seven triples, three home runs and 25 runs batted in. She also has a team-best 27 stolen bases.
     Junior outfielder Madison Ogden (Williamsburg, OH) is hitting .400 with a team-high 18 doubles to go along with five home runs and 30 RBI, while sophomore outfielder Kayla Sedgwick (Richwood, OH) checks in at .360 with 11 doubles and 28 RBI.
     Sophomore first baseman Gabby Adams (Grove City, OH) is fourth among team regulars with a .358 batting average. She also has a team-high seven home runs and 37 RBI to go along with 13 doubles.
     Ogden is also the club's top pitcher with a 17-8 record, three saves and a 1.26 earned run average. She has struck out 242 batters in 171-2/3 innings and figured in all five wins at the RSC Championship (three wins, two saves).
     Ogden, Brisker and Sedgwick were all first team All-RSC selections and Adams was named to the All-RSC second team. Ogden was also named the RSC Newcomer of the Year.
     Aquinas, who along with Rio are the only unranked teams in the pod, is making its fourth appearance in the national tourney.
     Head coach Brad Koch's team is led by a quartet of second team All-WHAC selections and has recorded 138 stolen bases in 160 attempts.
     Heading the list of superlatives for the Saints is freshman shortstop Katie Carlson (.345, 7 HR, 33 RBI), senior second baseman Haley Myers (.337, 4 HR, 24 RBI, 20 SB) senior catcher Courtney Hardin (.314, 18 2B, 2 HR, 30 RBI), junior pitcher Sophia Pavese (16-4, 2.55 ERA, 126.1 IP, 119 H, 33 BB, 69K) and senior pitcher Grace Maguire (15-6, 2.75 ERA, 150.0 IP, 159 H, 43 BB, 82 K).
     Top-seeded Marian, which was ranked No. 8 nationally in the final regular season NAIA coaches' Top 25 poll, brings a 44-10 record into the tournament after defeated Indiana Wesleyan University in the championship game of the Crossroads League Championship.
     Head coach Scott Fleming's team had six first team all-conference selections and Fleming was named the league's Coach of the Year.
     The Knights had the Crossroads' Newcomer of the Year in freshman OF/C Abbey Hofmann (.370, 9 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 31 RB, 23-23 SB) and the conference Pitcher of the Year in junior Olivia Stunkel (26-2, 1.42 ERA, 124 K in 157.1 IP).
     Marian's lineup also features graduate senior shortstop Savannah Harweger (.489 5 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 49 RBI, 36-38 SB), sophomore outfielder Abby Madere (.410, 23 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 74 RBI), junior C/OF Grace Meyer (.403, 17 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 31 RBI), senior first baseman Sierra Norman (.378, 5 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 56 RBI) and freshman P/1B Macy Coan (10-4, 2.73 ERA).
     Southern Oregon University is the No. 2 seed in the pod and is ranked 17th nationally. The Raiders (37-17) finished as the runner-up in the powerful Cascade Collegiate Conference.
     Head coach Jessica Pistole's squad is making its eighth straight national tourney appearance.
     The Raiders are not only the defending national champion, but they've won three of the last four national tournaments that were played (no tournament in 2020 due to COVID-19).
     SOU is led by a trio of All-CCC first team honorees, including senior infielder Jordan Henderson (.378, 6 HR, 15 2B, 34 RBI), junior IF/C Piper Love (.377, 5 HR, 14 2B, 1 3B, 36 RBI) and senior pitcher Katie Machado (22-5, 1.80 ERA, 4 SV, 190.1 IP, 179 H, 43 BB, 130 K).
     The Raiders' gauntlet of stars also includes senior infielder Hannah Clavelle (.359, 6 HR, 13 2B, 41 RBI), junior P/IF Kila Kennedy (.373, 6 HR, 26 RBI), junior outfielder Faith Moultrie (.347, 6 3B, 28 SB), junior IF/OF Hailey Seva (.338, 11 2B, 6 3B, 4 HR, 32 RBI), junior outfielder Kailer Fulton (32 SB) and junior P/IF Mayze Menefee (11-6, 2.51 ERA).
     The final team in the bracket is third-seeded Middle Georgia State University, which brings a 33-14 record into the tourney after losing to William Carey (Miss.) in the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Championship.
     Senior pitcher Beth Eddins (12-8, 1.71 ERA, 135 IP) and senior infielder Morgan Windham (.405, 25 RBI, 17 SB) were both First Team All-SSAC picks for interim head coach Randi Wimpy's team was ranked 24th in the final coaches' poll.
     Senior IF/P Madisyn Riggins is a two-way threat for the Knights, posting a 13-2 record and 1.77 ERA as pitcher to go along with a .301 batting average, 11 doubles and 17 stolen bases offensively.
     Other players to watch include senior Alexis Colegrove, who is batting .321 with three home runs and 29 runs batted in, as well as senior Summer Lawrence who - despite batting just .233, has four homers, three triples, 30 RBI and 13 stolen bases.
     Three more games are scheduled for Wednesday, May 16 and at least one - and possibly two - games set for Thursday, May 16.
     The winner of the bracket - one of 10 taking place across the country - will advance to the 43rd NAIA Softball World Series, which is set for May 23-29 in Columbus, Ga.