Linfield is set to compete this week in the Marshall Regional of the 2022 NCAA Softball Tournament. The Wildcats are the No. 3 seed at the four-team regional, hosted at Taylor Field on the campus of East Texas Baptist University.
 
THE BRACKET
The Marshall Regional is expected to be one of the most competitive of the 16 regional sites as three of the four tournament combatants are ranked among the top eight in the most recent NFCA Coaches Poll. Joining Linfield in Marshall this week are top-seeded Belhaven, No. 2 seed East Texas Baptist and fourth-seeded Fontbonne.
 
The Wildcats square off against the host ETBU Tigers Thursday at 2 p.m. CDT (noon PDT) in the tournament's opening game. Belhaven is matched against Fontbonne in the other first-round game at 4:30 CDT (2:30 PDT).
 
The winner of this week's regional tournament advances to the Super Regional round where it will face the winner of the Seguin Regional at a site to be determined later by the NCAA. The winners of the eight Super Regional tournaments move on to the NCAA Finals in Salem, Virginia, May 26-31.
 
MARSHALL REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 12
Game 1 - East Texas Baptist 7, Linfield 2
Game 2 - Belhaven 8, Fontbonne 2
Friday, May 13
Game 3 – Belhaven 4, East Texas Baptist 3
Game 4 – Linfield 4, Fontbonne 3
Game 5 – Linfield 7, East Texas Baptist 5
Saturday, May 14
Game 6 – Belhaven vs. Linfield, Noon CDT (10 a.m. PDT)
Game 7 – Belhaven vs. Linfield, if necessary, 2:30 p.m. CDT (12:30 p.m. PDT)
 
COVERAGE
ETBU will provide live video webcasts and live statistics for all tournament games.

WEATHER
One thing is certain: It will be very hot for all spectators and participants. The forecast is calling for temperatures climbing as high as 90-95 degrees. Compounding the concern over heat is the fact that Taylor Field is now completely covered with artificial turf, which radiates heat up from the black rubber underlayment.
 
HISTORY LESSON
This is the 17th season that the Wildcats have reached to the NCAA postseason. All 17 NCAA appearances have come during the last 19 years, which includes the 2020 season in which the national playoff tournament was canceled to due COVID-19.
 
Linfield has a 73-34 record in the NCAA playoffs, which includes nine Regional crowns, one Super Regional title and two national championships.
 
This week's visit marks the second NCAA playoff trip to Marshall, Texas, for Linfield. The Wildcats played a Regional Tournament on the same field in 2009, going 3-2.
 
Head to head, Linfield has a 3-4 record versus ETBU and is 1-0 versus Fontbonne. Linfield has never faced Belhaven in softball.
 
LINFIELD AT A GLANCE
Moving up one spot to No. 6 in the latest NFCA Division III poll, Linfield will play in the NCAA postseason for the 17th time in the last 18 seasons. The Wildcats (36-7, 25-3) won the program's 15th Northwest Conference regular season title and went on to go 3-0 in the NWC tournament to claim an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.
 
The Wildcats own a 2.21 ERA and rank 16th  in Division III with a .352 batting average. They lead the nation with 430 hits, including 81 doubles, and are No. 12 in scoring with 7.37 runs per game.
 
The pitching staff has relied on the arm of Tayah Kelley, a First Team All-NWC selection in 2022 and the NWC Pitcher of the Year. Kelley, who was recently named the Linfield Female Co-Athlete of the Year, is 23-3 with two saves, six shutouts, a .163 opposing batting average and a 1.36 ERA. Her 237 strikeouts rank No. 4 in the nation and set a new Linfield single-season record.
 
The 'Cats use a combination of both speed and power on offense, and much of that has come from Katie Phillips, the NWC Player of the Year. Phillips is batting .409 with 65 hits, ranking second in Division III. She leads the team with 19 doubles and has struck out just three times. Baily Paul leads the team with a .427 batting average and 47 runs while Claire Seats has notched a team-leading 48 RBI. Paul leads the way with 27 stolen bases while Kamryn Mobley is a perfect 24 for 24 on stolen base attempts and is third on the team in hits (52), runs (42) and RBI (36).
 
