The 2023 Summit League softball tournament took place from May 10–14, 2023. The top six regular-season finishers of the league's eight teams met in the modified double-elimination tournament at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium on the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota.[2] The schedule for the tournament was modified a few times due to rain in the Brookings area during the tournament, with the title games suspended and moved to Sunday, May 14. Omaha won the tournament and earned the Summit League's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division I softball tournament. The defending champion, South Dakota State, made the title game of the tournament but was defeated by the Mavericks.
 | |
| Teams | 6 |
|---|---|
| Format | Double-elimination |
| Finals site |
|
| Champions | Omaha (1st title) |
| Runner-up | South Dakota State |
| Winning coach | Mike Heard (1st title) |
| MVP | Kamryn Meyer (Omaha) |
| Attendance | 1,723 |
| Television | MidcoSN |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Dakota State † | 17 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 37 | – | 17 | .685 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Omaha ‡y | 15 | – | 5 | .750 | 33 | – | 17 | .660 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Dakota State | 13 | – | 8 | .619 | 30 | – | 21 | .588 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Dakota | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 24 | – | 28 | .462 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Dakota | 9 | – | 10 | .474 | 12 | – | 38 | .240 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Thomas* | 6 | – | 14 | .300 | 18 | – | 35 | .340 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas City | 4 | – | 17 | .190 | 9 | – | 43 | .173 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Illinois | 3 | – | 15 | .167 | 9 | – | 36 | .200 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Ineligible for the 2023 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division III | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 20, 2023[1] Rankings from NFCA/USA Today | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Standings edit
| Place | Seed | Team | Conference | Overall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | % | W | L | % | |||
| 1 | 1 | South Dakota State | 17 | 0 | 1.000 | 35 | 15 | .700 |
| 2 | 2 | Omaha | 15 | 5 | .750 | 28 | 15 | .651 |
| 3 | 3 | North Dakota State | 13 | 8 | .619 | 29 | 19 | .604 |
| 4 | 4 | South Dakota | 11 | 9 | .550 | 22 | 26 | .458 |
| 5 | 5 | North Dakota | 9 | 10 | .474 | 12 | 37 | .245 |
| 6 | St. Thomas | 6 | 14 | .300 | 18 | 35 | .340 | |
| 7 | 6 | Kansas City | 4 | 17 | .190 | 9 | 42 | .176 |
| 8 | Western Illinois | 3 | 15 | .167 | 9 | 36 | .200 | |
- St. Thomas is ineligible for the Summit League and NCAA tournaments through 2026
- St. Thomas and Western Illinois did not participate in the tournament
Format and seeding edit
The top six finishers from the regular season were seeded one through six based on conference winning percentage during the conference's regular season. The tournament played out as a modified double-elimination tournament, with the bottom four seeds playing each other in the single-elimination first round and the rest of the tournament as a double-elimination.
Due to their transition from Division III to Division I, St. Thomas is ineligible for the Summit League tournament and NCAA tournament until 2026.
Schedule edit
| Game | Time* | Matchup# | Television | Location | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Round – Wednesday, May 10 | ||||||
| 1 | 2:00 PM | No. 4 South Dakota 2 vs. No. 5 North Dakota 0 | MidcoSN | Jackrabbit Softball Stadium | 160 | |
| 2 | 4:30 PM | No. 3 North Dakota State 3 vs. No. 6 Kansas City 0 Played across 5/10-5/11 |
MidcoSN | Jackrabbit Softball Stadium | 143 | |
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, May 11 | ||||||
| 3 | 12:00 PM | No. 1 South Dakota State 0 vs. No. 4 South Dakota 2 | MidcoSN | Jackrabbit Softball Stadium | 273 | |
| 4 | 2:30 PM | No. 2 Omaha 5 vs. No. 3 North Dakota State 1 | MidcoSN | Jackrabbit Softball Stadium | 273 | |
| 5 | 5:00 PM | No. 1 South Dakota State 10 vs. No. 3 North Dakota State 2 (5) | MidcoSN | Jackrabbit Softball Stadium | 254 | |
| Semifinals – Friday, May 12 | ||||||
| 6 | 2:00 PM | No. 2 Omaha 14 vs. No. 4 South Dakota 2(5) | MidcoSN | Jackrabbit Softball Stadium | 147 | |
| 7 | 4:30 PM | No. 1 South Dakota State 3 vs. No. 4 South Dakota 0 | MidcoSN | Jackrabbit Softball Stadium | 263 | |
| Finals – Sunday, May 13 | ||||||
| 8 | 1:00 PM | No. 1 South Dakota State 0 vs. No. 2 Omaha 1 Played on 5/13 and 5/14[5] |
MidcoSN | Jackrabbit Softball Stadium | 210 | |
| *Game times in CDT. # - Rankings denote tournament seed. Reference:[6][7][8] | ||||||
All-Tournament Team edit
The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team:[9]
| Player | School |
|---|---|
| Kamryn Meyer (MVP) | Omaha |
| Rachel Weber | |
| Maggie O'Brien | |
| Lynsey Tucker | |
| Olivia Aden | |
| Shannon Lasey | South Dakota State |
| Tori Kniesche | |
| Rozelyn Carrillo | |
| Brooke Dumont | |
| Gabby Moser | South Dakota |
| Courtney Wilson | |
| Clara Edwards | |
| Paige Vargas | North Dakota State |
| Carley Goetschius | |
| Jackie Albrecht | North Dakota |
| Lexy Smith | Kansas City |
References edit
- ^ "The Summit League Softball Standings". TheSummitLeague.org. The Summit League. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
- ^ "South Dakota State projected to win 2023 Summit League softball title". thesummitleague.org. The Summit League. February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Softball Standings". thesummitleague.org. The Summit League. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ "The Summit League". d1softball.com. D1 Softball. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ "#SummitSB title game suspended due to weather". thesummitleague.org. The Summit League. May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "2023 #SummitSB Bracket" (PDF). thesummitleague.org. The Summit League. May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Summit League Softball Championship bracket set". thesummitleague.org. The Summit League. May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ "Updates made to Summit League Softball Championship schedule". thesummitleague.org. The Summit League. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
- ^ "Second-seeded Mavericks claim first #SummitSB Championship title". thesummitleague.org. The Summit League. May 14, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2023.