Buchanon Park will host two opening rounds of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’s 38th annual Softball World Series on May 14-16.

Eight teams will compete for a chance to make the NAIA Softball World Series on May 25-31 in Clermont, Fla.

“We are thrilled to partner with the Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau on our Softball National Championship opening rounds,” Mike Higgins, NAIA’s director of championships, said in a news release. “Bowling Green has been a tremendous host in the past, and the geography is great for the large majority of our schools. Sending eight teams there, with two of our four-team opening-round brackets, will make for a fantastic atmosphere for our student athletes.”

This is the second-consecutive year Bowling Green has hosted opening-round action – though it is the first year it is hosting two opening-round brackets. The Mid-South Conference, which is in the NAIA, hosts many of its conference tournaments at Bowling Green athletic facilities, and that partnership also helped bring the opening rounds to Buchanon Park.

“Buchanon Park features wonderful softball facilities, and we are looking forward to hosting some top-notch softball this spring,” said Amy Cardwell, sports sales director for the Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We love helping bring these sporting events to Bowling Green, and we are thrilled that the NAIA selected Bowling Green to host two opening rounds. Bowling Green’s hospitality goes a long way to bringing these caliber of sporting events to our facilities. We think this is the continuation of a wonderful partnership with the NAIA.”

For more information on the NAIA Softball World Series, visit www.naia.org or contact Cardwell or Beth Noffsinger at the Bowling Green Area CVB at 270-782-0800.