After missing the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament last year, the OLLU softball team came back this year with an unmatched determination to capture its first-ever Red River Athletic Conference Regular Season and Championship Tournament crowns. The Saints were named the conference’s best after dismantling Langston University 10-1 in five innings on Saturday. The Saints shut out the Lady Lions 8-0 in six innings to start the tournament on Friday and then went on to blank the Bacone Warriors 4-0 to close out the competitions on Friday.

With the win, the Saints have qualified for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Softball National Championship Opening Round. The bracket and pairings for the 40-team softball national championship opening round tournament will be announced at 7 p.m. CDT on May 6. The softball opening rounds will be contested from May 12-14 at 10 various sites with four teams playing in a double-elimination format at each location. After the opening rounds, the qualifying teams will move on to play May 23-29 at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Georgia.

Late on Friday, the conference announced the All-Conference Team and individual award-winners. Those selected from OLLU include: Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year: Katrisha Arocha; All-Conference: Katrisha Arocha, Larissa Gutierrez, Amanda Hinojosa, Ashley Perez, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Brittany Stone; Champions of Character Team: Brittany Stone. Read full article online.