DENVER – No. 5 seed Rogers State softball (53-10) opens up the 2022 NCAA Division II Softball Championships on Thursday, May 26 against No. 4 seed Southern Indiana (49-11) at The Assembly Athletic Complex at 2:30 p.m. CT.
This will be first ever meeting between the Hillcats and Screaming Eagles. Both teams arrive in Denver as the No. 1 seed from their respective regions and are two of five total No. 1 seeds in the field, with three on their side of the bracket including UT Tyler.
RSU punched its ticket to the Softball Championships after sweeping No. 2 seed Central Oklahoma in the super regionals. The Hillcats captured game one of the series in a 3-1 game and took game two from the Bronchos in a 12-1 game in five innings. This was RSU's first regional championship in school history and first berth to the Championship round.
USI won its third Midwest Regional Championship over Grand Valley State 2-1 and 3-2 in a series series sweep. Historically, the Eagles are 6-0 all-time in the super regional round. This is USI's first trip to the World Series since 2019 and is their 10th trip in program history, including winning the national championship in 2018. They are 29-18 all-time in the championship round and 28-14 under current head coach Sue Kunkle.
The Hillcats are led in the circle by MIAA Pitcher of the Year Andrea Morales who carries a 1.10 ERA and a 34-4 record. The El Paso, Texas native holds every major pitching record in program history and is one of only two active Division II pitchers with over a 100 career wins and 1,000 career strikeouts (the other is Minnesota State's MacKenzie Ward).
Offensively, RSU has four batters hitting over .300, with Elexis Watson leading the team with a .344 average and a team-high 14 home runs. MIAA Freshman of the Year Abbey Rogers is the team's top run producer with a team-high 47 RBI. The Hillcats also get solid offensive production out of Makayla Bowman (.310 AVG, 38 RBI, 11 HR), Chelsea Spain (.259 AVG, 38 RBI, 10 HR) and Bridgett Morales (.328 AVG, 28 RBI, 7 HR).
For USI, they are led by two outstanding pitchers in Josie Newman and Allie Goodin. A finalist for the NFCA/Schutt Sports Division II Freshman of the Year, Newman brings a 1.79 ERA and a 17-3 record into the game with 185 strikeouts and only 45 walks in 141.0 innings this season. A D2CCA and NFCA Second Team Pitcher, Goodin carries a 1.83 ERA and a 16-3 record into the game with 95 strikeouts and only 39 walks in 137.1 innings pitched.
At the plate, the Eagles have seven batters hitting over .300, with Katie Back leading the way with a .397 average and 12 extra base hits in 131 at-bats. Lexi Fair is USI's top run producer hitting .390 with a team-high 54 RBI and 11 home runs. They will also look for offense out of Allie Gooden (.353 AVG, 36 RBI, 8 HR), Rachel Martinez (.318 AVG, 34 RBI, 3 HR), Jordan Rager (.300 AVG, 34 RBI, 4 HR) and Kennedy Nalley (.297 AVG, 34 RBI, 4 HR).
The opening game of the NCAA Division II Softball Championships will be streamed live on NCAA.com. Fans can also catch the game on KRSC 91.3 FM and RSURadio.com with Josh Haley on the call.
