SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. -- The Shippensburg University softball team won the NCAA Atlantic Super Regional and earned the No. 7 seed in the 2025 NCAA Division II National Championships. The Raiders will travel to Chattanooga, Tennessee to play for a national championship starting Thursday at Frost Stadium at Warner Park.
 
Shippensburg (36-20) will face the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) champion and NCAA South Regional champion No. 2 seed Tampa (45-10) in the opening round Thursday at 4 p.m. It will be the first meeting between the two schools.
 
The Raiders have now qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time under head coach Alison Van Scyoc, and the third time in school history (2003, 2004). Shippensburg is also 5-0 in this year's iteration of the NCAA Tournament.

SU is 35-37 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 11-6 mark in the last three seasons under Van Scyoc. Shippensburg finished in the Top-5 in its previous appearances: fifth in 2003 and third in 2004, with both finishes coming under coach Bob Brookens.
 
SU is batting .353 as a team in five NCAA Tournament games this season. Freshman Gianna Cimino is 9-for-17 (.529) with two home runs, five RBIs, a walk and four runs scored.
 
Senior Alicia Ball has allowed just six earned runs over 34.0 innings (1.24 ERA) during the NCAA Tournament, posting a 4-0 record with 23 strikeouts while limiting opposing hitters to a .192 batting average.
 
Scouting Tampa:

• Tampa used a 28-game win streak to garner a 40-8 regular season record and the Sunshine State regular season crown, earning the automatic berth to the NCAA South Regional tournament. Ranked No. 5 nationally, the Spartans rebounded from a Game 1 loss in Super Regionals by picking up two 5-0 victories over Auburn Montgomery to advance to the DII National Softball Championships for the first time in school history.
• The Spartans have three D2CCA All-South Region players:
  • Mariah Galhouse earned First Team honors as a two-way player. She boasts a 17-2 record and 0.56 ERA in the circle. In 137.1 innings pitched she has allowed just one home run. Galhouse is also batting .293 with 39 RBIs and a .989 fielding percentage as an outfielder.
  • Pitcher Gwen McGinnis also picked up First Team honors after earning a 15-5 record in 125.2 innings. McGinnis pitched to a 1.39 ERA, striking out 108 batters and averaging 6.02 strikeouts per seven innings while giving up just 14 walks and 37 total runs.
  • Outfielder Lilly Kiester earned Second Team honors by hitting .379 at the plate with 40 runs scored.

 
Scouting the Field:

• UT Tyler, the representatives from the South Central Region, earned the No. 1 seed for the National Championships by going 57-5 and is looking to become the first school to repeat as national champions since PSAC school California did so in 1997-98. The Patriots won their first national title last season and face Western Washington in a rematch of last year's title game to start. UT Tyler is 34-7 all-time in the NCAA Division II Tournament (Was formerly NCAA Division 3, transitioned in 2019 for three years before becoming postseason eligible in 2022).
• Central Oklahoma (51-9) earned the No. 3 seed through the Central Region, and faces Pace in its opening round match. The Broncos won their fifth regional championship against Augustana and look for their second-ever national title after winning the crown in 2013. Central Oklahoma is 49-36 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• North Georgia is looking for its third national title in school history (2015, 2023), qualifying for the national tournament through the Southeast Region with a 48-14 record and the No. 4 seed. The Nighthawks have plenty of experience in this stage of the tournament, with four appearances in the national championships in the last five seasons. UNG has the most history among any school in the NCAA Tournament, with an overall record of 90-37.
• Saginaw Valley, the Midwest Region representatives, earned the No. 5 seed in the National Championships with its 48-13 record while winning the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. The Cardinals are 27-17 in the NCAA Tournament all-time and are looking for their first national championship after finishing third back in 1992.
• Pace made school history by defeating Wilmington (Del.) to capture its first NCAA East Regional Championship and earn its first-ever national championship berth. Backed with a 46-11 record, the No. 6 seed Setters sport an 8-13 mark in their NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Western Washington returns to the NCAA Championships as the representative from the West Region, using a 45-11 record to enter as the No. 8 seed. The Vikings, who were in the national title game against UT Tyler last season, again face off against the Patriots to open this year's NCAA Championships. WWU's 7th NCAA Tournament appearance has the Vikings sporting a 16-16 record in the tournament.