Kayla Dreese of the softball team has been named to the Academic All-District Softball Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The program recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution. Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s games at their positions. No student-athletes are eligible until they have completed one full calendar year at their current institution and have reached sophomore athletic eligibility.
Dreese will advance to the national ballot after receiving First Team honors. Recipients of those awards will be announced at a later date.
Dreese is a senior from San Antonio and a graduate of Madison High School. Last week, she received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing with a 3.66 cumulative GPA.
OLLU competes in this awards program as part of District 4, College Division, which includes schools from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and Canada.
The softball team makes its second trip to nationals in program history after winning the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) regular-season title. The Saints finished with a top overall record of 23-5 in the conference to receive an automatic bid. The ninth annual National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Opening Round Softball bracket was announced on May 10.
OLLU first qualified for nationals in 2014 after capturing the RRAC regular-season (18-2) and tournament titles. The Saints played Oklahoma Baptist University and Ottawa University in the opening round of nationals and lost both games finishing the season with an overall 39-12-1 record.
The Opening Round will take place May 16-18 in Gulf Shores, Ala., at the Gulf Shores Athletic Complex and hosted by the University of Mobile. The No. 3 seed Saints (44-11) are set to face No. 2 seed College of Coastal Georgia (38-12) from Brunswick, Ga., at 11 a.m. on May 16 for the first game of the Opening Round in the Gulf Shores Bracket. The Mariners are making their second appearance in the NAIA Opening Round. They made their first trip last season and failed to make the NAIA World Series after going 2-2 in their bracket.
No. 1 seed Mobile will face No. 4-seed Valley City State University on May 16 at 1 p.m. for the second game. On Tuesday, May 17, the winner of game one will play the winner of game two at 11 a.m. for the third game of the bracket. The loser of game one will play the loser of game two at 1 p.m. for the fourth game. Finally, the loser of game three will play the winner of game four at 3 p.m. for the fifth game On Wednesday, the winner of game three will play the winner of game five for the championship game at 11 a.m. A seventh game will be played if necessary 30 minutes after the sixth game.
OLLU finished as the No. 17-ranked team in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Final Poll. Coastal Georgia was voted in the 16th position. Mobile is the No. 1 team in the poll and Valley City State is unranked.
The winner of the Gulf Shores Bracket will advance to the NAIA World Series that will take place at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Ga., from May 26-June 1.
Head Coach Bruce Lenington, awarded RRAC Coach of the Year, commented, “No. 16-ranked Coastal Georgia is a team that has enjoyed much success this year. It will take one of our most complete games to beat them.”
This year’s Opening Round field consists of 33 automatic qualifiers – given to conference regular-season champions, tournament champions or tournament runners-up – and seven at-large teams. Conferences with 10-or-more members receive two automatic qualifiers, while leagues with less than 10 get one. At-large teams were determined by the NAIA Softball National Selection Committee (NSC). The NSC consists of one representative from each geographic area, a representative from the National Administrative Council, a member of the NAIA-Softball Coaches Association Executive Committee and three at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
OLLU claimed the RRAC regular season title with a 23-5 conference mark. The Saints owned the nation’s second-largest winning streak from March 18-April 23. OLLU held opponents scoreless 13 times during the 24-game run and had a total of 17 shutouts – a tie for the most shutouts in program history. Cassandra Valdez (JR/Brownsville, Texas) was awarded RRAC Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year. Rebecca Duran (SR/Austin, Texas) earned Newcomer of the Year while Madison Nunn (SR/Cibolo, Texas) garnered Defensive Player of the Year. Valdez leads the Saints with a 1.58 ERA and averages 8.54 strikeouts per seven innings. Duran has a team-leading 10 sacrifice hits and Nunn committed only two fielding errors in 50 games played.
Kayla Dreese (SR/San Antonio, Texas) leads OLLU with a .441 batting average. Ariel Montgomery (SR/Castroville, Texas) tops the charts with 49 RBIs and Caitlin Terrazas (SR/Atascosa, Texas) has 14 doubles. The Saints rank fourth in the league with 58 home runs, 175 extra base hits and 787 total bases. They also have 366 runs scored, which is top-10 in the league.
