YUMA, Ariz. — Behind another masterclass performance from their ace, the No. 3 seed Northwest Florida State Raiders opened their 2025 NJCAA Softball World Series run with a 2-0 shutout victory over No. 14 Southern Union Tuesday afternoon in Yuma.
Sophomore right-hander Cailyn Heyl was dominant once again, tossing her 22nd complete game and 12th shutout of the season. The reigning Panhandle Pitcher of the Year scattered five hits over 7.0 scoreless innings, striking out five and walking just one to earn her 31st win of the season.
Northwest Florida (57-4) wasted no time putting pressure on the Southern Union defense. In the bottom of the first inning, Karson McGowan reached on a sharp single and quickly moved into scoring position. Two batters later, Sister Arnold came through with a clutch RBI single up the middle, plating McGowan to give the Raiders an early 1-0 edge.
The Raiders added insurance in the fourth inning after Haley Hughes led off the inning with a single and later advanced to third on a steal and tag-up on a fly out. With a runner on third, Lulu Luedtke lifted a deep fly ball to center field, allowing Hughes to tag and score easily on the sacrifice fly to push the lead to 2-0.
Hughes and McGowan each tallied a pair of hits in the game, combining for four of the Raiders’ six total base knocks. Luedtke and Arnold each collected an RBI as the Raiders executed well with runners in scoring position.
Defensively, the Raiders were sharp and error-free behind Heyl. The infield turned several key outs on the ground and limited Southern Union’s ability to manufacture any momentum offensively. Southern Union stranded six runners on base and was held to just one extra base hit.
With the win, Northwest Florida improves to 57-4 overall and advances in the winner’s bracket for the third consecutive year. The Raiders now turn their attention to a highly anticipated third-round matchup against No. 6 Odessa College on Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. CDT.
The Wranglers (47-6), one of the top offensive teams in the tournament, are coming off a 6-2 win over Wallace State-Hanceville in their opening game. Odessa enters the matchup riding a perfect 24-0 conference record and features two of the most dangerous hitters in the country in Mason Barclay and Shelby Navarette. Both players are hitting above .500 on the season and have combined for 28 home runs—Navarette with 16 and Barclay with 12.
Barclay led the way for Odessa on Monday, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs, while Navarette added a hit and an RBI of her own.
In the circle, Haydn Milley is the Wranglers’ ace, boasting a 1.63 ERA and a 19-4 record across 29 appearances. She went the distance against Wallace State, tossing a complete game with only two earned runs allowed. Jaida Lorigan adds depth to the staff with a 1.88 ERA, a 17-1 record, and the ability to go deep into games if needed.
Wednesday’s winner will remain in the winner’s bracket, while the loser will drop into the elimination bracket and face a do-or-die game later that evening at 10:15 p.m. CDT.
The remainder of the NJCAA World Series will be streamed live on ESPN+ with a subscription. Fans can also follow live updates on X (formerly Twitter) by following @NWFRaiders_SB.
