(Kansas City, MO) – The Concordia Cardinals softball team is returning to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Softball World Series this week when pool play begins May 16. The Cardinals enter the tournament as the #2 seed in the tournament. 

The tournament features eight teams from across the country with two pools of four teams each. Following pool play the top two teams in each pool will advance to a single elimination tournament. 

Game Information

#2 Concordia Cardinals vs. #7 Arlington Baptist | May 16 | 1 PM | Motley Field

#2 Concordia Cardinals vs. #6 Paine | May 16 | 5 PM | McGuff Field

#2 Concordia Cardinals vs. #3 Southwestern Christian | May 17 | 11 AM | Motley Field

Live Video ($) | Tournament Home Page

About the No. 7 Arlington Baptist

The Arlington Baptist Patriots will enter the tournament as the Independent's Champion and come in with an overall record of 14-22. 

For the Patriots, Payton Leonard leads the team with 26 hits on the year and Brianna Escalante is top on the team with 26 RBIs. Daniela Romo has a .447 batting average on the season. 

The top pitcher for the Patriots is Kyndal Murphy as she has grabbed four wins on the year. Murphy and Zoey Bredleau each have 16 strikeouts on the year to lead the team. 

Arlington Baptist is coached by Davis Beaver. 

About the No. 6 Paine

The Paine College Lions enter the tournament with a record of 9-23 and were the South Region Champions. 

The Lion offense is headed by Leticia Omori with a .444 batting average and 40 hits on the year. She also leads the team in 23 RBIs. The Lions have five other hitters with at least 20 hits as Leidy Garcia, Dara Ayovi, Emmy Segura, Katherine Sugilio, and Jakiyra Lemmon all grabbed 20 hits on the year. 

Montana Cagle leads the pitching staff with four wins on the year and has accumulated an ERA of 4.87. Omori also recorded a win on the year while having an ERA of 3.34. 

The Lions are coached by Jose Taitague.

About the No. 3 Southwestern Christian

Southwestern Christian University is an At-Large selection into the tournament and has a record of 36-16. 

Hannah Keele is the top hitter for the Eagles with 71 hits on the season and earning a .441 batting average. Madison Jones has accumulated 49 hits while three more batters have 40 hits on the season. Megan Vess leads the team with six home runs. Keele leads the team with 37 RBIs. 

The pitching staff is headed by Lauren Schallert with 17 wins and an ERA of 2.95. Harli Clem and Addison Hannah have seven and six wins on the season respectively. Schallert has 100 strikeouts on the season. 

Head Coach Kent Williams is in his 12th season at the helm of the Eagles. 

About the No. 2 Cardinals

The Cardinals enter the tournament as the Midwest Region Representative with an overall record of 40-16. 

Payton Lewis leads the NCCAA in hits on the season with 82 and a .427 batting average. Shannon McAlinden is not far behind with 74 hits and an average of .407, while also being one of the top power hitters on the team as well with seven home runs which is third-most in the NCCAA.  

Paige Anderson leads the pitching staff for the Cardinals with 20 wins on the year, which is the second-most in the NCCAA while also earning an ERA of 2.17. Elyse Brittain and Kendall Kahl have the next-most wins on the team with seven and six respectively. Brittain has a season ERA of 1.90, while Kahl is at 3.08. Cassidy Kane has a 1.95 ERA with four wins on the season. 

Head Coach Hailey Cavanagh is in her sixth season and has a record of 149-118. 

Last Time in the Tournament

The Cardinals return to the NCCAA World Series with their first appearance since the 2021 season where they made a run through the pool play before falling to the top seed in this year's tournament Mid-America Christian. 

The Championship game between CUAA and MACU went into the eighth and saw MACU come away with the 3-2 win in extra-innings. Shannon McAlinden went 2-3 in that game with a home run and two RBIs in that game. Koryn Playford also picked up two hits in that game. 

About the Rest of the Field

Top-seeded Mid-America Christian University was the Central Region Qualifier and come in with a record of 36-18.

Fourth seed Oakland City University is the Champion from the Mideast Region and has a record of 25-22. 

Trinity Christian College is the fifth seed as they enter the tournament as the North Central Region Representative and come into the tournament with a record of 21-19.

The eighth and final seed of the tournament is the host school Kansas Christian College as they enter with a record of 7-23. 

2022 NCCAA World Series Schedule