The 2022 NSIC Softball Tournament bracket has been set as regular season play concluded Monday afternoon. The top ten teams in the final regular season standings will participate in the double-elimination tournament, which will be held May 5-7 at the RYFSA Complex in Rochester, Minnesota.
Augustana earned the number one seed after winning its second straight NSIC Regular Season Championship with its 27-3 league record. The league championship marks the fifth title for the Vikings since joining the NSIC in 2008-09.
Day one match-ups:
| Time | Field | Teams |
| Thursday, May 5, 2022 | ||
| 10 a.m. | Field A | (8) SMSU vs. (9) Sioux Falls |
| 10 a.m. | Field B | (7) Upper Iowa vs. (10) Wayne State |
| 12 p.m. | Field A | (4) St. Cloud State vs. (5) Minnesota Duluth |
| 12 p.m. | Field B | (3) Winona State vs. (6) Concordia-St. Paul |
| 2 p.m. | Field A | (1) Augustana vs. Lowest Seed of game 1&2 winner |
| 2 p.m. | Field B | (2) Minnesota State vs. Highest Seed of game 1&2 winner |
| 4 p.m. | Field A | (4)/(5) losers vs. (7)/(10) loser |
| 4 p.m. | Field B | (3)/(6) losers vs. (8)/(9) loser |
The winner of the NSIC Softball Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The 42-team NCAA Central Region is made up of teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis.
The NCAA softball selections will be announced on www.NCAA.com on Monday, May 9 at 9 a.m. (CT). The NCAA Championships are set for May 26-31 at The Assembly Athletic Complex hosted by Metro State University of Denver.
The two brackets for the 2022 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Postseason Softball Tournaments are set. Top seed, and regular season champion, Midland will serve as one bracket host (1,4,5,8 seeds), while second seed Northwestern will be the other bracket host (2,3,6,7 seeds) of the two four-team tournaments.
Tournament play will open on Wednesday, May 4, at both bracket locations. In Fremont, Nebraska, top-seed Midland will host Morningside, Jamestown, and Dordt. In Orange City, Iowa, second-seed Northwestern will host Mount Marty, College of Saint Mary, and Concordia.
Play will continue, including bracket championship games, on Thursday, May 5. The Midland and Northwestern bracket winners will meet on Saturday, May 7, at the highest remaining seed in the GPAC Softball Tournament Championship Series. The final series will be a best two out of three format.
Midland has secured the league's first berth to the NAIA Opening Round, while the GPAC Tournament Champion will receive the second berth. If the Warriors win the GPAC Tournament then the tournament runner-up will receive the second GPAC berth to the NAIA Opening Round. The two brackets will be double elimination, with the final the best two of three. GPAC tie-breakers were used in the seeding process.
2022 GPAC Softball Tournament Brackets
Midland Bracket – Christensen Field
(Records – Overall, GPAC)
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
Game #1 – (1) Midland (32-7, 19-3) vs (8) Dordt (20-19-1, 10-12) – Noon
Game #2 – (4) Morningside (29-13, 15-7) vs. (5) Jamestown (23-22-1, 10-11-1) – 2pm
Game #3 – Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 – 4pm
Game #4 – Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2 – 6pm
Thursday, May 5, 2022
Game #5 – Winner Game #4 vs. Loser Game #3 – Noon
Game #6 – Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #5 – 2pm
Game #7 – If necessary (Game #6 winner/loser) – 4pm
Northwestern Bracket – Northwestern Softball Diamond
(Records – Overall, GPAC)
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
Game #1 – (2) Northwestern (36-9-1, 15-6-1) vs. (7) Concordia (22-22, 10-12) – Noon
Game #2 – (3) Mount Marty (27-13, 15-7) vs. (6) College of Saint Mary (14-26, 10-12) – 2pm
Game #3 – Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 – 4pm
Game #4 – Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2 – 6pm
Thursday, May 5, 2022
Game #5 – Winner Game #4 vs. Loser Game #3 – Noon
Game #6 – Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #5 – 2 pm
Game #7 – If necessary (Game #6 winner/loser) – 4 pm
GPAC Softball Tournament Championship Series – Saturday, May 7, 2022
Midland Bracket Winner vs. Northwestern Bracket Winner (at highest seed)
(Best 2 of 3 Format)
-Times TBA
The brackets and pairings for the 2022 North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Postseason Softball Tournament are set for May 5-7. The NSAA Softball Tournament will be hosted at the PREMIER Softball Complex (1512 17th Street SE) in Watertown, S.D., hosted by Watertown Convention and Visitor's Bureau.
All eight 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).
Bellevue (Neb.) won the North Star Athletic Association softball regular-season outright title with 24-2 league record with a winning percentage of .923 (38-11 overall record. The Bruins will be the No. 1 seed in the conference postseason tournament.
