The 2023 Southland Conference tournament was held at Joe Miller Field on the campus of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, from May 9 through 13, 2023.[3] The tournament winner, McNeese, earned the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division I softball tournament. All games were broadcast on ESPN+.[4]
| Teams | 7 |
|---|---|
| Format | Double-elimination tournament |
| Finals site | |
| Champions | McNeese (9th title) |
| Winning coach | James Landreneau (5th title) |
| MVP | Reese Reyna (McNeese) |
| Television | ESPN+ |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | W | L | T | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| McNeese †‡y | 21 | – | 3 | – | 0 | .875 | 47 | – | 16 | – | 0 | .746 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southeastern Louisiana | 19 | – | 5 | – | 0 | .792 | 47 | – | 14 | – | 0 | .770 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nicholls | 13 | – | 11 | – | 0 | .542 | 29 | – | 24 | – | 0 | .547 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lamar | 12 | – | 12 | – | 0 | .500 | 22 | – | 34 | – | 0 | .393 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | 11 | – | 13 | – | 0 | .458 | 24 | – | 24 | – | 0 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern State | 10 | – | 14 | – | 0 | .417 | 25 | – | 27 | – | 0 | .481 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Houston Christian | 9 | – | 15 | – | 0 | .375 | 20 | – | 33 | – | 0 | .377 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Incarnate Word | 8 | – | 16 | – | 0 | .333 | 16 | – | 30 | – | 1 | .351 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas A&M–Commerce* | 5 | – | 19 | – | 0 | .208 | 9 | – | 39 | – | 0 | .188 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Ineligible for the 2023 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 21, 2023[2] Rankings from NFCA/USA Today | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Format
editThe tournament was a 7 team double elimination format. The top seeded team, McNeese, received a bye in first round competition.
Seeds
editTeams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tie–breaker system to seed teams with identical conference records. The top seven teams in the conference qualify for the tournament. Tiebreakers were not needed in 2023.
| Seed | School | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McNeese | 21–3 |
| 2 | Southeastern Louisiana | 19–5 |
| 3 | Nicholls | 13–11 |
| 4 | Lamar | 12–12 |
| 5 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | 11–13 |
| 6 | Northwestern State | 10–14 |
| 7 | Houston Christian | 9–15 |
- Incarnate Word and Texas A&M–Commerce did not qualify for the tournament. New Orleans does not sponsor a softball team.
Tournament
edit| Round | Game | Time* | Matchup | Score | Attendance | Notes | Television |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First day – Tuesday, May 9, 2023 | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | 1:30 pm | No. 4 Lamar vs. No. 5 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | 2–3 | Not recorded | ESPN+ | |
| 2 | 4:25 pm | No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 7 Houston Christian | 7–1 | Not recorded | Rain delay; Game resumed at 7:35 pm | ||
| 3 | 8:40 pm | No. 3 Nicholls vs. No. 6 Northwestern State | 2–8 | 457 | Start delayed due to rain | ||
| Second day – Wednesday, May 10, 2023 | |||||||
| 2 | 4 | 1:30 pm | No. 5 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi vs. No. 1 McNeese | 1–2 | Not recorded | Delayed; rain | ESPN+ |
| 5 | 5:32 pm | No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 6 Northwestern State | 13–1(5) | 394 | Game started 30 minutes after game 4 conclusion | ||
| Third day– Thursday, May 11, 2023 | |||||||
| 2 | 6 | 11:00 am | No. 7 Houston Christian vs. No. 3 Nicholls | 1–2 | Not recorded | Elimination game | ESPN+ |
| 7 | 1:30 pm | No. 4 Lamar vs. No. 6 Northwestern State | 5–4 | Not recorded | Elimination game | ||
| 8 | 4:00 pm | No. 5 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi vs. No. 3 Nicholls | 0–1 | Not recorded | Elimination game | ||
| 9 | 6:30 pm | No. 1 McNeese vs. No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana | 6–2 | 528 | |||
| Fourth day – Friday, May 12, 2023 | |||||||
| 3 | 10 | 11:00 pm | No. 3 Nicholls vs. No. 4 Lamar | 4–5 | Not recorded | Elimination Game | ESPN+ |
| 11 | 1:30 pm | No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 4 Lamar | 8–0(5) | 363 | Elimination Game | ||
| Championship – Saturday, May 13, 2023 | |||||||
| 4 | 12 | 12:00 pm | No. 1 McNeese vs. No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana | 1– 0(8) | 607 | ESPN+ | |
| 13 | 2:30 pm | Rematch (if necessary) | – | Not necessary | |||
| *Game times in CDT. #-Rankings denote tournament seeding. | |||||||
Awards and honors
edit
Tournament MVP: Reese Reyna, McNeese
All-Tournament Teams: Source:[7]
- Reese Reyna, McNeese - MVP
- Mariana Torres, McNeese
- Alayis Seneca, McNeese
- Whitney Tate, McNeese
- Ashley Vallejo, McNeese
- Madison Rayner, Southeastern
- Lexi Johnson, Southeastern
- Audrey Greely, Southeastern
- Ka’Lyn Watson, Southeastern
- KK Ladner, Southeastern
- Cameron Niedenthal, Lamar
- Alexa Poche’, Nicholls
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Texas A&M University-Commerce Officially Joins NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference". Texas A&M University-Commerce. July 1, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
- ^ "Southland Conference Softball Standings". Southland.org. Southland Conference. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
- ^ "2023 college softball conference tournaments: Schedules, brackets, auto-bids". TURNER SPORTS INTERACTIVE, INC. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "McNeese takes top seed in Southland Softball Championship; Cowgirls host tournament May 9–12". Southland Conference. May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ "No title". D1SOFTBALL. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Southland Softball Tournament". Southland Conference. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "MVP Reyna's walkoff homer in extras gives (1) McNeese third straight Southland Softball Championship title with 1-0 win over (2) Southeastern". Southland Conference. May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.