MARSHALL — Eight teams will start play for the NCAA Division III Softball National Championship on Thursday in Marshall at Jason Bell Park at Taylor Field. Teams from the East Coast, Midwest, South and West Coast will be in East Texas vying for the 2023 national championship trophy.
Teams competing at Bell Park at Taylor Field will be Berry College (Ga.), Christopher Newport University (Va.), Coe College (Ia.), Linfield University (Ore.), Moravian University (Pa.), Rowan University (N.J.), Salisbury University (Md.), and Trine University (Ind.).
There will be four games on Thursday starting at 11 a.m. as Salisbury will face Morvaian. Game two will be Christopher Newport vs. Berry at 1:30 p.m., followed by Linfield and Coe at 4 p.m. The final game of the day is Trine vs. Rowan at 6:30 p.m.
Friday will also feature four games at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Prices for the tournament are $40 for an all-tournament pass for adults and $25 for students and seniors. Daily single session passes are $15 for adults, $10 for student/senior and $5 for a child. Children 2 and under are free.
The game will take place at the campus of East Texas Baptist University. For more information on the championships, go to www.GoETBUTigers.com/ncaachampionship.
Game Info
Thursday
11 a.m.: No. 1 Salisbury vs. No. 8 Moravian
1:30 p.m.: No. 4 Christopher Newport vs. No. 5 Berry College
4:00 p.m.: No. 2 Linfield vs. No. 7 Coe
6:30 p.m.: No. 3 Trine vs. No. 6 Rowan
Teams
Berry College: The Berry Vikings are from Mount Berry, Georgia and making their second appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. They are 41-5 and won the Belton Regional at Mary Hardin-Baylor and the Mount Berry Super Regional to advance to Marshall, Texas. They are coached by Jessica Strong, in her first year with the program. Berry’s 41 wins is a program record. Katie White was the Most Outstanding Player of the Mount Berry Super Regional and Hannah Gore was the MVP of the Belton Regional and the Most Outstanding Pitcher of the Mount Berry Super Regional. Coach Strong was head coach of Seton Hill last season and led the Griffins to the NCAA Divsion II softball final site in 2022.
Christopher Newport: The Captains of Christopher Newport University are from Newport News, Virginia and are the defending National Champions after going 47-1 last season. CNU is making its fourth all-time appearance in the national finals, and have advanced to the finals for the second straight season and the NCAA Tournament for the 16th straight time. They are 31-11 heading into play this week and won the Newport News Regional and Super Regional to advance to Marshall. The Captains are coached by Keith Parr, who is in his 20th season leading Christopher Newport. CNU is led at the plate by junior Brooke Greaver, the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year and in the circle by sophomore Kate Alger, who threw a perfect game in the NCAA regional. The Captains have now won 15 of their last 16 NCAA Tournament games.
Coe College: The Coe College Kohawks are from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and are making their third appearance at the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. They are 37-9 and won the Whitewater Regional and Cedar Rapids Super Regional to advance to Marshall. Coe is coached by Jake Koolbeck and won the American Rivers Conference regular season title with a 13-3 record. Seven players were named all-conference and Koolbeck and his staff were named the coaches of the year. Four Kohawks were named to the all-region team in Whitewter while Hannah Ausenhus and Ruby Kappeler were the most outstanding pitcher and player of the Cedar Rapids Super Regional.
Linfield University: The Linfield University Wildcats are from McMinnville, Oregon and are making their seventh appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. They are 46-4 and won the McMinnville Regional and the McMinnville Super Regional to advance to Marshall. Linfield is coached by Jackson Vaughan, in his 22nd season. Riding a streak of 25 consecutive winning seasons, the Linfield softball program has set the standard of excellence along the West Coast and throughout Division III. Under Coach Vaughan, Linfield has amassed 799 wins, 18 Northwest Conference championships, 11 Conference Tournament titles, 10 Regional titles, two Super Regional championships and two NCAA national crowns in 2007 and 2011.
Moravian University: The Greyhounds are from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and are making their fourth appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. They have a record of 37-10 and won the Medford, Massachusetts Regional and Cambridge, Massachusetts Super Regional to advance to Marshall. They are coached by Josh Baltz, who is in his first season. Moravian had eight players named to the Landmark All-Conference Teams with freshman pitcher/outfielder Sarah DeStefano (de-STEPH-a-no) selected as the Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year, and she was the Most Outstanding Player at the Medford Regional. Sophomore Madi Cunningham was honored as the Most Outstanding Pitcher and sophomore Sage Snyder was the Most Outstanding Player at the Cambridge Super Regional. The Greyhounds won their 10th Landmark Conference title this season and have won two-thirds of the Landmark Conference Championships since the conference began in 2007-08.
Rowan University: The Rowan University Profs are from Glassboro, New Jersey and are making their seventh NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament appearance. They are 41-8 and won the Marietta Regional and the Ashland Super Regional to advance to Marshall. The Profs are coached by Kim Wilson in her 27th season. The 2023 NFCA Hall of Fame Inductee has led Rowan to eight New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships and 19 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Profs Rylee Lutz earned the NJAC Pitcher of the Year honors as well as the Most Outstanding Pitcher of the Ashland Super Regional. Lutz, Korie Hague, Payton MacNair, Cat Thomas, Liz McCaffery and McKenzie Melvin were all chosen all-conference and NFCA All-Region. MacNair was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the Ashland Super Regional.
Salisbury University: The Salisbury University Sea Gulls are from Salisbury, Maryland and making their 11th appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. They are 44-3 and won the Salisbury Regional and Super Regional to advance to Marshall. The Sea Gulls are coached by third-year head coach Lacey Lord, who is making her third NCAA appearance as head coach and recently won her 100th game at SU during the 2023 season. The Sea Gulls totaled 15 All-Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference honors after the regular season, including C2C Pitcher of the Year Lindsey Windsor, C2C Rookie of the Year Sam Flowers and C2C Scholar-Athlete of the Year Natalie Paoli. SU also had seven NFCA All-Region awards with Windsor, Paoli, Abby Mace, Emily Stockman, Lauren Meyers, Carrie Jacoby and Maddison Lednum.
Trine University: The Trine University Thunder are from Angola, Indiana and are making their fifth appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. They are 5-0 this postseason and won the Angola, Indiana, Regional and Super Regional to advance to Marshall. They have an overall record of 40-4 and are coached by Don Danklefsen. The Thunder finished last season as national runners-up and planned to return to this stage from the start. Along the way they have accumulated 10 conference athlete of the week honors, one NFCA athlete of the week, six All-MIAA selections, the conference’s most outstanding pitcher and six NFCA All-Region selections. The team entered the postseason with one of the best pitching staffs in the nation boasting top-three tallies in ERA, WHIP and Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio while also boasting a potent offense with top-10 tallies in slugging percentage, home runs per game and scoring.