COLUMBUS, Ga. - The Oklahoma City softball team is set to compete in the 43rd annual NAIA Softball World Series on May 23-29 at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Ga.
The World Series is a 10-team, double-elimination tournament where the winner will be crowned on May 29th as Oklahoma City enters play with the most National Titles among the teams competing.
The Oklahoma City Stars softball team will be making its 35th appearance in the NAIA World Series on Friday and will be searching for its 12th National Championship and second in the last three years.
After falling in the opening round a season ago, the Stars are back in the World Series for the first time since 2022 where they defeated Mobile (Ala.) to win the 11th title in program history.
Oklahoma City earned its way to Columbus after winning the regular season Sooner Athletic Conference Championship before winning three games in the Opening Round held at Ann Lacy Stadium where the Stars outscored its three opponents 22-1.
The Stars will begin play against the seventh seeded Jessup Warriors out of Rockland, Calif. and the GSAC Conference who will be making its first appearance in the NAIA World Series in program history. The Warriors defeated Southern Oregon 5-4 on Thursday setting up a matchup with Oklahoma City.
OCU enters tournament play with five players in the starting lineup batting north of .400 with
Baileigh Loux leading the way having a batting average of .524 along with an OPS of 1.440. Loux comes in with a six-game hitting streak while leading the team with 88 hits on the year.
Senior
Kamryn Garvie comes in second in the country in runs batted in with 72 this season while also leading the Stars with 15 home runs ranking fourth in the NAIA.
Kaitlyn Jones comes off a big 3-for-4 game with three RBI against Ottawa (Kan.) in the Opening Round Championship Game as the senior shortstop will be looking to add a second ring to her finger after being apart of the 2022 national championship team. Jones enters with the second-best average on the team at .441 while also sitting second in hits with 78.
Sooner Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year
Emersen Heron has been a major addition to the Stars roster with a team-leading 22 doubles and ranks second on the team with 13 homers. Heron also makes a large impact inside the circle by posting a 0.85 ERA with a perfect 25-0 record this season.
The 2022 World Series MVP
Shelbey Cornelson returns for one last ride in the National Tournament as the senior right-hander posted an ERA of 1.07 with a 25-3 record. Cornelson tossed 12 shutouts and 22 complete games in 2024 while earning a collection of accolades this season including her 100th career victory to become OCU's second winningest pitcher while making first-team all-conference for the third time in her career.
The Stars will play their first game on Friday, May 24 at 4 PM (ET).
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