GULF SHORES, Ala. – Oklahoma City University will begin pursuit of its ninth national championship with a pool-play contest with Mobile (Ala.) at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 19 in the NAIA softball championships at Gulf Shores Sportsplex.
OCU will also play St. Thomas (Fla.) at 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 20 and Azusa Pacific (Calif.) at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 21. The winners of each pool will advance to play in an eight-team double-elimination bracket that will be played out May 23-25.
The Stars (44-12) earned an automatic bid by virtue of winning the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament. OCU, ranked ninth in the final NAIA softball coaches poll, is the all-time championship wins leader with a 99-36 record. The Stars qualified for the national tournament for the 25th time in school history, and for the 19th consecutive year dating back to 1992. OCU has captured eight national softball championships, the most in the NAIA. The Stars won the title in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2007.
Lily LaVelle, a junior from Bridge Creek, Okla., took top honors as the SAC player of the year as well as earning her second-consecutive nod as conference pitcher of the year. She carried a league-leading 0.80 earned run average with 13.95 strikeouts per game en route to a 27-8 record. LaVelle's stellar statistics from the circle rank in the top 10 nationally in seven pitching categories. Offensively, she batted .381 with 47 RBIs and tied for the league lead with 19 home runs. LaVelle leads the Stars in hits (72), runs (63) and home runs (19).
Shortstop Tori Joyner and third baseman Nathalie Timmermans join LaVelle on the SAC first-team. Joyner, a sophomore from Mustang, Okla., hit .381 with 24 RBIs and a team-leading 28 stolen bases. She also earned a gold glove with her .912 fielding percentage on the year. Timmermans, a junior from Oldenzaal, Netherlands, has put together a .414 average, 11 doubles, 17 homers and 61 RBIs. She leads the Stars in batting average, RBIs, walks (27), on-base percentage (.519) and slugging percentage (.822).
Eighth-ranked Azusa Pacific (32-21) earned an at-large bid to make its fourth tournament appearance. Mobile (34-17), ranked 21st in the NAIA, benefits by receiving the tournament host berth. St. Thomas (30-21) enters the field for the first time after netting the Sun Conference Tournament championship.
To view the complete pool-play schedule, click here.