The NAIA’s No. 16-ranked Mariners are 19th in the NAIA with 92 doubles. Hayley Dickerson leads the team with a 2.06 ERA. Sarah Thinger has a team-leading .396 batting average and 29 walks. The Mariners were eliminated from The Sun Conference (TSC) postseason tournament after falling in the consolation bracket and losing twice overall. Coastal Georgia won 13 straight games from Feb. 20-March 22.
Opening Round Notes
Overall, there are 23 repeat qualifiers from the 2021 opening round, including six teams that won opening round titles last season – College of Idaho, Madonna, Olivet Nazarene, Oregon Tech, Ottawa and Southern Oregon.
Indiana Wesleyan is the lone team in the field with 50 or more wins at 50-8 overall. Freed-Hardeman has the next highest win total at 48-3.
Lindsey Wilson and Oklahoma City are back in the field for the ninth time, which leads the field. These two clubs are the only NAIA teams to have participated in every event since the format was established in 2013.
There are six newcomers to the opening round in this year’s field in Embry-Riddle, Michigan-Dearborn, Mount Marty, Saint Mary of the Woods, Texas A&M Texarkana and William Jessup.
Oklahoma City has the honor of the most opening-round championships with six. Twenty teams in the 2022 field have at least one opening round championship to their credit.
The Cascade Collegiate Conference leads all leagues with four teams in the 2022 field. The Crossroads League, Mid-South Conference and The Sun Conference followed with three each.
All-Time Opening Round Record by Seed
No. 1-Seed: 190-75 (.712)
No. 2 seed: 148-132 (.529)
No. 3 seed: 97-143 (.404)
No. 4 seed: 57-146 (.281)
All-Time Opening Round Host Records
2013 Hosts: 24-12 (.667)
2014 Hosts: 27-7 (.794)
2015 Hosts: 27-9 (.750)
2016 Hosts: 22-11 (.667)
2017 Hosts: 18-13 (.581)
2018 Hosts: 16-8 (.667)
2019 Hosts: 20-6 (.762)
2020 Hosts: 11-16 (.407)
TOTAL: 165-82 (.668)
2022 NAIA Opening Round Qualifiers
Institution
Qualifying Method
2022 Record
Last Time
Appearances
Opening Round Record
OR Titles
Bryan (Tenn.)
Appalachian Regular Season Champion
30-16
2014
2
2-1
0
Campbellsville (Ky.)
At-Large
37-16
2021
7
11-11
1
Central Methodist (Mo.)
Heart Regular Season/Tournament Champion
40-5
2021
7
14-10
1
Coastal Georgia
At-Large
38-12
2021
2
2-2
0
College of Idaho
Cascade Tournament Runner-Up
41-15
2021
4
8-5
1
Columbia (Mo.)
AMC Regular Season/Tournament Champion
33-10
2021
7
10-8
1
Cottey (Mo.)
Continental Tournament Runner-Up
30-15
2021
2
0-2
0
Eastern Oregon
At-Large
41-15
2018
3
0-4
0
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
Cal Pac Tournament Champion
40-3
N/A
1
0-0
0
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
Mid-South Tournament Champion
48-3
2021
5
7-2
0
Friends (Kan.)
KCAC Tournament Champion
30-19
2019
5
1-8
0
Georgia Gwinnett
Continental Tournament Champion
35-18
2021
7
13-9
1
Grand View (Iowa)
Heart Regular Season Runner-Up
42-9
2021
8
7-12
0
Indiana Wesleyan
Crossroads Regular Season/Tournament Champion
50-8
2021
7
10-9
1
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Mid-South Tournament Runner-Up
38-15
2021
9
15-11
3
Madonna (Mich.)
WHAC Regular Season Champion
31-7
2021
6
10-9
0
Marian (Ind.)
At-Large
40-11
2021
8
14-8
3
Michigan-Dearborn
WHAC Tournament Champion
30-11
N/A
1
0-0
0
Midland (Neb.)
GPAC Regular Season Champion
36-10
2021
4
4-6
0
Mobile (Ala.)
SSAC Tournament Champion
46-2
2019
5
12-3
2
Mount Marty (S.D.)
