ROCHESTER, Mich. – Oakland University Softball is set for an NCAA Regional match with No. 9 Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois as the four-team, six game site will get started Friday, May 20 with the Golden Grizzlies and Wildcats battling at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
For the first time since 2015, Oakland clinched an automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Tournament following a 5-4 comeback win over Robert Morris in the #HLSB Championship. The following evening, the Golden Grizzlies found their fate in the regionals as OU will do battle in the Evanston Regional.
This is the fourth postseason appearance for Oakland in its Division I history. In that span, the Golden Grizzlies are 2-6 in those games with all three of those pods being held in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Those two wins came in 2002 and 2003 over Canisius and Western Michigan, respectively. This will also be the second time the Golden Grizzlies and Fighting Irish could meet in the postseason as the two teams met once in 2003.
Historically, Oakland is 0-2 all-time against Northwestern with the last meeting coming in 2020 where the two played twice in Louisville, Kentucky. OU is 0-3 all-time against Notre Dame dating all the way back to the three games played from 2002-2005 while it will be the first meeting between the black and gold and McNeese.
The winners of the Evanston and Tempe Regionals will face off in the NCAA Super Regional.
Madison Jones holds the best batting average on the squad at .352 with 51 hits and 24 RBI as the senior went 4-4 in the Horizon League Championship with two doubles, a triple, and a home run with three RBI. Allisa DiPrima and Lauren Griffith sit at .333 and .313, respectively, as Griffith holds the team high in doubles (15) and RBI (25).
Sydney Campbell will enter the circle at a 1.73 earned run average (40th in the NCAA) at 23-7 with 161 strikeouts, only giving up 52 earned runs in 817 at bats faced.
Going into the tournament, Oakland is 126th in the NCAA RPI ahead of a few other auto-berth teams like Howard and Prairie View A&M.
SCOUTING REPORT
NO. 9 NORTHWESTERN
At 40-10 overall with a plethora of ranked-opponent wins, the Wildcats rounded out Big Ten play with a 19-4 record with the only losses coming against Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota (twice). NU fell in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament to the Wolverines once again by a score of 2-1.
Nikki Cuchran is the best batter statistically on this purple and white roster at .367 with 55 hits, seven doubles, and seven home runs with 48 RBI. Rachel Lewis sits just behind at .366 with a team-high 20 home runs which ties for ninth in the NCAA.
Danielle Williams is 26-4 in the circle with a 1.53 ERA with the seventh-best aggregate strikeout list in the country at 287. Lauren Boyd is 4-2 in 12 appearances with an ERA of 2.53.
NOTRE DAME
The Fighting Irish are 39-10 and are the only team the Golden Grizzlies have a postseason history with. ND was 16-5 in the regular season in ACC play capped off by a loss to No. 15 Clemson in the ACC Tournament.
Karina Gaskins holds a .434 batting average with a team-high 59 RBI and 11 doubles to her credit while Jane Kronenberger bats a .398 with Carli Kloss just behind at .396. Gaskins does hold the team's high in home runs on the year with 13.
Shannon Becker has a 1.63 ERA with 70 strikeouts and a 10-3 record. The Fighting Irish rotate Becker along with two other pitchers in Payton Tidd and Alexis Holloway at 2.51 and 2.99 ERA's, respectively, evenly.
MCNEESE
The Cowgirls received an automatic berth following their win over Southeastern Louisiana twice in the Southland Conference Championship game to finish the regular season with a 38-19 record, 15-3 in league play.
McNeese has four batters above .300 with Cryslene Moreno paving the way at .366 with 10 doubles and three home runs. Jil Poullard has a team-high four triples and seven home runs all while posting a .364 average.
Ashley Vallejo has 117 strikeouts with an ERA of 2.20 and a 17-7 record. The only other Cowgirl that has as many appearances is Whitney Tate at 3.37 while Shaelyn Sanders has amassed a 2.58 ERA in 23 appearances.
