SOFTBALL: Drovers go unbeaten in Opening Round, advance to World Series
May 18—The Drovers are heading to Georgia.
The University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma softball team's 2023 campaign has not been an easy one. Between being a young team and fighting through injuries, the Drovers have had to battle all season long.
But the battling and the fighting turned out to be worth it in the end.
In a season with some ups and some downs, what the Drovers were able to do Tuesday and Wednesday can only be seen as one of the ups. As a No. 1 seed in the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round in Chickasha, Science & Arts went 3-0 to secure its spot in the NAIA Softball World Series.
"I'm just so proud of them," head coach Jadyn Wallis said. "It almost feels surreal, but it's an expectation of the program."
Science & Arts entered the national tournament playing well at the right time of the season. The Drovers had won 10 games in a row before going 3-0 to extend their win streak to 13 games.
The Drovers defeated No. 4 Avila University 4-0 to begin their run through the tournament and then faced the team that knocked them out of the World Series a season ago. And they avenged a pair of losses by earning wins of 3-2 and 1-0 over the University of Mobile to secure their spot in the World Series.
Science & Arts sophomore pitcher Sophie Williams threw every pitch during the tournament and earned every win.
Mobile
Science & Arts' second win against Mobile sent the Drovers to the World Series. And it only took one run behind a two-hit shutout performance from Williams in the circle.
That one run came in the top of the fourth inning.
Jaclyn Gray led off the inning with a double before Sierra Selfridge was able to move her over to third base. With one out, a freshman stepped up.
Taygan Graham came to the plate and hit an RBI single that turned out to be all the scoring the team needed.
Mobile managed to get a hit in the second inning but did not get another hit until the seventh inning in an attempt to rally. But a pop fly with two outs ended the game and sent the confetti flying in celebration.
Prior to the 1-0 win, Science & Arts and Mobile met on Tuesday to decide which team would only need one win on Wednesday. And they needed extra innings to decide the winner.
The Drovers took an early 1-0 lead before Mobile grabbed a 2-1 advantage in the top half of the third inning.
But the Drovers responded and tied the game in the third inning on a sacrifice fly from Jaycee Kievit to make the score 2-2. And that 2-2 score remained the same until the bottom of the ninth.
Malea McMurtrey opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, and the inning culminated in a walk-off sacrifice fly from Gray.
Avila
The Drovers took a 1-0 lead over Avila in the bottom of the third. They added three more runs in the fifth inning to take a 4-0 lead and were able to keep Avila scoreless.
Next Up
The Drovers now head to Columbus, Georgia, and they will begin their run at the World Series on May 25.
Science & Arts is the No. 6 seed in the bracket, and the Drovers will face No. 3 University of the Cumberlands. The Drovers enter the World Series with a 42-13 record on the season.
Science & Arts is back in the World Series for the second season in a row. The Drovers have now advanced to four of the last five World Series and won the title in 2018.
