How to watch, preview, prediction for the DII softball championship series

Saint Leo and McKendree are the last two teams standing in the 2026 DII softball championship. Now, the finals shift to a best-of-three series, and 2026 will see a first-time champion as neither the Lions nor the Bearcats have ever made it this far.

🏆🥎 Bracket, schedule, scores🥎🏆

The Lions and Bearcats took two different roads to the final series, but neither has lost in Chattanooga yet. Both are on historic runs, so let's take a look at how we got here and what to expect.

The DII softball championship series: How to watch

Saint Leo Athletics

The double-elimination tournament turns to one last best-of-three series to be played June 2 and 3 at Frost Stadium at Warner Park in Chattanooga. Tuesday, June 2's game is set for first pitch at 6 p.m. ET, while Wednesday, June 3 will start at 3 p.m. ET. Should we need the third game, first pitch will be around 5:30, after Game 2 ends. Of course, weather is tricky this time of year, so be sure to follow krikya18.com for updates to start times. Speaking of krikya18.com, you can watch every pitch right here, or on the NCAA Championships Pass app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, and other devices. 

Saint Leo vs. McKendree, by the numbers

Hitters to watch:

• Saint Leo: Izzy LaRoche, IF (.411, 1.124 OPS, seven home runs, 33 RBIs); Abigail Hynes, UT (.399, .996 OPS, six home runs, 53 RBIs); Briana Neal (.398, 1.156 OPS, 10 home runs, 30 RBIs)
• McKendree: Lauren Harris, SS (.475, 1.399 OPS, 21 home runs, 71 RBIs); Jasmine Myers, 1B (.366, 1.087 OPS, 14 home runs, 63 RBIs)

Pitchers to watch:

• Saint Leo: Tierney Hocquard (23-1, 1.60 ERA, 0.94 WHIP); Alex Wright (15-0, 1.42 ERA, 0.99 WHIP)
• McKendree: Sami Huck (30-7, 2.10 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 299 strikeouts)

The DII softball final series, previewed

Saint Leo rolls into the DII softball championship series at 52-3-1. Should the Lions sweep McKendree, they would have the fewest losses of any national champion in the history of DII softball. A trio of teams — Augustana (SD) in 1991, Merrimack in 1994 and Lock Haven in 2006 — have won it with just four losses, so not only are the Lions on the cusp of program history with their first national championship, but they are also looking to make DII softball history.

Saint Leo's pitching has been the story as one of the best in DII. Hocquard and Wright anchor arguably the deepest staff in the division: third in DII in ERA, first in WHIP and first in hits allowed per game (4.9). Offensively, the Lions are scoring just 5.1 runs per game in the tournament, but they haven't needed much more with that pitching. They have allowed one run or fewer in half their games and just 1.8 runs per game in the tournament. That is remarkable when you consider this has been against some of the best competition in all DII, including a pair of extra-inning thrillers in a row against two very strong teams.

McKendree? What the Bearcats are doing is the stuff movies from which movies are made. Dating back to the super regionals, they have won five straight one-run games. Every one of those games has been against an NFCA coaches poll top-five team. Most recently, the comeback kids went down 2-0 to No. 4 Cal State San Marcos, but stormed back with a four-run second inning and never relinquished the lead again.

This team has plenty of talent, but they win with heart. Sunday it was the No. 9 hitter Trista Moore with a two-RBI double to give the Bearcats the only lead they would need. On Saturday, it was sophomore catcher Paisley Twitt with her first RBI in six games to walk it off for the Bearcats. The game before that was three-hole hitter Jasmine Myers driving in All-American Lauren Harris for the walk-off, a combo that has won plenty games for these Bearcats. They have fearless hitters everywhere, and the spotlight is seemingly never too bright.  

Who will be the 2026 DII softball national champion?

Saint Leo is a well-oiled machine. The Lions, like McKendree, have shown guts winning four one-run ball games over their eight tournament games as well. However, history does not favor the "best" in the DII softball championship series. Dating back to 2016, the No. 1 seed has won just one national championship, and that was last year's UT Tyler repeat national champions, who were loaded with the experience of four consecutive trips to the final eight, a unicorn among DII softball historic runs. 

McKendree simply has shown no fear. The Bearcats have disposed of the Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 teams in DII softball according to the national polls, as well as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and Nos. 2, 3 and 4 seeds in Chattanooga. They have shown they can beat anyone and, more importantly, at any time. No lead is safe against these Bearcats, but they have to run out of steam eventually, right?

So, the question is, do the cardiac kids have two more wins in them? I think they do.

2026 DII softball national champions: McKendree (wins the championship series 2-1)