Weekly Notes | Davenport Athletics Network | Opening Round Tournament Page | Tournament Program

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Davenport University is one of ten NAIA Softball Opening Round hosts and the No. 22 ranked Panthers will get the action started on Monday at Noon when they take on William Woods (Mo.). The 3 p.m. game will feature the Davenport Bracket's top-seed Olivet Nazarene as they take on Huntington University. DU and WWU will be meeting for the first time and are both making their second straight Opening Round appearance. Scott Olsen and Jeremy Otto will have the call live on the Davenport Athletics Network.
 
Scouting William Woods (39-15, 20-2 AMC)
Date: Monday, May 12, 2014
First Pitch: Noon. EST
Location: Farmers Athletic Complex
Live Links: Live Video/Audio/Stats

Second seeded William Woods will be making their second ever appearance in the NAIA Opening Round as they went 0-2 in 2013 at the Belhaven (Miss.) bracket. The Owls reached the 2014 tournament thanks to winning the American Midwest Conference (AMC) regular season in which they finished 20-2. Head coach Tracy Gastineau and her team boasts an overall record of 39-15 heading into their matchup with Davenport.
 
Looking at Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
Top-seed Olivet Nazarene is ranked No. 4 in the country and is arguably the hottest team in the nation as the Tigers boast an overall record of 46-3-1 while their only losses are to No. 8 Saint Xavier (Ill.), then No. 22 Park (Mo.) and Concordia University (Neb.). Head coach Ritchie Richardson and the Tigers got to the tournament thanks to winning the Chicagoland College Athletic Conference (CCAC) postseason tourney.
 
Looking at Huntington (Ind.)
The fourth seed will be Huntington University as the Foresters will be the only team not ranked inside the final NAIA Top-25 Poll at the Davenport Bracket. Head coach Doug Gower and his Foresters are making their first ever Opening Round appearance as they qualified for the 4-team tourney thanks to finishing runner-up at the Crossroads League postseason tournament. HU will bring an overall record of 31-21 into the Opening Round game against Olivet Nazarene.
 
History in NAIA National Tournament
The Panthers are making their third ever appearance at the NAIA National Tournament and they hold a 1-5 overall record in the two previous trips. DU went 0-3 in their first appearance back in 2011 when all teams traveled to one site and it was hosted in Gulf Shores, Ala. Then last season, the first year of the Opening Round, DU went 1-2 at the Lindsey Wilson Bracket with both losses coming against the host  Blue Raiders. DU did post their first ever national tourney win over Grand View (7-1).

Softball Contact: Aaron Sagraves | 616-554-5045 | asagraves@davenport.edu
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