NJCAA World Series Second Round Preview: #1 Odessa vs #8 Butler

NJCAA Div. I World Series Winner's Bracket

#1 Seed Odessa vs #8 Seed Butler

Date: May 24th

Time: 2:00 PM

Location: Oxford, AL

Watch Live:  njcaa.org/network (PPV$)

Massey Ratings Game Prediction: Odessa 6-5

Chance to Win Series: Odessa 58%, Butler 42%

 OPENING NOTES

• The 8th seeded Butler Grizzlies and the #1 seeded Odessa College Wrangler's will face off in the winner's bracket of the 2023 NJCAA Div. I World Series 
• The NJCAA World Series is double elimination, meaning that the loser of this game will fall into the loser's bracket, rather than being eliminated
• The winner of this game will play in the winner's bracket on Thursday at 10AM, while the loser will play on Thursday at 10AM against the loser of the #7 Seminole State vs #10 Indian Hills 
• After the win over Southern Idaho, the Grizzlies have won 17-straight games
• Odessa defeated 16-seed Gordon State 3-1 to advance to this game
• The Grizzlies advanced to nationals after sweeping a close series against Northeastern Junior College to win the Plains District Title
• Odessa advanced to nationals after winning the Southwest A District Championship against Midland
• Odessa ended the year ranked #1 in the country
• The Grizzlies have now won 45+ games in three consecutive seasons
• This is the Grizzlies seventh straight appearance at the national tournament
• The Grizzlies ended the year ranked 15th in the final NJCAA Poll
• The Grizzlies are 21-16 at nationals since 2011
• Against #1 seeds at nationals, the Grizzlies are 1-0 since 2011, this lone game being against Florida Southwestern at the 2018 NJCAA World Series where the Grizzlies won 4-2
• Against opponents who have appeared in at least one national poll this season, Butler is now 11-6
• Odessa is 3-3 against ranked opponents this season
• Butler has a Massey Ratings RPI of 19th, and Odessa is ranked 6th
• Butler's strength of schedule (SOS) this year is ranked 62nd by Massey Ratings, Odessa's SOS is 64th
• Against common opponents, Odessa is 3-1, while Butler is 4-2. Those common opponents being McLennan, San Jacinto, and Barton

Last action for the Grizzlies 

Tuesday, May 23rd | World Series First Round | #9 CSI 1, #8 Butler 4

• The Butler Softball team won their opening round game at the NJCAA World Series by defeating the College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles, 4-1
• Allyson Montgomery got the win. She pitched six innings, allowing just one run on two hits, while striking out 12 batters
• Emma Koeneke earned a save in the game. She pitched a terrific seventh inning, giving up just one hit while striking out two
• Cady Dickey hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first to open the scoring
• JaKeyla McDaniel recorded the other RBI with a bunt single that scored Amayiah Hall from third
• The Grizzlies are now 6-5 in opening round games at the national tournament since 2011

CHANCE FOR REVENGE

• The Grizzlies and Wranglers met earlier this year down in Waco, Texas at the Battle on the Bosque tournament on January 29th
• Odessa won convincingly, 11-3 in five innings
  • As a team, Odessa batted 8-17 in the game and hit three home runs on three different Grizzly pitchers
• Ryanna Valdivia was a bright spot for the Grizzlies in the game, going 2-3 with a three-RBI double in the fifth
• This is the only matchup between Butler and Odessa since at least 2011

THE OPPONENT

• The #1 seed and Southwest A District Champions, the Odessa College Wranglers enter with a record of 52-4 overall and they finished a flawless 24-0 in play in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference
• Odessa has now won 30-straight games
• This is Odessa's third straight appearance at nationals and ninth overall
  • The Wranglers finished third at nationals last year
• Odessa has a Massey Ratings RPI ranking of 6th, up one spot from last week
  • This is the 5th highest ranking of any team at the tournament
• The Wranglers are 10-3 in neutral site games this year
• Odessa is sixth in the nation in total hits with 646 and has the third highest team batting average in the country at .439
• The Wranglers are fifth in home runs this season with 103 and has the highest team slugging percentage in the country at .818
• Odessa is tied for first in doubles with 159
• Odessa is fourth in the country in runs scored with 575

A STRING OF DOMINANCE

• Butler Softball has won seven straight Region VI Titles and 13 in program history
• Since the creation of the Region VI/IX Plains District Championship in 2013, Region VI has won nine of the ten district titles
• Butler has won all nine of those district titles for Region VI
• The Grizzlies are 18-1 in district championship games over that time
• Butler Softball holds the longest winning streak of any softball program at any collegiate level at 88 consecutive victories. That record was set across the 2016-17 season and includes the 2016 National Championship
• Since 2001, the Grizzlies have an overall record of 928-274

FLAMIN' HOT CHEETO

• Butler pitcher Emma 'Cheeto' Koeneke has been excellent in her last ten appearances
• Over those ten appearances, she has a 6-0 record, has thrown 36.2 innings, has an ERA of 2.51, and has struck out 38 batters

ALL HAIL THE STRIKEOUT QUEEN

• Starting pitcher Allyson Montgomery is the all-time strikeout leader in the history of the Butler Softball program. She now has 410 strikeouts in her Grizzly career, breaking the record of 374 set by Lauren Supak this during the Region VI Tournament against Colby
• Her 258 strikeouts this season are the second most by a Grizzly pitcher in a single year. She now only trails the great Maggie Ham's masterful 2012 season where Ham struck out 288 batters
• In 33 appearances this season, Montgomery has a record of 25-3, 162.1 innings pitched, an ERA of 1.98, and a K/7 of 11.13
  • Across her last eight starts, Montgomery has a record of 6-0, pitched 34.1 innings, has an ERA of 1.03, and has struck out 65 batters
• Montgomery is t-7th in the nation in wins with 25, her 258 strikeouts is 4th in the country this year, and her K/7 of 11.13 is 6th

REECE'S PUFFS

• Over her last 33 games played, sophomore Reece Briggs has been on fire at the plate. She has a batting average of 0.500 (48-96), recording 44 RBIs with 10 doubles and 9 homers

A BAT THAT'S HOT

• Aly Hageman's eleven game hit streak came to an end on Tuesday against CSI
• Despite this, in her last twelve games, the freshman is batting an excellent 0.500 (18-36), with two doubles, 11 RBIs, and has drawn six walks

SPEED KILLS

• JaKeyla McDaniel and Amayiah Hall have combined to steal 73 bases this season and the Grizzlies as a team rank 16th in all of NJCAA DI with 147 stolen bases

PROJECTED STARTING PITCHER COMPARISON

TEAM LEADERS AS OF 5/22:

HITTING

Batting Average: Briona Woods: 0.468

RBIs: Ryanna Valdivia: 81

Hits: Briona Woods: 81

Runs Scored: Briona Woods: 74

Doubles: Tied: Briona Woods and Ryanna Valdivia: 21

Triples: JaKeyla McDaniel: 5

Home Runs: Ryanna Valdivia: 22

Walks Drawn: Ryanna Valdivia: 42

PITCHING

Innings Pitched: Allyson Montgomery: 162.1

Wins: Allyson Montgomery: 25

Saves: Lena Walter: 4

Strikeouts: Allyson Montgomery: 258

ERA: Allyson Montgomery: 1.98

Fewest BBs Issued (Min. 50 IP): Emma Koeneke: 50

Complete Games: Allyson Montgomery: 13

LOOKING AHEAD

Win or lose the Grizzlies will play on Thursday at 10am. A win and they advance further in the winner's bracket. A loss and they play the loser of Seminole St./Indian Hills.