IRVINE, Calif. - Fans will get at least two more chances to see the nationally-ranked Concordia University Irvine softball team on campus this Thursday, May 18 and Friday, May 19 at the upcoming NCAA DII Super Regional.
After outlasting the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks to
win their regional bracket this past Saturday, the top-seeded Golden Eagles will host the Cal State San Marcos Cougars in a best-of-three series.
Two more wins and the Golden Eagles are heading to the NCAA DII World Series for the first time in school history!
Concordia and Cal State San Marcos will play at 12 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday. If necessary, a tie-breaking, winner-take-all Game 3 will be played right after Friday's game at approximately 2:30 p.m.
CLICK HERE to head to our Super Regional Tournament Central Page!
CUI recently won the first PacWest Conference Tournament to be held in over 20 years and also claimed the regular season PacWest Conference crown for the fourth straight full season.
The Golden Eagles defeated the Cougars twice during the regular season when they visited San Marcos for a non-conference doubleheader.
Cal State San Marcos went 6-3 against PacWest Conference teams this season and is led by head coach Stefanie Ewing and All-Region slugger Paige Donnelly.
CLICK HERE for the most up-to-date NCAA DII Softball Bracket
All of the eight No. 1 seeds in the eight regions across the country advanced to the Super Regional (equivalent of the Sweet 16). The last two teams to emerge from the D2 West Region and make the World Series as one of the eight finalists have gone on to be the NCAA DII National Runner-up (Biola in 2021 and CSUDH in 2022).
SPEAKING OF BEING SUPER AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL
In addition to all this excitement, a trio of CUI softball players earned D2CCA All-Region recognition on Monday.
Pitcher
Katlin Entrup was named D2CCA Regional Pitcher of the Year and earned First Team All-Region honors along with CUI third baseman
Jocelyn Pino. Both Entrup and Pino were recently named First Team All-Conference by the PacWest coaches along with outfielder
Megan Massa and first baseman
Sydney Sprinkle.
PacWest Conference Newcomer of the Year
Daniela Alvarez was also recognized as one of the top pitchers in the west region and made D2CCA Second Team All-Region.
CLICK HERE for the full 2023 D2CCA All-Region Team
Last week as the regional was just getting underway, Entrup and Pino were also named First Team All-Region by the NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association). Outfielder
Megan Massa earned a Second Team NFCA All-Region nod.
CLICK HERE for the full 2023 NFCA All-Region Team
CLICK HERE for the updated CUI softball schedule