GPAC Tournament Champion
32-14
N/A
1
0-0
0
Oklahoma City
Sooner Tournament Champion
47-6
2021
9
22-5
6
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
Chicagoland Tournament Runner-Up
33-13-1
2021
7
12-8
1
Oregon Tech
Cascade Regular Season/Tournament Champion
46-10
2021
8
19-7
3
Ottawa (Kan.)
KCAC Regular Season Champion
35-13-1
2021
4
6-2
2
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)
Red River Top Overall Record
44-11
2014
2
0-2
0
Rio Grande (Ohio)
River States Regular Season Champion
39-13
2021
7
8-12
0
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.)
River States Tournament Champion
29-12
N/A
1
0-0
0
Saint Xavier (Ill.)
Chicagoland Regular Season/Tournament Champion
36-6
2021
8
16-12
2
Science & Arts (Okla.)
At-Large
47-8
2021
6
11-7
2
Southeastern (Fla.)
The Sun Regular Season Champion
46-10
2018
5
6-6
1
Southern Oregon
At-Large
46-12
2021
6
15-4
3
Taylor (Ind.)
Crossroads Tournament Runner-Up
26-27
2019
4
3-6
0
Tennessee Wesleyan
Appalachian Tournament Champion
34-7
2015
2
0-2
0
Texas A&M Texarkana
Red River Tournament Champion
42-12
N/A
1
0-0
0
Valley City State (N.D.)
North Star Tournament Champion
33-16
2019
2
3-0
1
Webber International (Fla.)
The Sun Tournament Champion
39-21
2016
2
3-0
1
William Carey (Miss.)
At-Large
45-9
2021
8
12-10
2
William Jessup (Calif.)
GSAC Tournament Champion
36-13
N/A
1
0-0
0
William Woods (Mo.)
AMC Tournament Runner-Up
23-23
2019
4
1-6
0
For more information on the 2022 Softball NAIA Opening Round, CLICK HERE.
The softball team split a doubleheader against No. 13-ranked Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) on Saturday. The No. 25-ranked Saints finish the regular season with a 41-9 overall record and 23-5 mark in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) – the best-ever conference finish in program history. The Eagles conclude the regular season at 36-10 overall and 20-6 in the conference. The Saints are crowned RRAC champions and champions of the West Division. Texarkana is the East Division champions.
Head Coach Bruce Lenington said, “Both games were examples of two great teams going head-to-head. I was so proud of the way our team handled the disappointment of losing game one. They stayed on course and found a way to win game two. We will continue to get better while we wait for the conference tournament. I hope the softball fans in San Antonio come out and support this great conference.”
History
The Saints were 4-6 against the Eagles prior to the doubleheader.
Game One, 0-1 (8 innings)
OLLU’s 24-game winning streak was snapped in game one of the doubleheader. Cassandra Valdez (JR/Brownsville, Texas) and Anna Westberry put on a spectacular pitching duel that went into extra innings. The Eagles scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning on a single with two outs. Valdez suffered the loss despite striking out 10 batters in 7.1 innings. Westberry leads the RRAC with a 1.15 ERA. The Saints were able to string together five hits but failed to score in the 1-0 defeat.
Julissa Moreno (JR/Austin, Texas) batted 1-for-3 with a double. Joanna Gonzalez (SR/San Benito, Texas) made 11 putouts behind the plate.
Game Two, 1-0
Game two was another pitching battle, but the Saints finished the regular season with a 1-0 victory. Ciera Martinez (SR/San Antonio, Texas) started in the circle for the Saints and allowed no earned runs in 4.1 innings of work. Valdez pitched the final 2.2 innings and also didn’t allow a run to earn the win. The lone run came in the top of the sixth inning for the Saints. Ariel Montgomery (SR/Castroville, Texas) singled to score Madison Nunn (SR/Cibolo, Texas). The 1-0 victory marks the 17th shutout for the Saints this season, which ties the program record.
Rebecca Duran (SR/Austin, Texas), Kayla Dreese (SR/San Antonio, Texas), Gonzalez and Montgomery all tallied a hit. Dreese recorded a stolen base and a sacrifice hit.
