SIOUX FALLS, S.D. No. 3 seed North Dakota State takes on No. 6 North Dakota in the opening round of the Summit League Softball Championship at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 11 in Brookings, S.D. The league announced the tournament pairings Sunday afternoon. The top six league teams earned playoff spots. No. 4 seed South Dakota (27-23) plays No. 5 Kansas City (13-33) at 2 p.m. Wednesday. On Thursday, top seed South Dakota State (37-10) plays the winner between South Dakota and Kansas City at 11 a.m., and No. 2 Omaha (29-12) plays the Bison-UND winner at 1:30 p.m. A loser's bracket game follows at 4 p.m., semifinals are Friday and the championship is 1 p.m. Saturday, with a second championship game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday if necessary. The Summit League champion will earn the League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bison take a 28-21 record into the tournament. UND (14-38) finished the year in seventh, but sixth-place St. Thomas is not eligible for the Summit League Championship in their transition to Division I, and the Fighting Hawks moved up into the No. 6 and final seed. ]]> |