Posted: May 02, 2024

V-Hawks Begin NSAA Tournament Against Valley City

BISMARCK, N.D. – The brackets and pairings for the 2024 North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Postseason Softball Tournament are set for Friday through next Monday. The postseason softball tournament is hosted by Dickinson State (N.D.) for the second straight year, held at Bravera Field on Sanford Sports Complex in Dickinson, N.D.

All seven teams will play in the NSAA Softball Postseason Conference Tournament, which feature a double elimination format. The seeding is based on the regular-season North Star conference record (winning percentage).

The V-Hawks received the No. 7 seed following a 9-38 season (5-19 NSAA). They will take on No. 2 seed, Valley City State (ND) (25-20, 17-6 NSAA), starting on Friday, May 3 at 4 PM.

Bellevue (Neb.) won the North Star softball regular-season title for the third consecutive year with an overall record of 30-18 and 19-3 record in the league. The Bruins receive a bye in the opening round and will not play their first game until Saturday at 1 p.m. (Central Time)/12 p.m. (Mountain Time).

Valley City State (N.D.) is the No. 2 seed with 17-6 NSAA record (25-20 overall record), followed by Dickinson State at No. 3 seed with 15-9 conference record (20-22 overall record).

Mayville State (N.D.) secured the No. 4 seed at 14-29 overall record and 9-15 record in the league. Dakota State (S.D.) is No. 5 seed at 11-28 overall record and 8-14 NSAA conference record.

The NSAA softball postseason tournament begins Friday at 1:30 p.m. (Central Time)/12:30 p.m. (Mountain Time) with Dakota State facing Mayville State, followed by Valley City State taking on Viterbo at 4 p.m. (Central Time)/3 p.m. (Mountain Time). Waldorf plays Dickinson State in the nightcap at 6:30 p.m. (Central Time)/5:30 p.m. (Mountain Time).

Saturday's schedule includes three loser's out games, with the first loser's out game starting at 11 a.m. (Central Time)/10 a.m. (Mountain Time). Two winner's bracket games follow at 1 p.m. (Central Time)/12 p.m. (Mountain Time) and 3 p.m. (Central Time)/2 p.m. (Mountain Time). Saturday concludes with a pair of loser's out games at 5 p.m. (Central Time)/4 p.m. (Mountain Time) and 7 p.m. (Central Time)/6 p.m. (Mountain Time).

A pair of undefeated teams will battle out at 12 p.m. (CT)/11 a.m. (MT) Sunday, with the winner advancing to the championship game Monday afternoon. Sunday's schedule concludes with another pair of loser's out contests, with the final elimination contest set for 4 p.m. (CT)/3 p.m. (MT).

The NSAA Softball Postseason Championship game is set for Monday at 1 p.m. (CT)/12 p.m. (MT). If the undefeated team loses in the first championship game, then the second championship game is set for 30 minutes after the completion of the first game.

The tournament champion receives the NSAA's automatic berth to the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round, which will be played on May 13-16 on 10 sites announced by the NAIA. The national opening round winners will move on to the 43^rd annual NAIA Softball World Series at South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Ga. on May 23-29.