Saints single-season record-breaking statistics (as of April 23)
.341 batting average
.559 slugging percentage
.449 on-base percentage
20 sacrifice flies
54 home runs
130 stolen bases
41 overall wins
9 overall losses
349 runs scored
5 conference losses
23 conference wins
Up next
The Saints will host the RRAC Championship Tournament from May 5-8. On the first day, the games will be held at St. Mary’s University, while the second day, games will be split between OLLU and St. Mary’s. On May 7-8, all games will take place at OLLU.
For the first time in history, the softball team has been ranked in the NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The Saints debuted at No. 25 in the poll released on April 20. The Saints own the NAIA’s longest winning streak at 21.
The Saints have received votes since the first season of competition in 2010. Their most votes were 21 during that first year. In 2012, the Saints received 20 votes, and in 2013, the most votes they received was 44. In the following year, the Saints received 57 votes in 2014, and in 2015, the most votes the Saints received was 88. In 2016, the team received 10 votes. The last time the Saints received votes was in 2018 with 80 votes.
The only other Red River Athletic Conference team in the poll is Texas A&M University-Texarkana, which is ranked 13. The conference poll is as follows:
1. Texas A&M University-Texarkana (20-4/37-8)
2. Our Lady of the Lake University (20-4/37-8)
3. University of Houston-Victoria (16-6/23-10)
4. Texas A&M University-San Antonio (13-7/20-21)
5. Louisiana Christian University (13-7/24-16)
6. LSU Alexandria (10-10/13-22)
7. Xavier University of Louisiana (12-12/18-25)
8. Huston-Tillotson University (9-13/15-19)
9. Jarvis Christian College (8-12/20-19)
10. University of the Southwest (3-21/6-29)
11. Texas College (0-24/1-27)
Poll Methodology
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents).
The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.
Teams that receive only one point on the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
The frequency of the polls is bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) prior to the 2016-17 academic season. This change allows raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work between rating periods.
The softball team defeated Texas College (TC) 16-0 and 20-2, with both being five-inning run-rules. The Saints improve to 27-8 overall and 14-4 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Steers drop to 1-19 overall and 0-16 in conference. Katelyn Esparza (JR/San Antonio, Texas) and Alexis Valdez were honored as part of Seniors’ Day.
History
The Saints were 31-2 against the Steers prior to the doubleheader.
Game One, 16-0 (5 innings)
Caitlin Terrazas (SR/Atascosa, Texas) started the doubleheader against the Steers with a two-run home run in the first inning. Hannah Garza (FR/Lyford, Texas) followed with a double to score Julissa Moreno (JR/Austin, Texas). The Saints added five more runs in the second inning. Terrazas, Garza, Moreno, Marissa Bradley (SO/Seguin, Texas) and Eneli Garza (SO/La Feria, Texas) all tallied RBIs. OLLU scored eight more runs in the third inning and won 16-0 in a run-rule. The Saints totaled 18 hits and the Steers made six errors.
Angela Ramirez (SR/Converse, Texas) pitched a complete game and allowed only two hits in a win. Garza and Bradley both batted 3-for-4. Terrazas added three more RBIs and Moreno scored three times.
Game Two, 20-0 (5 innings)
The Saints offense was relentless in game two. They scored 20 runs on 13 hits and Kristee Salas (JR/Edinburg, Texas) hit for the cycle. Salas totaled eight RBIs in game two to set the Saints single-game RBI record. The Saints scored four runs in the first inning, eight in the third inning and eight in the fourth inning. In addition to Salas’ cycle, five other Saints recorded a multi-RBI contest.
Kelly Anne Salinas (JR/Laredo, Texas) started in the circle and pitched a complete game. She allowed only two hits and struck out three batters to earn the win. Garza batted 3-for-4 and scored two runs.
Up next
The Saints play a nonconference doubleheader at home against Schreiner University on April 6 starting at 1 p.m.
OLLU softball team fell to No. 1 seed Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) 1-0 last Friday and the University of Houston-Victoria on Saturday as part of the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Tournament. The team won its first two games, but concluded the season with the two losses. During the tournament, Ciera Martinez (SR/San Antonio, Texas) became the all-time Saints strikeout leader when she surpassed 491 career strikeouts that former player Katrisha Arocha had through 2015 when she was part of the team.
Head Coach Bruce Lenington commented, “This was one of the best college softball games I’ve had the honor of being a part of. I look forward to coaching this team on championship Saturday.”
