Eight teams will vie for the Division II national championship in Denver, Colorado this week.
Augustana, the still-defending National champions from 2019, are the #1 seed in the Championship round. The Vikings hosted the Central Regional in the opening round of the tournament, and hold the top seed in the final round.
The Vikings will take on 8th-seeded Valdosta State in the first round on Thursday. The Blazers hosted the South Regional, where they played as the regional 2-seed, and emerged victorious with two wins in the regional final.
4th-seeded North Georgia and 5th-seeded Biola will face off in the opening round, UNG went 2-1 against Lincoln Memorial in their own hosted regional, losing in the winner’s bracket before climbing back to the regional final, forcing the ‘if necessary’ game, and coming out on top. Biola, under the guidance of former Oregon standout Nikki Udria, nearly ran the table in the West Regional; the Eagles went 3-1 in the regional en route to their first appearance in the Championship round.
Saint Anselm holds the #2-seed in the Championship tournament, and will face off against 7th-seeded West Chester. The West Chester Golden Rams enter the Championship round as the lowest seed to emerge from the Regionals. The Golden Rams were the regional 3-seed in the Atlantic Region and ran the table of their games to a perfect 3-0 record and a World Series berth. Saint Anselm’s pitching staff leads all of Division II with a 0.77 ERA and held a 15-game winning streak before it was snapped in the Regional; the Hawks rebounded immediately with the Regional title.
Thursday’s final opening-round matchup and the evening finale pits 3rd-seed Grand Valley State aagainst 6th-seeded West Texas A&M. Grand Valley State won their opening two games as the top seed in the Midwest Region before dropping the first game of the Regional final. A 5-0 shutout in the if necessary game sent the squad into the World Series. It’s the second consecutive appearance in the Championship round for the Lakers, and the fifth such appearance in program history.
West Texas A&M came out of the South Central Regional after a tough road to victory, a road that included wins over Texas A&M-Kingsville, Oklahoma Christian, and Texas A&M Commerce. Keep an eye on star catcher Shanna McBroom, who was crowned earlier this week as the best backstop in all of Division II.
Hosted by Metro State in Denver, the D2 championship tournament is a double-elimination feature similar to the format of Division I’s Women’s College World Series. The D2 National Championship series also takes on a best-of-3 format.
