SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The No. 5 ranked and top-seeded Cal State San Marcos softball team will kick off play in the NAIA National Championships Opening Round on Monday with a matchup against No. 4 seed Dickinson State in St. Joseph, Missouri.

The Schedule
Game 51
Monday, May 13 – 3:00 p.m. CST/1:00 p.m. PST
No. 4 seed Dickinson State (25-14) vs. No. 1 seed Cal State San Marcos (40-10)
St. Joseph, Mo. – Heritage Field
Live Stats
Tournament Central

Game 52
Tuesday, May 14 – TB D

Watch & Follow Live
The Parkville University Sports Information Department will be broadcasting all games LIVE via DakStats Webcast. To access the free live broadcast at game time, click here.

The Park Bracket
Park University (30-9) is hosting the NAIA Softball Opening Round and received the No. 2-seed. Park will face No. 3-seed Marion (Ind.) (31-9), while No. 1 seed CSUSM will play No. 4-seed Dickinson State (N.D.) (25-14) in its opening game. The winner of the four-team double elimination Park Bracket advances to the NAIA Softball National Championships in Columbus, Ga. on May 24-30.

How'd We Get Here?
The Cougars received an at-large berth to the NAIA Softball Opening Round by virtue of their No. 5 national ranking. The Cougars lost in both of their games at the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Conference Championships, but were the first team to receive an at-large berth. CSUSM has been ranked in the top-five nationally all season, and recently had seven players named to the A.I.I. All-Conference team, led by Conference Pitcher of the Year Cortney Allen.

Cougars By The Numbers
The Cougars are especially good at preventing runs, led by the top ranked defense in the NAIA (.979 fielding %) and the third-best ERA in the nation (1.17). They have shut out opponents in 23 of their 40 victories this season.
 
Offensively, the team makes up for its lack of home run power with its speed and aggressiveness on the base paths. CSUSM is second in the NAIA in stolen bases with 132, and has done so efficiently with a success rate of 93%.

Opponent Matchup History
The Cougars are quite familiar with their first round opponent, having faced Dickinson State four times over the last five years, going 3-1 against them lifetime. The Cougars knocked off the Blue Hawks 2-1 earlier this season in the Tucson Invitational as Katie Wilkinson and Cortney Allen combined to allow just five hits.
 
CSUSM also knocked the former A.I.I. member out of the conference tournament in 2012 with a 7-2 postseason victory fueled by Olivia Lucatuorto's two-run homerun in the second inning and a strong performance by starting pitcher Cortney Allen.
 
Cal State San Marcos has yet to play either Park or Marion University in its seven-year history.
 
NAIA Tournament History
CSUSM is 12-5 all-time in the NAIA Tournament, and has reached the final four in each of the past two seasons. All five of the Cougar losses in the national championships have come in one-run games, including two extra-inning heartbreakers.
 
On the other end, the Cougars have shut out their opponent seven times out of their 12 victories.

CSUSM Probable Lineup
1. LF – Kaitlin McGinley: Hitting .455 (20-44) since April, 5th in NAIA in steals and is 39-for-39 on the season.
2. DP – Brittney Guy: Hit safely in six of the last seven games while recording five steals over that span.
3. 1B – Alex Miller: Hitting over .400 (.404) for the third consecutive season, 20 doubles in 2013 are 9th in the NAIA.
4. 2B – Olivia Lucatuorto: Team RBI leader with 42 in 50 games played.
5. SS – Sarah Quiambao: Went 2-for-3 with a double in knocking Dickinson State out of the postseason last year.
6. RF – Patricia Banda: Has 11 multi-hit games this season, including three games with three hits
7. 3B – Tani Leasau: Boasts a 12/7 B/K ratio, 10 doubles are tied for second on team.
8. C – Tayler Ybarra: Thrown out 31% (7-23) of potential base stealers, missed April with injury but returned for A.I.I. tournament.
9. CF – Caylyn Rodriguez: Three multi-hit games in last six appearances. Hitting .389 (7-18) with three stolen bases during span.
SP. – Cortney Allen: NAIA leader in wins (31) and holds ERA under one (0.97). A.I.I. Pitcher of the Year for second straight season.