VALLEY CITY, N.D (vcsuvikings.com) – Valley City State swept the final edition of the North Star Athletic Association’s Softball Players of the Week. Emily Smith was named Pitcher of the Week and Jessica Husband was chosen as Player of the Week. It is the fifth time this season that the Vikings have swept the weekly honor.

North Star Athletic Association Softball Pitcher-of-the-Week
Emily Smith – Valley City State (N.D.) – 5’7″ – Senior – pitcher – Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Canada – Smith earned three victories on the week, including two shutouts as Valley City State (N.D.) went 6-0 record for the week.  The Vikings claimed the North Star Athletic Association regular-season title as Smith tossed a complete game with 11 strikeouts and allowed one run on four hits in 9-1 victory at Mayville State (N.D.).  For the week, Smith gave up just one run and finished all three games in five innings.  She struck out 25 batters and held its opponents to a .113 batting average.

North Star Athletic Association Softball Player-of-the-Week
Jessica Husband – Valley City State (N.D.) – 5’5″ – Junior – outfielder – Kingwood Park, Texas – Husband recorded a .765 batting average and a 1.353 slugging percentage after going 13-of-17 at the plate with three home runs, fueling Valley City State (N.D.) to a 6-0 record for the week.  She drove in 11 runs and scored eight runs for the week.  Husband also had a double and recorded at least two hits in each of the six games.

Recap from last week’s games
Valley City State (N.D.), receiving votes in the latest NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 national poll, extended their winning streak to 15 games as they wrapped up their regular-season schedule with a 6-0 record for the week.  The Vikings clinched the NSAA regular-season outright title after sweeping Mayville State (N.D.) 6-0 and 9-1 on April 28.  VCSU closed out the home schedule with a four-game series sweep over Presentation (S.D.), outscoring the Saints 54-1 in the series on May 1-2.  Valley City State raised their overall record to 32-5 and finished the NSAA schedule with an impressive 25-2 record.  PC fell to 7-32 overall record and 6-21 NSAA conference record.

Dickinson State (N.D.) swept Mayville State in a key North Star four-game series in Mayville, N.D. last weekend.  The Blue Hawks won by the scores of 9-0 and 10-8 on April 30, followed by a pair of victories by the scores of 3-1 and 3-2 on May 1.  DiSU secured the No. 3 seed for the postseason tournament with an overall record 30-13 overall record and 19-8 record in the league.  The Comets fell to 19-21 overall record and finished fourth in the NSAA conference standings with a 15-13 record.

Bellevue (Neb.) ballooned their winning streak to nine games after sweeping Waldorf (Iowa) in the final NSAA four-game series in Bellevue, Neb.  The Bruins won 4-0 and 11-3 on May 1, followed by 8-3 and 15-0 victories on May 2.  BU lifted their overall record to 35-18 and finished second in the conference with 21-7 record.  The Warriors, who were swept by Dordt (Iowa) 11-3 and 8-0 on April 28, is 8-31 overall record and finished in a tie for seventh place in the NSAA conference with Presentation (6-21 conference record).

Dakota State (S.D.) was swept by Briar Cliff (Iowa) 6-2 and 8-3 on April 28, followed by a doubleheader split at Northwestern (Iowa) by winning the first game 3-2 and falling in the second game 18-5 on April 29.  The Trojans went 3-1 record in the final NSAA four-game series with Viterbo (Wis.).  DaSU won the first game 11-2 on May 1, while VU earned a 5-4 victory in the second game.  The Trojans swept the V-Hawks 3-1 and 5-4 in nine innings on May 2.  Dakota State is 18-32 overall record and finished fifth in the NSAA with 11-17 conference record.  Viterbo holds a 7-35 overall record and secured a No. 6 seed for the conference tournament with 7-21 record in the league.

Looking Ahead
The brackets for the 2021 North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Postseason Softball Tournament are set for May 6-8.  Bellevue (Neb.) will be this year’s conference tournament host set.  The tournament takes place at The Lied Center Field (2700 Arboretum Drive) in Bellevue, Neb.  May 9 has been reserved as a weather make-up day.

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).

The tournament champion receives the NSAA’s automatic berth to the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round, which will be played on May 17-19 on campus sites announced by the NAIA.  The national opening round winners will move on to the 40th annual NAIA Softball World Series in Columbus, Ga. on May 27-June 2.

Thursday’s Games
Game 1:  No. 5 seed Dakota State (S.D.) vs. No. 4 seed Mayville State (N.D.) – 10 a.m. – North Field
Game 2:  No. 6 seed Viterbo (Wis.) vs. No. 3 seed Dickinson State (N.D.) – 10 a.m. – South Field
Game 3:  No. 8 seed Presentation (S.D.) vs. No. 1 seed Valley City State (N.D.) – 12:30 p.m. – North Field
Game 4:  No. 7 seed Waldorf (Iowa) vs. No. 2 seed Bellevue (Neb.) – 12:30 p.m. – South Field
Game 5 (Loser’s Out Game):  Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3 – 3 p.m. – North Field
Game 6 (Loser’s Out Game):  Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 4 – 3 p.m. – South Field
Game 7 (Winner’s Bracket):  Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3 – 5:30 p.m. – North Field
Game 8 (Winner’s Bracket):  Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4 – 5:30 p.m. – South Field

Friday’s Games
Game 9 (Loser’s Out Game):  Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8 – 12:30 p.m. – North Field
Game 10 (Loser’s Out Game):  Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7 – 12:30 p.m. – South Field
Game 11 (Winner’s Bracket):  Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 – 3 p.m. – North Field
Game 12 (Loser’s Out Game):  Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 – 3 p.m. – South Field

Saturday’s Games
Game 13 (Loser’s Out Game):  Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 11 – 12:30 p.m. – North Field
Game 14 (Championship Game):  Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 13 – 3 p.m. – North Field
            Game 15 (If necessary if first loss for Winner Game 11):  Same teams as Game 14 – 5:30 p.m. – North Field
            Winner advances to 2021 NAIA Softball National Tournament Opening Round on May 17-19

2021 NSAA Softball Conference Standings