Martinez finished the 2021 season with 499 strikeouts. Although graduating this May, Martinez plans to return as a graduate student to play one more season.
The Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) announced the 2021 softball All-Conference Team and Player of the Year awards. OLLU placed six members in the All-Conference Team, and Madison Nunn was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
OLLU pitcher Ciera Martinez (SR/San Antonio, Texas) was a repeat first-team selection. Others named to the First-Team were Nunn and Joanna Gonzalez.
Nunn was credited with 44 put-outs and committed only three errors to earn her defensive award.
Abigail Elizondo (FR/San Antonio, Texas) and Kaili Luna (FR/Converse, Texas) made Second-Team selections, while Ysa Gonzales (SO/San Marcos, Texas) was selected as a member of the Champions of Character Team.
The Saints finished the regular season 26-16 overall and 12-6 in the RRAC.
Prior to the game, OLLU celebrated senior Jalin Oliva-St. Romain. Hear from her and watch highlights from her career. https://youtu.be/tFj79ZBv8zo
The softball team swept the home-and-home four-game series against the newest member of the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Texas A&M University-San Antonio (A&M-SA). The Saints and Jaguars have established the inaugural “San Antonio Highway 90 Classic,” which will be a friendly rivalry between the universities. The team that wins at least three games of a four-game series wins the classic, and the losing athletic director will have to wear the winning team’s branded short for a day.
OLLU improves to 20-16 overall and 9-6 in the RRAC. The series sweep extends the Saints winning streak to seven games.
Head Coach Bruce Lenington commented, “It’s good to have another NAIA team in San Antonio. I think it is good for the sport and the city. Our pitching staff did a great job this weekend. The pitchers were very effective in the circle. Each of the wins this weekend had a different story; sometimes, we had to play small ball to win, and today we had a chance to hit a couple of home runs to help us. We are happy to get these victories and keep moving forward.”
History
The two programs met for the first time this weekend.
Game one
The first two games were played at A&M-SA. Game one was scoreless through seven innings and extra-innings ensued. Madison Nunn (JR/Cibolo, Texas) doubled to right-center field in the top of the tenth inning to score Kennah Kennedy (SR/Frost, Texas) and Joanna Gonzalez (JR/San Benito, Texas) to put the Saints ahead 2-0. Starting pitcher Ciera Martinez (SR/San Antonio, Texas) pitched the entire game and broke her single-game strikeout record with 16. She faced 32 batters and allowed only one hit. Nunn batted 3-for-5, and seven different Saints batters recorded at least one hit. The Saints held on to win 2-0, heading into game two.
Game two
Angela Ramirez (JR/Converse, Texas) followed Martinez’s performance on the mound with an impressive start in game two. She allowed five hits and one run in a complete game. The Saints took an early lead when Abigail Elizondo (FR/San Antonio, Texas) singled to score Gonzalez and Ariel Montgomery (JR/Castroville, Texas). The Saints held their 2-0 advantage into the sixth inning when they scored two more. Elizondo hit a sac fly to bring in Deandra Vera (SO/Uvalde, Texas) and Aileen Campos (SO/Robstown, Texas) singled to score Nunn. The Saints won 4-1, and three Saints batters had a multi-hit game.
Game three
The final two games of the series were played at OLLU. Martinez pitched her second game of the series in game three. She pitched another gem by striking out six batters in five scoreless innings. Ramirez took over for the final two innings and allowed one run on one hit. The Saints dominated in a 7-1 victory to officially win the series. Kaili Luna (FR/Converse, Texas) and Jennifer Estrada (JR/El Paso, Texas) went 2-for-3 at the plate. The Saints tallied three doubles and four stolen bases.
Game four
The series finale counted toward the Saints’ overall win total but not the conference record. Starting pitcher, Kelly Anne Salinas (SO/Laredo, Texas) tied her single-game strikeout record with seven in a complete game. OLLU scored four runs in the third inning with RBIs from Romain, Nunn and Gonzalez. The Saints added another run in the fifth inning and won 5-1 to complete the series sweep.
Up next
The Saints host the University of Houston-Victoria in a three-game series starting on April 23 to conclude the regular season.
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.
