VALLEY CITY (VCSU) – The Valley City State University softball team is headed to Columbia, Mo., as a No. 1 seed for the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round.

The seedings and pairings for the 10 opening round sites were announced Tuesday afternoon by the NAIA national office. The Vikings – ranked No. 6 in Tuesday’s final Top 25 Coaches’ Poll – will be the No. 1 seed for the Columbia Bracket hosted by Columbia College at Antimi Sports Complex in Columbia, Mo.

Valley City State (51-3, NSAA Tournament Champion) will play their first game against No. 4 seed Madonna (Mich.) (35-13, WHAC Regular Season Champion) on May 13. The Vikings and Crusaders met once earlier this season in Tucson, Ariz. Valley City State won that game 8-7 on a walk-off home run by Riley Perryman.

Also in Valley City’s bracket is No. 2 seed Columbia College (Mo.) (35-10, AMC Tournament Champion) and No. 3 seed Brenau (Ga.) (34-10, AAC Tournament Champions). Each opening round site is a four-team, double-elimination tournament running May 13-15. The winner of each opening round site advances to the 10-team NAIA Softball World Series, May 23-29 in Springfield, Mo.

A total of 40 teams qualify for the NAIA Opening Round. Valley City State earned its spot after winning the North Star Athletic Association Postseason Tournament, claiming the conference’s automatic bid to the national tournament. Bellevue University (44-16) will also represent the North Star Athletic Association as an at-large selection. The Bruins are the No. 3 seed in the Dodge City (Kan.) bracket and will face No. 2 seed Houston-Victoria (Texas).

This will be Valley City State’s first appearance in the national tournament since 2006. That year, the Vikings won a regional tournament that qualified them for a 20-team national tournament featuring pool play brackets. The NAIA changed to its current 40-team opening round format in 2013. VCSU’s best national tournament finish came in 1982 when the Vikings placed seventh at the tournament in Kearney, Neb.

Valley City State set a school record for wins earlier this season and is now 51-3 overall and riding an 18-game winning streak. The Vikings have the fourth-best winning percentage (.944) in the nation.

VCSU’s first opponent, Madonna, earned its spot in the tournament as the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion. Madonna has a 35-13 overall record. No. 2 seed Columbia College is 35-10 overall this season and qualified for the tournament as the American Midwest Conference Tournament Champion. No. 3 seed Brenau (Ga.) has a 34-10 overall record and won the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament to qualify for nationals. Columbia is ranked No. 18 in the final poll, while Brenau is ranked No. 25.

(Submitted by Mark Potts/VCSU Athletics)