-Bryce Hayes, TLU Sports Information
(Salem, Va.) – – The No. 2 ranked and No. 4 seed Texas Lutheran (43-4, 21-0 SCAC) softball team continues its quest for a second national title as the Bulldogs make their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division-III Softball Championship.
The D3 Women’s College World Series begins Thursday as the Bulldogs play the second game of the tourney versus No.5 seed Berry College (34-11, 15-3 SAA) at 1:30 PM EST/12:30 PM CST.
Thursday’s game, as well as all games in the tournament, will be available to stream for free on ncaa.com, and the radio broadcast can be heard on KWED 1580 AM and Seguintoday.com with play-by-play announcer Mike McBride on the call.
This season marks Texas Lutheran’s eighth consecutive appearance in the NCAA postseason, including every year since joining the SCAC in 2014,all under head coach Wade Wilson.
In 2021, the Bulldogs reached their second WCWS in program history, culminating in a runner-up finish in the championship series following their 2019 National Championship victory.
The Bulldogs will be familiar with the complex housed at 1000 Union St. in which the World Series will take place following their trip to Salem last year. Texas Lutheran is 4-2 at Moyer Sports Complex, defeating Tufts, DePauw, and Birmingham-Southern, before taking one out of three games from Virginia Wesleyan in the championship series.
All time, Texas Lutheran is 9-2 under Wade Wilson in the Women’s College World Series.
The No. 2 Bulldogs won the Seguin Super Regional over No. 5 Belhaven in a two-game sweep to punch their ticket to the D-III WCWS. Texas Lutheran won game one, 2-1 in eight innings, before eliminating the Blazers, 6-2, in game two. Madison Johnson, the Super Regional’s Most Outstanding Player, continued her impressive postseason with a 3-for-7 weekend, two runs scored, a double, and a triple. Kelly Jurden continued to solidify her Player of the Year candidacy with a 4-for-8 weekend that saw her finish with one RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base on the weekend.
TLU’s pitching staff of Ashlyn Strother and Sydney Ouellette, the Super Regional’s Most Outstanding Pitcher, shut down the Blazers high-powered offense, surrendering a combined three runs on eight hits. Ouellette picked up the win in both games, including a complete game, four strikeout effort in game two. The battery of Ouellette and Sarah Metzer made the series-clinching out with Ouellette collecting her final strikeout of the afternoon for the final out to send TLU to Salem.
The Bulldogs and Berry Vikings meet for the fourth time, the first time since 2018 where the two teams faced off in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Tucson, Arizona. Berry holds the all-time record over the Bulldogs, 2-1, dropping their 2018 meeting against the Bulldogs.
The Vikings, winners of the Southern Athletic Association, come to Salem after winning the Greencastle, Indiana Regional and Rome, Georgia Super Regional. They hold a 5-0 record in the NCAA Tournament.
The Vikings are led by sophomores catcher Anna Jackson, a 2022 NFCA First Team All-American, 2022 Catcher of the Year and the 2022 SAA Co-Player of the Year, infielder 2022 NFCA All-American Morgan Frye and freshman pitcher Hannah Gore. Jackson is batting .397 with 9 HRs, 42 RBIs, and 25 total extra base hits. Morgan Frye led the SAA with 12 home runs while batting .422 and driving in 40 runs. Gore has quickly established herself as one of the best pitchers in the country as a freshman, holding a 16-1 record with 108 strikeouts and 0.88 ERA.