SOFTBALL: Science & Arts to battle Central Methodist
May 20—The NAIA Softball World Series begins this week.
The sixth-seeded University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma softball team will compete for a national championship again and will first have to face No. 3 Central Methodist University Thursday evening. The Drovers are back in the World Series for the third season in a row.
The two teams will meet in Columbus, Georgia, and both will be looking to start the event off on the right foot. The World Series is double elimination.
Science & Arts
The Drovers enter the World Series as one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 28 games in a row.
Seven of the wins during that streak have come in the postseason, and the Drovers are 7-0 since the end of the regular season. That run includes a 4-0 conference tournament and a 3-0 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round.
After finishing second in the Sooner Athletic Conference during the regular season, Science & Arts won the conference tournament before going 3-0 in the NAIA Opening Round to secure a World Series spot.
The Drovers have the SAC Pitcher of the Year in the circle. Junior Sophie Williams ranks fourth in the country in ERA and strikeouts to go along with being third in wins.
Williams is 27-4 on the season with a .83 ERA.
The Drovers have three players with at least 150 at-bats and a batting average above .400. Those players are Malea McMurtrey (.450), Macenzie Ruth (.434) and Sierra Selfridge (.418).
Science & Arts enters the World Series with a 47-7 record and is looking to avenge a pair of one-run losses in two games during the 2023 World Series. The Drovers' last win in the event came in 2022, and they won three games that season.
CMU
The Eagles took a tougher path to the World Series.
After winning the Heart of America Athletic Conference titles in the regular season and conference tournament, CMU dropped a game in the NAIA Opening Round. The Eagles then won multiple elimination games to secure a spot in the World Series for the second consecutive season.
CMU enters the World Series with a 52-5 record. The Eagles have their conference's Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and Coach of the Year.
The Eagles went 1-2 in last season's World Series.
