NAIA Softball Pairings Announced

The Asbury College softball team will open pool play at the NAIA National Championship in Decatur, Alabama against the defending national champions from Lubbock Christian (Tx.) on Thursday, May 14 at 9:00 a.m. CST. 

Asbury (24-12, 13-6 KIAC) qualified after beating Indiana Southeast on Saturday at home in the KIAC Championship 4-2.  This is the first year back for the softball program after a five year absence.  Head Coach Larry McCullough has led the Eagles to the most wins in school history this year.

The Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps (51-5, 20-4 SAC) qualified as an at-large team after Oklahoma City was named Sooner Athletic Conference champion after rain interrupted the tournament.  The Lady Chaps went 4-0 in pool play last year and won the double-elimination tournament after beating Mobile (Ala.) twice 4-3 and 2-1.  Lubbock Christian was founded in 1957 and located in Lubbock, Texas with an enrollment of approximately 2,000 students. 

Asbury will also play Shorter College (Ga.) and Morningside College (Iowa) in pool play.  The game against Shorter will be played Friday, May 15 at 5:00 p.m. and the final game of pool play against Morningside will be Saturday, May 16 at 5:30 p.m.

The NAIA Softball National Championship is a 32 team tournament consisting of pool play and a double-elimination tournament.  Pool play will be held Thursday-Saturday May 14-16 with the winners of each pool advancing to the eight team double-elimination tournament.  The tournament will begin Monday, May 18 and conclude with the championship game Wednesday, May 20.

All games will be held at the Wilson Morgan Softball Complex in Decatur, Alabama.  For more information regarding Lubbock Christian please visit their site here.  For more information on the NAIA Softball Championship including Live Stats of the games please visit their site here.

Below is a list of hotels in the Decatur area.

Country Inn & Suites (256-355-6800)

Holiday Inn (256-355-3150)

Microtel Inn (256-301-9995)

Comfort Inn and Suites (256-355-1999)

Courtyard by Marriott (256-355-4446)

Hampton Inn (256-355-5888)

Jameson Inn (256-355-2229)

Best Western (256-301-1398)

Comfort Inn-Priceville (256-355-1037)

Home Town Suites (256-308-0811)