Columbia, Mo. - The Columbia Cougars pulled out a victory today in the first day of the NAIA Softball National Championships in Decatur, Ala. The 19th seeded Cougars pulled an upset victory over No. 11 seeded Dickinson State (N.D.) University by a final score of 1-0. Columbia improves to 37-17 on the season while the Blue Hawks from Dickinson move to 33-12 overall.
Columbia's Tori Long led off the game with a blooper back to the pitcher that fell just short of her glove and allowed Long to reach first. Samantha Stringer sacrificed Long to second. Valerie Teter took a walk and Rachel Coleman loaded the bases when she was hit by a pitch. Long crossed the plate two pitches later when a wild pitch reached the backstop.

Dickinson State threatened in the fourth and sixth innings when their lead-off batter reached base, however the Cougars would shut the next three batters down in order to prevent any Blue Hawk from going past second base.

Valerie Teter (30-6) took the win on the mound for Columbia. She notched 13 strikeouts while allowing four hits and zero walks in the shutout. Long was two-for-three in the contest.

Columbia continues pool play tomorrow in Decatur, facing sixth seeded Belhaven (Miss.) University. The Blazers are 50-8 on the season and take on Northwood (Texas) University later today. This is their first appearance at the NAIA National Championships. Game time is slated for 12:30 p.m. CST. Live statistics can be found at http://naia.cstv.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/050710aad.html.