Box Score COLUMBUS, GEORGIA – Grand View entered Monday as a top six team in the country. The Vikings took on the Grizzlies of Georgia Gwinnett who came into the tournament as the 2-seed. The game was the second of the 3 games played at the NAIA World Series on this beautiful Memorial Day afternoon. We want to recognize and honor the veterans that have made an ultimate sacrifice for each one of us.
GRAND VIEW 0, GEORGIA GWINNETT 2
Grand View couldn't get much going in the first although
Nevaeh Randall punched a shallow single with two outs.
Madeline Waldorf made her second start of the World Series against the Grizzlies and looked to have a similar outing. The first batter went quick on a fly ball that
Olivia Harmon tracked under. Waldorf caught the second batter looking after being behind 3-1 in the count. And a three up, three down inning ended with another fly ball out to number 4, Harmon.
In the top of the second, Ella Taber struck a hard shot down the third baseline for a lead off double! "Let's go!" sounded off from the Vikings dugout. The opportunity filtered out though and GV stranded Taber on second.
Waldorf seemed to have her best stuff early in this one. The first out of inning number two came on a swinging miss on a well-executed change-up. After a full count ball four, the Vikings earned out number two on a well hit ball that
Mackenzie Meister ran down in the left-center field gap. The following at-bat,
Kylie Merical made a fantastic grab on a popped-up pitch in foul territory.
The third inning had nothing doing for the offense and Waldorf came back to the mound. The first batter walked on a full count pitch that just missed the plate.
Olivia Kyes made a wonderful play on an attempted sac bunt, to get the lead runner second. The second out came at second base with the Grizzlies trying to get aggressive.
Samantha Holbert is not the catcher to test though. Holbert lasered the runner with time to spare and eliminated the base runner.
The top of the fourth came around after a quiet inning, and Randall lined her second hit of the game into center field. Holbert moved her over with a sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on a fly ball to right field by Taber. The Vikings would have to wait to break the seal though, as Randall was stranded in third.
Waldorf pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fourth with outstanding command in the circle. The third out was made on a hard hit to short, but Kottlowski made it look routine and tossed the girl out at first.
A quick inning offensively for GV as the Grizzlies changed pitchers as well. This has officially become a pitching duel.
Waldorf earned the first out of the fifth with another strikeout, looking. Waldorf gave up her first hit of the game on a ground ball that got through the middle of the infield. The Vikings tightened up and found two more outs, including Harmon running into shallow center to end the fifth.
Harmon led off the top of the sixth with a beautiful bunt for a base hit. Two outs went by, and Harmon still stuck on first base until she stole second, but another runner stayed on the base paths for Grand View.
In the bottom of the inning, GGC started with two straight singles and Waldorf faced her first real challenge of the afternoon. The Vikings couldn't find an out before the lead was two for the Grizzlies. Grand View's Addisyn Halstead came in to relieve. Kyes made the first out of the inning with a valiant effort to get the lead runner at third as she dove and put her glove on the bag. Halstead got the second out of the inning on a change-up to fool the batter. The infield stepped back with two outs and had a force out at all three bags. Kottlowski made a great play on a short hop and threw out the runner to get out of the inning, down 0-2.
Grand View would start with their backs against the wall in the seventh, starting with Taber at the plate. The Vikings were unable to get any momentum in the final inning, and their season closed on a 0-2 ball game.
The Grand View Softball team finished the highest in school history as they exited the 2025 NAIA World Series as a top five teams in the country. The softball team was unbelievable to watch all season and a run that will be remembered for a long time. They beat out the number one team in the country to win the Opening Round, then beat the number one seed in the World Series. The culture of the team is so contagious to the people around them and their character will take them far, beyond the game of softball.
