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The Pfeiffer University softball team will head to Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio as the NCAA has released the bracket for the upcoming 2023 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament.

The Falcons (32-11) will take on host Marietta College in the first round on Thursday at Marietta Field. The Pioneers enter the game with Pfeiffer with a 24-15 overall record and finished Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play with a 13-5 record, good for a second-place finish. Marietta dropped their OAC Tournament games, a 3-2 loss to Baldwin Wallace and an 8-0 defeat to Muskingum on May 11.

Thursday’s meeting is the first between Marietta and Pfeiffer in softball.

Rowan (36-6) and Penn State-Berks (27-9) will comprise the other half of the Marietta Regional field.

Rachel Kazmirski leads the Pioneers with a .459 batting average which is second in the OAC. She also stands second in the OAC in home runs (12) and leads the league with 14 doubles. The Pioneers’ pitching staff is led by Jillian Middleton, as she has s 3.47 ERA and owns an 11-5 overall record this season. As a staff, Marietta boasts a team ERA of 3.92.

Pfeiffer enters their first NCAA Division III Tournament in 2023 and fourth overall NCAA appearance, having played in the 2008, 2016 and 2017 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional tournaments.

The Falcons captured the USA South Regular Season title after posting a 15-3 conference mark and rolled through the USA South Tournament, downing Southern Virginia and William Peace twice to advance to the USA South Championship Series where they downed rival Greensboro College by scores of 10-3 and 6-0 to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Pfeiffer’s Kenzi Lyall (Sparta) and Kali Morton (Mooresville) won USA South Player and Pitcher of the Year honors, respectively, while three other Falcon players were named All-USA South selections.

In tournament play, Pfeiffer’s Emma Chopko (Mooresville) took home USA South Tournament MVP, while Kyndell Warren (Lenoir), Lyall, Morton and Alyssa Broaddus (Mechanicsville, Virginia) earned All-Tournament plaudits.

Ticket information will be released later in the week.

All other information pertaining to the upcoming NCAA Division III Softball Tournament can be found by visiting www.ncaa.com/sports/softball/d3.