Our Lady of the Lake softball claimed the school’s first national title in any sport Wednesday, capping a dominant season with a 2-0 win against Jessup at the NAIA World Series in Columbus, Ga.
went 7-0 in the NAIA championship tournament behind the dominant pitching of Cassie Valdez, who took the mound for every inning of the Saints’ postseason run and posted six shutouts. The Saints were appearing in a national championship game for the first time in any sport, returning to the World Series stage for a second straight season. Last year’s
team was the third to reach the NAIA postseason and advanced to the program’s first World Series, earning the No. 2 seed in the field but exiting early after the Saints dropped their first two games. would not be denied in 2024, charging to a 45-game winning streak to become the first team in program history to earn a No. 1 national ranking, holding the spot in every poll since the preseason rankings were updated in early March. Our Lady of the Lake finishes the year 57-3, closing out Jessup without the need for a decisive final game Thursday.