COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the fourth straight year, the Ohio Dominican softball team will make an appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. This year, the Panthers snagged the #3 seed in the Midwest Regional and will head to Nashville to play #6 Grand Valley State on Thursday.

About The Panthers
The Black and Gold enter the week with a 34-13 overall record and a 19-7 record in conference play. ODU recently went 1-2 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament. They fell to #6 Cedarville in the opening round before defeating #2 Hillsdale in the elimination and ultimately being bested by #1 Trevecca Nazarene, later that day.

Senior and G-MAC First Teamer, Alli Madden (Cincinnati, Ohio) posts the best batting average on the team. Madden is hitting .388 from the plate and has 45 hits on the year. The outfielder adds 22 stolen bases and a .408 on base percentage.

Second Team winner, Alexis Stevens (Marion, Ohio) is hitting .357 from the plate with 55 hits on the year. The senior surpassed 200 career hits earlier this season. She currently leads the conference in doubles with 19 and has 43 runs batted in.

Joining them at the top is junior Kaleigh Golden (Thornville, Ohio) with a .363 batting average. The leadoff has 53 hits and 26 walks on the year. She has 15 stolen bases and has scored a team high of 37 runs.

In the circle, G-MAC Second Teamer, Grace Hammer (Uniontown, Ohio) posts an 11-4 record with a conference high of seven saves this spring. The graduate student has pitched 118.2 innings and recorded 138 strikeouts. She tabs the best ERA in the G-MAC with a 1.12 and the lowest opposing batting average at .188.

Following her is Addison Smodilla (Terre Haute, Ind.) with a 13-4 record and a 2.35 ERA. The graduate student has pitched 110.0 innings with 60 strikeouts. Sophomore Marlee Jacobs (Plain City, Ohio) has a 10-5 record in the circle with a save. Jacobs has 79 strikeouts and has pitched 95.1 innings with a 3.52 ERA.

About The Lakers
Grand Valley State enters the tournament with a 35-16 overall record and a 16-8 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. GVSU were GLIAC Regular Season Champions, securing them the #1 seed in the tournament. The Lakers went 2-2, falling to Saginaw Valley State in the Championship.

Hannah Hollister leads the team with a .374 average. Hollister has stolen 40 bases along with 61 hits and 15 RBIs. Kelsey Komorous is hitting .363 from the plate. She has 57 hits with 16 doubles, four home runs, and 55 RBIs. In the circle, Genesis Eggart is 12-7 with a 1.63 ERA. Eggart holds opponents to a .191 batting average and has 107 strikeouts on the season.

Within the Division II Era (2011 season), the Panthers are 6-15 against the Lakers. This season, the two split, 1-1, in an opening tournament at Lincoln Memorial. In 2022, GVSU went 3-0 against ODU, including once in the 2022 NCAA Midwest Regional at Indianapolis.

Potential Opponents
Joining Ohio Dominican and Grand Valley in their half of the regional is #2 Trevecca Nazarene, the hosts of the tournament, and #7 Northwood. The Trojans are 43-13 on the season and were 23-3 in the G-MAC, snagging the 2024 Regular Season title and the #1 seed in the tournament. The Timberwolves are 35-18 overall and were 17-9 in the conference, securing the #4 seed in the tournament. Northwood went undefeated, 4-0, defeating #5 Findlay twice, #1 Trevecca Nazarene, and #6 Cedarville to claim the G-MAC Tournament title for the first time and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Game Time
The Black and Gold will begin their run on Thursday, May 9 at 2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET at Trevecca Sports Complex in Nashville against #6 Grand Valley State. #2 Trevecca and #7 Northwood will play at 12:00 PM CT/1:00 PM ET on Thursday. For an updated bracket across all regions, head to the NCAA website.