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HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPS ALL-LEAGUE HONOREES
For the first time since 2015, Oakland won the 2022 #HLSB Championship off three runs in the bottom of the sixth to complete the come-from-behind victory over Robert Morris to secure the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Seven members of the Oakland Softball team received All-League honors by the Horizon League as announced on Tuesday. Jones, Munson, Griffith, and Campbell were all on the All-League First Team list with Cammie Brummitt on the All-League Second Team roster. Campbell was named the Pitcher of the Year by the conference while Head Coach Lauren Karn earned her first Coach of the Year award. Madi Herrington rounds out the honorees as the LaGrange, Ohio native was placed on the Freshman Team list.
NUMBER ONE SEED
For the first time since 2015, Oakland became regular season Horizon League Champions after a tense weekend in Green Bay that saw the crown come down to the final games across the league as the Golden Grizzlies stole the series from the Phoenix 2-1.
ETCHED IN HISTORY
Lauren Karn is now Oakland's all-time winningest head coach in program history following a 3-1 come-from-behind win over Youngstown State in the second game of a double header back on April 26 for her 92nd win and counting.
WINNING IN EAST LANSING
The Golden Grizzlies beat Michigan State on the road in East Lansing on April 5 for the first time since 2011 in the 10-5 route behind Griffith's perfect appearance at the plate going 4-4 with three RBI while Jones would go 3-4 with four runs, three RBI, and her fourth home run of the season.
BIG 200 K.O.s
Campbell punched out her 200th career batter against PFW on April 2 as the LaGrange, Ohio native boasted a 0.55 ERA against the Mastodons. Campbell also knocked down a career-high 11 batters in the team's win over Detroit Mercy on April 9.
#HLSB SWEEPS
Oakland swept NKU in the Horizon League series opener 3-0 in Highland Heights to start perfect in league play before going 3-0 against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on the weekend of April 1.
NEAR UPSET ALERT
Oakland started off strong against the Seminoles behind Lauren Griffith's RBI home run to lead 3-0 before FSU would go on to tie at 3-3 then explode out to a 6-3 advantage behind a fiery bottom of the sixth. Griffith would then slap an RBI double to left center as OU pulled within one run at 6-5 before a groundout to second would dash the Golden Grizzlies' hopes.
HEATED UP IN CHAMPIONSHIP
The Golden Grizzlies finished 26-16 overall, 23-11 in Horizon League play last season that concluded in the Horizon League Conference Tournament after No. 2 seed Oakland upset No. 1 seed Youngstown State only to fall to No. 3 seed UIC in the championship match 4-3.
ALL-LEAGUE HONOREES
Following the 2021 season, five Golden Grizzly athletes were named to #HLSB All-League honors in Cammie Brummitt, Lauren Griffith, Madison Jones, Sydney Campbell, and Jen Krizka. Brummitt, Griffith, and Jones were named to First Team honors as position players while Campbell was one of two to be listed as a First Team Pitcher. Krizka then followed suit with an All-League Second Team accolade.
RETURNING POWER
Oakland returns all five of the previously mentioned names with an average batting average of .373 as Jones returns to the line up with a team-high .411 average from 2021. Jones was also 15-16 on stolen base attempts and racked up a tying team-high of 13 doubles and seven home runs for a .738 slugging percentage.
Campbell returns to the circle after a 17-7 season a year ago with 91 strikeouts through 165.2 innings pitched to allow 46 earned runs for an ERA of 1.94.
THE FAVORITE? OAKLAND
The Golden Grizzlies were picked first in the #HLSB Preseason Poll with two first-place votes and 82 in total ahead of Youngstown State who garnered five first-place votes and 81 total, respectively. UIC was third with 74 points (two first-place votes) while Robert Morris (62) and Green Bay (49) rounded out the top five.
2022 RECRUITING CLASS
The Golden Grizzlies added five student-athletes to the roster for the 2022 season in Kamryn Troyer, Maraina Smith, Jenna Johnston, Kayla Rodriguez, and Taylor Carraway.
KARN EXTENDED
Head Softball Coach, Lauren Karn, had her contract extended through 2025 as the fifth-year coach has coached 11 student-athletes to All-Horizon League honors while reaching the conference tournament three times with two of those being runner-up performances. Ahead of the 2022 campaign, Karn is 19 wins away from being the all-time winningest coach.
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