ALEXANDRIA, La. --- After a 12-year hiatus, Biola Softball makes it two straight trips to the NAIA National Tournament following its 34-18 2015 season. The Eagles' automatic qualifying bid came from a runner-up finish at the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
Biola enters the tournament with a No. 18 ranking in the latest NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll, which was released Thursday afternoon. Later that day, Biola learned it would be the No. 2 seed in the LSU Alexandria bracket. Joining the Eagles in that double-elimination bracket are the hosts, No. 2 LSU Alexandria, and Belhaven (Miss.) and Kansas Wesleyan. Belhaven is receiving votes in the final coaches' poll.
 
The NAIA Softball Tournament Opening Round consisted of pool play games at various host sites until 2013, when it switched to its current double-elimination format. Since that switch No. 2 seeds are 41-34 overall in the opening round. Biola went 2-2 as the No. 2 seed in 2013 at Reinhardt (Ga.)
 
Biola Softball has never faced any of the three opponents in the bracket at its opening round host site. The Eagles are slated to begin its opening round experience with a 12:30 p.m. (PT) matchup with the Blazers of Belhaven. All games are played at Generals Field on the campus of LSU Alexandria and will be live streamed for fans unable to join the festivities in Louisiana.
 
The complete bracket can be found here.
 
Up-to-the-minute information about all of the happenings at this Opening Round site can be found at http://athletics.biola.edu/sports/2015/5/8/LSUAlexandriaTournament.aspx?id=207.
 
About LSU Alexandria – LSU Alexandria is, without a doubt, the best hitting team in the entire NAIA. The Generals earned their spot in this Opening Round by winning the Red River Conference Tournament. They were selected as a host site prior to the tournament, which would have guaranteed them a berth regardless. They have not lost a game since March 1, owning the NAIA's longest active winning streak (38 games), and finishing the regular season and conference tournament with a 45-3 overall record. Opening Round hosts were 26-8 in the 2014 tournament and No. 1 seeds are 54-16 since 2013. Brooke Thomas is No. 1 in the nation in batting average (.533) with 80 hits in 150 at-bats this season. She's scored 64 runs on the season too, helping pace a Generals offense that leads the country in batting average (.437), steals (190) and slugging (.712) and is also in the top-3 in hits (601), runs (504), RBI (457), doubles (108) and triples (33). All three of their losses this season came to teams that are also in the tournament, with two losses coming in slugfests and one in a pitcher's dual. LSUA has an average run-differential of +8.38 over its opponents this season, scoring 504 runs and holding opponents to 85.
 
About Belhaven (Miss.) – Belhaven can bop (40 HR), but its biggest strength is how well rounded it is, ranking inside of the top-50 in the nation in pitching, hitting and defensive metrics. The Blazers qualified for the tournament with a runner-up finish at the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament. Belhaven finished the regular season and conference tournament with a 30-21 overall record. The Blazers are tied for the most opening round wins since the change in format in 2013. They are 6-4 in Opening Round play over the previous two seasons. Belhaven is the No. 3 seed in this bracket. No. 3 seeds are 25-39 over the past two years. Biola will look to exploit the Blazers' pitching, which has the highest team ERA and WHIP in the bracket. Belhaven also comes in with the fewest wins and lowest winning percentage. The first game will likely be a toe-to-toe matchup between Reba DePriest and the Blazers' Julienne Broussard. Broussard is 14-5 with a 1.75 ERA this season. She's held opponents to a .183 batting average.
 
About Kansas Wesleyan – The Coyotes are a very interesting No. 4 seed, coming into the bracket play ranking just behind LSUA in wins, winning percentage and most offensive statistical categories. However, KWU is just 2-4 against opponents who are in this year's NAIA National Tournament Opening Round. The Coyotes earned their bid as the tournament champion in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. Kansas Wesleyan is in the tournament for a second year in a row, going 0-2 as the No. 4 seed in Oklahoma in 2014. Kimberly Patterson leads KWU's explosive offense by hitting .411 and adding 18 doubles and seven homeruns. They are anchored in the circle by McKenzie Draper, who earned KCAC Freshman of the Year and enters play with a 16-3 record, 1.64 ERA and .213 batting average against.