Tigers upend Grenadiers in Hattiesburg Bracket of NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- No. 5 Stillman (Ala.) rallied late, scoring three in the fifth and sixth innings to claim a 7-3 victory over No. 4 IU Southeast (Ind.) on Monday (May 13) in the Hattiesburg Bracket of the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round.

Stillman, who is making their first opening round appearance in program history, improves to 36-13 with the win, while the Grenadiers slip to 34-17 following the loss.

The loss drops IU Southeast to the consolation bracket, where they will meet No. 3 Reinhardt (Ga.) in an elimination game on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.

The Grenadiers got the scoring started with a run in the second inning off a sacrifice fly by Cassi Roman. Then, in the third frame, Erin Templeman hit an RBI single, scoring Autumn Oehlstrom, making the score 2-0 in favor of IU Southeast.

The Tigers cut the deficit in half with a run in the fourth before taking a 4-2 lead after scoring three unearned runs in the top of the fifth.

IU Southeast got a run back in the bottom half thanks to an RBI single by Oehlstrom, but they would leave a pair of runners stranded and the score remained 4-3.

Stillman added to their lead after scoring three runs – all with two outs – on three hits in the top of the sixth.

Jasmine Wade then closed the door and picked up her third save of the season after pitching 2.2 scoreless innings. She followed Lexi McCray, who tossed 4.1 innings and allowed three runs – one earned – on five hits.

Madison Wathen was dealt the loss for the Grenadiers. She allowed seven runs – four earned – on nine hits in her seven innings of work in the circle.