INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Belhaven University Softball team had to wait nine days to find out if their 2021 season was officially over after an early exit in the American Southwest Conference Softball Championship Tournament. The waiting is over now as the Blazers found out that they received a bid as an at-large team into the field of 48 teams in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship.

The 13th-ranked Blazers sit at 30-10 overall and will travel to Decatur, Illinois as the fourth seed in the regional. The first opponent that the Blazers will face will be the host, Millikin University (31-11) on Thursday, May 20, at 2 p.m. Other teams in the Decatur Regional include the 3rd-ranked DePauw University (34-2), Geneva College (36-5), Calvin University (28-8), and Mount St. Joseph University (30-8).

This is the first appearance in the NCAA Championship for the Blazers in their first year of postseason eligibility after making the transition from NAIA to NCAA. The Blazers are coming off one of the best seasons in school history that saw the team earn the honor of hosting the ASC Softball Championship Tournament after earning Co-Eastern Division Champions in the regular season. The Blazers finished 22-5 in ASC play and won every conference series during the regular season en route to an overall record of 30-8. The 2021 season also saw the Blazers pick up midweek sweeps over nationally ranked Birmingham-Southern College, a three game sweep over Division I opponent Jackson State University, as well as a split against nationally ranked Berry College in non-conference play. The Blazers also cracked the NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll this season rising all the way to being the sixth-ranked team in the nation.

The Blazers have also seen several of their players earn postseason honors at the conference and national level. Kennedy Carruth and Macy Brabham were named to the ASC All-Tournament Team, while seven players earned ASC All-Conference Honors including Marlee Blackwell, Allie Gordon, Kennedy Carruth, and Elizabeth Taggard earning First-Team honors, Anna McNeer and Bailey Root earned Third-Team honors, while Haley Hanson was named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention Team. Kennedy Carruth was also named the ASC Pitcher of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, while the Blazers Coaching Staff consisting of head coach Kevin Griffin, assistant coach Courtney Fairley, and graduate assistant Mallory Parson were named the Coaching Staff of the Year for the ASC. Allie Gordon and Kennedy Carruth were also named to the NFCA West All-Region Teams earning Third Team All-Region and First Team All-Region honors respectively.

To view all the brackets for each regional of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship, click here.

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