BALDWIN CITY – Benedictine Softball enters the 2023 Heart Softball Championship Series matching it's best seeding under the current format as the No. 5 seeded Ravens will open the series against (RV) Grand View University, the No. 4 seed.

The matchup at 9:30 a.m. Thursday is being played on Cavaness Field with this year's Championship Series hosted by Baker University. The first-round meeting is a rubber match between the two schools after they split their regular-season meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, back on April 18. In that doubleheader, Grand View earned a 2-1 10-inning win in game 1 before Benedictine rallied for a 7-0 win in game 2.

Grand View leads the series with Benedictine 14-3 since the Vikings joined the Heart. The win earlier this season snapped a 5-game losing streak for the Ravens.

Benedictine enters the Championship Series with a conference record of 16-10 while posting an overall record of 26-23. Grand View enters the Championship Series with a conference record of 17-9 and an overall record of 31-15. Benedictine finished third in the Heart South while Grand View finished second in the Heart North. The Championship Series consists of the top three finishers from each division and the next best two teams based on conference winning percentage.

The Ravens have won 4 of their last 6 heading into the game with the Vikings while Grand View has won three straight and 5 of their last 6. 

Benedictine enters the postseason as the Heart leader in home runs with 36. They rank second in RBI with 260 and doubles with 78. They have the fifth-best team batting average at .290 but are second in the Heart in slugging at .468.

Grand View enters the postseason tied for ninth in the Heart with 18 home runs. They rank third in RBI with 220 and sixth in doubles with 71. They have the third-best batting average in the Heart at .304 and the fifth-best slugging percentage at .414.

Inside the circle, Benedictine has a 3.57 ERA while Grand View has a 3.05. The Ravens are ranked ninth while the Vikings are ranked sixth. 

Defensively, Benedictine ranks fifth in fielding percentage at .962 while Grand View ranks sixth at .959.

The winner of the game advances to Game 7 on Friday at 12 p.m. while the loser will take on the loser of the No. 1 CMU-No. 8 Culver-Stockton game in Game 5 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Baker has created a Tournament Central Page with links for video streams and live stats at https://bakerwildcats.prestosports.com/2023ConferenceTournamentPage.

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