DENVER – MSU Denver's Regency Athletic Complex is set to play host to the 2019 NCAA Division II Softball Championship.
The eight-team tournament will be played Thursday through Monday and features regional champions from around the country.
Thursday's first-round matchups include: No. 1 seed LIU-Post (N.Y.) vs. No. 8 Young Harris (Ga.) at 11 a.m.; No. 4 Texas A&M-Kingsville vs. No. 5 Grand Valley State (Mich.) at 1:30 p.m.; No. 2 West Florida vs. No. 7 West Chester (Pa.) at 4 p.m.; and No. 3 Augustana (S.D.) vs. No. 6 UC San Diego at 6:30 p.m.
The field is divided into two four-team brackets. Through a double-elimination format, each bracket will produce one of the championship series finalists. Then the best-of-3 championship series will be played Sunday and Monday, with the third game – if necessary – also set for Monday.
MSU Denver is playing host to the national championship for the first time since 2016. The national championship will also be held at the Regency Athletic Complex in both 2021 and 2022.
West Florida enters the tournament as the highest-ranked team remaining from the final regular-season coaches' poll at No. 2. Texas A&M-Kingsville entered the postseason ranked No. 3 by the National Fastpitch Coaches' Association, while Grand Valley State was No. 7, UC San Diego was No. 14, Augustana was 15
th and LIU-Post was 23
rd.
West Chester is the only team to make it to the field of eight for a second consecutive season.
A capsule look at each team in the field:
No. 1 LIU-Post (N.Y.)
The Pioneers (51-11) are making their fifth trip to the national championship series after defeating defending national runnerup Saint Anselm (N.H.) in three games in the East Super Regional.
Julia Seader is batting .453 with a nation-leading 21 homers and 63 RBIs (ninth in Division II), and has 91 hits (fifth in the country) to lead the offense, while pitchers Hannah Olshevski (25-6, 1.94 ERA) and Katie Humhej (26-5, 1.99) have posted nearly identical numbers in the circle while ranked 12
th and eighth, respectively, in wins.
LIU-Post ranks 12
th nationally with 1.11 homers per game, and 15
th with a 1.93 team ERA.
No. 2 West Florida
The Argonauts (53-9) are making their fourth trip to the national championship series after posting two come-from-behind wins against fourth-ranked Florida Tech in the South Super Regional.
Teala Howard leads the offense with a .470 batting average that ranks ninth in the country, and she's also third nationally with 95 hits. In the circle, Kelsey Sweatt is 19-3 with a 1.54 ERA, Grace Gilbert is 24-4 with a 1.73 ERA and Tori Perkins is 10-2 with a 2.21 ERA.
West Florida has played 27 games against NCAA Tournament teams this season, going 20-7. The Argonauts are 11
th nationally with a 1.77 ERA and eighth with 18 shutouts.
No. 3 Augustana (S.D.)
The Vikings (56-10) are making their fifth trip to the Division II field of eight and first since 2012 after beating top-ranked Central Oklahoma 13-5 and 7-6 in the Central Super Regional. Augustana was the national champion in 1991.
Maggie Kadrlik is batting .439 and ranks seventh nationally with 17 homers and third with 68 RBIs, while Shannon Petersen (65 RBIs) adds pop to an offense that ranks third in Division II in batting average (.352) and slugging percentage (.579) and fifth in homers per game (1.29).
In the circle, Amber Elliott is 19-4 with a 1.73 ERA and Ashley Mickschl is 26-5, 1.82, while Olivia Wolters usually appears in relief and has gone 10-1 with a 1.77 ERA and has six saves (tied for third nationally). The Vikings are fifth nationally with 21 shutouts.
No. 4 Texas A&M-Kingsville
The Javelinas (48-8) are making their first trip to the Division II College World Series after emerging from the South Central Super Regional with back-to-back wins over Cameron (Okla.) after losing the opener of the best-of-3 series.
Anastasia Leibas leads the offense with a .405 average, 12 homers and 58 RBIs, while the pitching staff is paced by Brenna Smith (20-3, 1.84) and Saidi Castillo (25-4, 2.07).
Texas A&M-Kingsville is seventh nationally with 19 shutouts and 20
th with a 2.03 ERA.
No. 5 Grand Valley State (Mich.)
The Lakers (49-8) are appearing at the World Series for the fourth time, including the second time in four seasons, after sweeping Indianapolis in the Midwest Super Regional.
Pitcher Alison Lipovsky, who struck out 18 in the clinching victory, is 31-2 with an 0.84 ERA and a nation-leading 326 strikeouts in 224 innings. She also leads the country with 17 shutouts. Meanwhile, Nikoma Holmen (.389) and Lydia Goble (.365) each have 62 RBIs to lead the Laker offense.
Grand Valley State pitchers are second in the country in shutouts (22), fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.6) and eighth in ERA (1.65), while the offense possesses a .331 team batting average that ranks 16
th.
No. 6 UC San Diego
The Tritons (37-15) swept Concordia (Calif.) to win the West Super Regional to advance to the field of eight for the NCAA Softball Championship.
Keila Bosinger leads the offense with a .383 average, six homers and 30 RBIs, while Robyn Wampler is 24-7 with a 1.85 ERA and handles the majority of the Tritons' pitching duties.
No. 7 West Chester (Pa.)
The Golden Rams (39-20) are making their second straight trip, and third overall, to the national championship portion of the tournament after defeating Shepherd (W.V.) in three games in the Atlantic Super Regional.
Heidi McCollister (.377) is second nationally with 70 RBIs, while Emily Maseth leads the team with a .398 average. Reilly Gearhart (17-8, 2.24 ERA) leads the pitching staff.
Among teams in the championship, only Augustana, Grand Valley State and LIU-Post score more runs than West Chester (5.8 per game).
No. 8 Young Harris (Ga.)
The Mountain Lions (42-18) have reached the field of eight for the first time after defeating Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) in the Southeast Super Regional.
Pitcher Nikkie Kovalsky is 28-11 with a 1.85 ERA to rank fifth in the country in wins, while Emily Harris leads the offense with a .358 average and Jill Torres has a team-best 51 RBIs.
Young Harris is 17
th in the country with 15 shutouts.
