KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Opening Round Schedule | Experience NAIA Championships App] The 2021 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round wrapped-up day one of play. 20 games were played at nine different sites around the country. The Fayette (Mo.) bracket had to postpone play to Tuesday May 18^th due to weather.

 Opening Round Day One Highlights 

• Milligan University (Tennessee) picked up its first NAIA Opening Round victory in program history with a 4-0 triumph against the University of Rio Grande (Ohio).
• Milligan put the game out of reach in the seventh inning with a pair of unearned runs which scored on a one-out single to right by Cronin, who entered the contest as the nation's leading hitter with a .568 batting average.
• The Georgia Gwinnett College softball team scored three runs in the sixth inning and relied on strong pitching to defeat Georgetown College 5-1.
• Sophomore pitcher Alexa Good recorded 11 strikeouts in the complete-game victory
• Sophomore catcher Sydney Pelaez went 3-for-4
• The Grizzlies tallied three doubles in the game
• Freshman pitch Allie Puente made her NAIA Opening Round debut with 12 strikeouts in a one-hitter, leading Hope International to a 1-0 win over Morningside on Monday at U.S. Cellular Community Park.
• HIU got its only run in the fourth inning, which Caitlyn Felina led off with an infield hit and a steal of second base. Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year Melanie Okazaki then delivered an RBI single down the right field line.
• Top-ranked Southern Oregon got a three-hit shutout out of Gabby Sandoval and scored seven unearned runs in the fifth inning to defeat Saint Katherine (Calif.), 7-0.
• The Raiders' national championship defense continues in the Southern Oregon bracket at 11 a.m. Tuesday against 11th-ranked Hope International (Calif.), which topped No. 13 Morningside (Iowa) 1-0 in the tourney opener.
• Sandoval struck out 10 and walked one in her 117th career victory.
• Bethany (Kan.) knocks down No. 3 nationally ranked and No. 1 seed Science & Arts (Okla.), 2-1 in the first game of the Chickasha Bracket.
• Grand View (Iowa) and Concordia (Neb) went into nine innings where the Vikings earned the 5-4 win with a walk-off single.
• Bethany (Kan.) and Grand View (Iowa) then played in the Chickasha bracket on day one due to weather where Bethany pulled out their second win of the day over the Vikings with 2-1 victory.
• The top-seeded Lindsey Wilson softball team kicked off the opening round with a 3-0 victory over No. 4-seed Brenau (Ga.)
• Annabelle Ramirez got the start in the circle for the Blue Raiders (39-9) received the win after throwing a complete game shutout. She allowed only 4 hits and two walks and struck out 10. Her 26 wins are tied for third-most in a single season in program history.
• Two runs in the top half of the fourth inning proved to be enough for No. 3 Madonna (Mich.) as the Crusaders held off No. 2 Saint Xavier (Ill.) down the stretch to claim a 2-1 victory.
• Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) def. Campbellsville in the only game of the day for the Bowling Green bracket. Aquinas (Mich.) was unable to compete due to Covid-19
• Ottawa (Kan.) went 2-0 on the day defeating No. 1 seed in their bracket Oklahoma City, 3-1 in their second seed.
• In Waleska (Ga.) a four-run top of the first inning – highlighted by a crucial two-out error – set the tone for the rest of the afternoon as Reinhardt was victorious over the Mariners of Coastal Georgia, 8-3.