ALLIANCE, Ohio – Penn College will make its third consecutive NCAA Softball Championship appearance when the Wildcats (33-7) take on Christopher Newport (28-11) at 1:30 p.m., on Thursday, May 14, in the first round of the Alliance, Ohio Regional Championships hosted by No. 11 Mount Union. The two teams are joined by the Purple Raiders and Lebanon Valley in the regional pod.

The first contest of the regional action will feature Mount Union (29-6) battling Lebanon Valley (26-15) at 11 a.m., in the four-team double-elimination pod. The team advancing from each of the 15 regional sites will compete in the super regional round May 21-22. The finals will be held May 28-June 3 at Moyer Park in Salem, Va.

The winners of Thursday's first games will face each other at 11 a.m. Friday, while Thursday's losers will play an elimination game at 1:30 p.m., and a second elimination game will be held on Friday at 4 p.m. The regional championship is set to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday and an if-necessary contest at 1:30 p.m.

Penn College reached the tournament for the third time in program history by swiping the United East automatic qualifier. CNU is making its fifth-consecutive NCAA appearance and 23rd in program history while claiming the 2022 National Championship. The Captains were an NCAA Super Regional team in 2024 and a Final Four squad in 2023.

The Purple Raiders picked up an at-large selection to make its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. Mount Union went 1-2 in last season's Salisbury, Md., region. A familiar foe in Lebanon Valley is also joining the pod, the Dutchmen and Wildcats were in the Cleveland Regional a season ago where LVC earned a 5-1 victory in the head-to-head matchup. 

Visit pctwildcats.com for video and live stat information and checkout the 2026 NCAA Division III Softball homepage for complete scores and the full bracket.