Jackson Vaughan was selected as the NWC Coach of the Year for the 12th time in 2022. He led Linfield to its 18th consecutive season with at least 30 wins. The 'Cats won the NWC title for the eighth time in 11 seasons in Vaughan's 21^st season at the helm.
 
EAST TEXAS BAPTIST AT A GLANCE
East Texas Baptist is right behind Linfield in the No. 7 spot in the NFCA national rankings. The Tigers entered the American Southwest Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed and finished as the runners-up to Belhaven. This is their 15^th trip to the NCAA Division III Championships.
 
The Tigers are batting .342 on the year, outscoring opponents 246-105. The six pitchers they've used this season have combined for a 1.95 ERA. Ashley Croft and Kathryn Reed both have eight wins in the circle. Reed owns a 1.21 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings pitched. Amber Thibodeaux is the team's leading hitter with a .444 batting average while Courtney White is batting .440 with a team-leading 62 hits. Tristen Maddox has scored 42 times while Delanie Loya has driven in 45 runs.
 
Janae Shirley is in her 15^th season as head coach at East Texas Baptist. She's the program's all-time wins leader at 508 after leading the Tigers to a 32-10 overall record in 2022. Shirley led the Tigers to the 2010 NCAA Division III National Championship, a postseason run that ended with a 5-4 win over Linfield in the title game.
 
BELHAVEN AT A GLANCE
Belhaven enters the regional as the top-ranked team in the tournament, coming in at No. 5 in the NFCA poll. The Blazers are tied for the Division III lead with 38 wins. The Blazers (38-6, 26-4 ASC) clinched the American Southwest Conference regular season championship and won their first-ever ASC Tournament title with a pair of wins over East Texas Baptist on Championship Sunday.
 
The Blazers own a .324 batting average and a 1.44 ERA. The pitching staff has limited opposing batters to a .198 batting average. Kennedy Carruth has been lights out in the circle with a 23-3 record, 13 complete games, 210 strikeouts and a 1.01 ERA. Ellie Jones leads the team with a .409 batting average to go with 54 hits, 43 RBI, 17 doubles and seven home runs. Allie Gordon has crushed nine homers to go with a team-leading 63 hits and 45 RBI while Haley Hanson has scored 34 times.
 
Kevin Griffin is in his 12^th season as head coach of Belhaven. He owns a coaching win percentage of .668 (366-182) and is the winningest coach in program history. In 2011, his first season as head coach, Griffin led the Blazers to a 50-win season en route to finishing third at the NAIA National Championships. The Blazers finished as runners-up at the NCCAA World Series in 2016 and 2018.
 
FONTBONNE AT A GLANCE
The only squad in the four-team field not ranked by the NFCA, Fontbonne (22-17, 16-4 SLIAC) posted the best record in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and went on to win the SLIAC Tournament with wins over Greenville, Spalding and Greenville again in the championship game. This is the Griffins' first appearance in the NCAA regionals since 2015.
 
Lexi Becker is batting .384 with a .444 on-base percentage, 43 hits and 21 RBI. Lilly Jones leads the team with 45 hits, 30 runs and 17 stolen bases. Hannah Miener has driven in 31 runs and slapped five homers. Hailey Kutz has emerged as the ace in the circle with an 8-3 record in 19 appearances. She has struck out 68 batters and owns a 3.06 ERA.
 
Casey Cromwell leads the Griffins in her fifth season as head coach. In 2018, Cromwell's first season at the helm, she led the Griffins to a 13-win season and a spot in their 10^th straight SLIAC Tournament. After missing out on the SLIAC tourney in 2019, Cromwell has led the program back to the postseason in back-to-back years.