May 7—JAMESTOWN — The University of Jamestown softball team officially has their first round opponent in the 2025 NAIA Softball National Tournament.
The No. 4-seeded Jimmies will be facing off against No. 5-seeded Arizona Christian University at noon on Monday, May 12, at the region’s top-seeded Oregon Institute of Technology.
“A little bit shocked but maybe,” Jimmies head coach Kevin Gall said. “… I thought we could be going to Iowa or Missouri but we’re going to Oregon to play Arizona. … I’ve been preparing myself in my mind that we’re gonna be going to Sioux Center, Iowa. Usually they call and tell you if you’re gonna be flying so you can start prepping and we didn’t get a call yesterday that we should start prepping to fly, so I thought we were going to be bussing somewhere within 600 miles and we’re not.”
The Jimmies (35-15) and Firebirds (27-25) have played three times all time with the Firebirds owning a 2-1 record. The most recent time the two teams played was earlier this season March 3, with the Jimmies getting a 13-5 win in six innings. During that win, the Jimmies’ Maddie Spaeth led her team going 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs and two runs.
“I would imagine they are a much improved team and as we’ve improved throughout the year, I’m sure they have too,” Gall said. “Their coach (Mike Mayben) is a former national champ in the NAIA so he’s gonna be ready to go I’m sure. I’m sure we have film of that game too, I remember watching the film. So we can watch the film and hopefully play well.”
The Jimmies are headed to the NAIA Tournament for the first time since the 2017-18 season. During their run that year, the Jimmies went 1-2, beating Oklahoma Wesleyan while losing two games to Midland University (Nebraska).
The Jimmies will now have five days before they face off against the Firebirds.
“We gotta plan a flight, gotta get some scouting reports done,” Gall said. “So (we) gotta have good practice tomorrow and then depending on when our flight is, I wanted to be there a couple days ahead of time but I don’t know if we’re gonna be able to do that.”
JAMESTOWN — The University of Jamestown softball team officially has their first round opponent in the 2025 NAIA Softball National Tournament.
The No. 4-seeded Jimmies will be facing off against No. 5-seeded Arizona Christian University at noon on Monday, May 12, at the region’s top-seeded Oregon Institute of Technology.
“A little bit shocked but maybe,” Jimmies head coach Kevin Gall said. “… I thought we could be going to Iowa or Missouri but we’re going to Oregon to play Arizona. … I’ve been preparing myself in my mind that we’re gonna be going to Sioux Center, Iowa. Usually they call and tell you if you’re gonna be flying so you can start prepping and we didn’t get a call yesterday that we should start prepping to fly, so I thought we were going to be bussing somewhere within 600 miles and we’re not.”
The Jimmies (35-15) and Firebirds (27-25) have played three times all time with the Firebirds owning a 2-1 record. The most recent time the two teams played was earlier this season March 3, with the Jimmies getting a 13-5 win in six innings. During that win, the Jimmies’ Maddie Spaeth led her team going 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs and two runs.
“I would imagine they are a much improved team and as we’ve improved throughout the year, I’m sure they have too,” Gall said. “Their coach (Mike Mayben) is a former national champ in the NAIA so he’s gonna be ready to go I’m sure. I’m sure we have film of that game too, I remember watching the film. So we can watch the film and hopefully play well.”
The Jimmies are headed to the NAIA Tournament for the first time since the 2017-18 season. During their run that year, the Jimmies went 1-2, beating Oklahoma Wesleyan while losing two games to Midland University (Nebraska).
The Jimmies will now have five days before they face off against the Firebirds.
“We gotta plan a flight, gotta get some scouting reports done,” Gall said. “So (we) gotta have good practice tomorrow and then depending on when our flight is, I wanted to be there a couple days ahead of time but I don’t know if we’re gonna be able to do that.”
John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun
