The William Woods University Lady Owls are heading to Mississippi for the opening round of the 39th-annual NAIA Softball World Series.
William Woods (23-25) will play ninth-ranked Vanguard (California) University (43-11) at 1 p.m. Monday in the Hattiesburg Bracket. Host William Carey University and College of Idaho are the other two schools in the double-elimination bracket.
The winner advances to the NAIA World Series in Springfield from May 23-29.
William Woods will be making its 19th appearance in the national tournament and first since 2014. The Lady Owls earned an automatic bid after finishing as the runner-up to Columbia College in last week's American Midwest Conference Tournament.
Vanguard captured its third straight Golden State Athletic Conference regular-season title, but lost to Hope International in the championship of the GSAC Tournament.