Valley City State (N.D.) will be the No. 2 seed for the tournament with an overall record of 29-15 and 16-5 NSAA conference record (.762 winning percentage). Dakota State is the No. 3 seed with 13-10 NSAA record (.565 winning percentage) and 18-24 overall record, followed by Dickinson State (N.D.) with No. 4 seed (10-10 NSAA record - .500 winning percentage – and 18-24 overall record).
Mayville State (N.D.) holds the No. 5 seed after completing their regular-season schedule with 13-24 overall record and 10-12 NSAA conference record (.455 winning percentage). Waldorf (Iowa) is sixth with 9-24 overall record and 9-12 NSAA conference record (.429 winning percentage).
Presentation (S.D.) had secured the No. 7 seed with an overall record of 12-28 and 6-19 NSAA conference record (.240 winning percentage), thanks to an extra-inning walk-off victory in the NSAA four-game series finale over Viterbo (Wis.) Monday afternoon. The V-Hawks will be the No. 8 seed with an overall record of 9-37 and 5-23 record in the league.
The NSAA softball postseason tournament begins at 10 a.m. (Central Time) with Dickinson State taking on Mayville State on Field No. 2, while Dakota State plays Waldorf (Iowa) on Field No. 4. The other two opening round games are set for 12:30 p.m. with Bellevue taking on Viterbo and Valley City State facing Presentation.
All eight teams will be playing two games on the first day of the tournament. The first two loser's out games are scheduled for 3 p.m., while the other two winner's bracket contests are scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
The tournament continues Friday with a pair of loser's out games at 11:30 a.m., with the winners advancing to another loser's out game at 2 p.m. A pair of undefeated teams will battle out at 2 p.m. on Field No. 2, with the winner advancing to the championship game set for Saturday afternoon.
There will be three teams remaining on Saturday, starting with an elimination game at 11:30 a.m. The winner of that game will advance to the championship game scheduled for 2 p.m. If the undefeated team loses in the first championship game, then the second championship game is set for 5:30 p.m.
The rain out make-up date is schedule for Sunday.
The tournament champion receives the NSAA's automatic berth to the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round, which will be played on May 16-18 on campus sites announced by the NAIA. The national opening round winners will move on to the 41st annual NAIA Softball World Series at South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Ga. on May 26-June 1.
2022 North Star Athletic Association Softball Championship – hosted by Watertown Convention and Visitor's Bureau
(Overall Record, NSAA record) – Times in Central Time – PREMIER Softball Complex - Watertown, S.D.
| Thursday, May 5, 2022 | |||
| Game 1: No. 5 seed Mayville State (N.D.) (13-24, 10-12 NSAA) vs. No. 4 seed Dickinson State (N.D.) (18-24, 10-10 NSAA) - 10 a.m. - Field #2 |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
| Game 2: No. 6 seed Waldorf (Iowa) (9-24, 9-12 NSAA) vs. No. 3 seed Dakota State (S.D.) (18-24, 13-10 NSAA) - 10 a.m. - Field #4 |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
| Game 3: No. 8 seed Viterbo (Wis.) (9-37, 5-23 NSAA) vs. No. 1 seed Bellevue (Neb.) (38-11, 24-2 NSAA) - 12:30 p.m. - Field #2 |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
| Game 4: No. 7 seed Presentation (S.D.) (12-28, 6-19 NSAA) vs. No. 2 seed Valley City State (N.D.) (29-15, 16-5 NSAA) - 12:30 p.m. - Field #4 |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
| Game 5 (Loser's Out Game): Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3 - 3 p.m. - Field #2 | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
| Game 6 (Loser's Out Game): Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 4 - 3 p.m. - Field #4 | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
| Game 7 (Winner's Bracket): Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3 - 5:30 p.m. - Field #2 | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
| Game 8 (Winner's Bracket): Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4 - 5:30 p.m. - Field #4 | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
| Friday, May 6, 2022 | |||
| Game 9 (Loser's Out Game): Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8 - 11:30 a.m. - Field #2 |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
| Game 10 (Loser's Out Game): Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7 - 11:30 a.m. - Field #4 |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
| Game 11 (Winner's Bracket): Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 - 2 p.m. - Field #2 |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
| Game 12 (Loser's Out Game): Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 - 2 p.m. - Field #4 |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
| Saturday, May 7, 2022 | |||
| Game 13 (Loser's Out Game): Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 11 - 11:30 a.m. - Field #2 |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
| Game 14 (Championship Game): Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 13 - 2 p.m. - Field #2 Winner advances to 2022 NAIA Softball National Tournament Opening Round on May 16-18 |
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | RECAP |
Thursday, May 5, 2022
University of Minnesota Morris(12-21)
University of Northwestern(23-11)University of Minnesota Morris(12-21)
University of Wisconsin-Superior(31-8) |
 |
|
----- USA Softball of South Dakota State Commissioner |
