Kansas City, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has released the bracket and pool play matchups for the 2009 NAIA Softball National Championship, scheduled for May 14-20 in Decatur, Ala. The Shorter College Lady Hawks are in Pool B, with Lubbock Christian University, Morningside College and Asbury College.

This event is hosted by Decatur Parks and Recreation.

Shorter College received an automatic bid to the championship with a 6-2 victory over Lee University on Sunday to capture the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament title.

The Lady Hawks will open play on Thursday, May 15, with a game at 2 p.m. against Morningside College. Morningside was the Great Plain Athletic Conference regular season champion and are receiving-votes in the final national poll. This will be the second time Shorter and Morningside have faced each other this season, with Shorter losing 2-1 in their seventh game of the season.

After facing Asbury, who advanced after winning the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, on Friday, May 15, at 5 p.m., Shorter will face their toughest competitor of the year on Saturday, May 16, as they play No. 2 Lubbock Christian at 12:30 p.m. Lubbock Christian is the defending National Champion, after defeating the University of Mobile in last year's title game, 2-1.

The 29th Annual Tournament will begin with pool play from May 14-16. Winners from each pool will move onto an eight-team double elimination bracket, played from May 18-20.

The championship will be played at the Wilson Morgan Softball Complex. In all, 32 teams will come together in Decatur to play for the championship, as 25 squads received automatic bids and seven more made the tournament as at-large selections.

Note: All times are central time.