Softball Claims No. 7 Seed for GPAC Tournament
Sioux City, IA – The Hastings College softball team may have dropped two games to Briar Cliff 8-0 and 7-3 but the Lady Broncos clinched the No. 7 seed for the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament set to begin Wednesday May 3.
Sioux City, IA – The Hastings College softball team may have dropped two games to Briar Cliff 8-0 and 7-3 but the Lady Broncos clinched the No. 7 seed for the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament set to begin Wednesday May 3.
Hastings will play Morningside who ended up as the No. 2 seed where the Lady Broncos and Mustangs split the regular season series.
Also in the Morningside bracket is No. 3 seed Midland and No. 6 seed Jamestown. Hastings also split the season series' with both of those teams so it should make for an interesting tournament. This is also the first time Hastings has been back to the GPAC tournament since winning the whole thing back in 2017.
The two brackets for the 2023 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Postseason Softball Tournaments are set. Top seed, and regular season champion, Northwestern will serve as one bracket host (1,4,5,8 seeds), while second seed Morningside will be the other bracket host (2,3,6,7 seeds) of the two four-team tournaments.
Tournament play will open on Wednesday, May 3, at both bracket locations. In Orange City, Iowa, top-seed Northwestern will host Dordt, Briar Cliff, and Mount Marty. In Sioux City, Iowa, second-seed Morningside will host Midland, Jamestown, and Hastings.
Play will continue, including bracket championship games, on Thursday, May 4. The Northwestern and Morningside bracket winners will meet on Saturday, May 6, at the highest remaining seed in the GPAC Softball Tournament Championship Series. The final series will be a best two out of three format.
Northwestern has secured the league's first berth to the NAIA Opening Round, while the GPAC Tournament Champion will receive the second berth. If the Red Raiders win the GPAC Tournament then the tournament runner-up will receive the second GPAC berth to the NAIA Opening Round. The two brackets will be double elimination, with the final the best two of three. GPAC tie-breakers were used in the seeding process.
2023 GPAC Softball Tournament Brackets
Northwestern Bracket – Northwestern Softball Diamond
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Game #1 – (1) Northwestern (43-6, 18-4) vs (8) Mount Marty (17-20, 10-12) – Noon
Game #2 – (4) Dordt (35-11, 16-6) vs. (5) Briar Cliff (32-14, 14-8) – 2pm
Game #3 – Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 – 4pm
Game #4 – Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2 – 6pm
Thursday, May 4, 2023
Game #5 – Winner Game #4 vs. Loser Game #3 – Noon
Game #6 – Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #5 – 2pm
Game #7 – If necessary (Game #6 winner/loser) – 4pm
Morningside Bracket – Jensen Softball Complex
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Game #1 – (2) Morningside (31-12, 16-6) vs. (7) Hastings (17-23, 11-11) – 10am
Game #2 – (3) Midland (31-12, 16-6) vs. (6) Jamestown (24-20, 11-11) – Noon
Game #3 – Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 – 2pm
Game #4 – Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2 – 4pm
Thursday, May 4, 2023
Game #5 – Winner Game #4 vs. Loser Game #3 – Noon
Game #6 – Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #5 – 2 pm
Game #7 – If necessary (Game #6 winner/loser) – 4 pm
GPAC Softball Tournament Championship Series – Saturday, May 6, 2023
Northwestern Bracket Winner vs. Morningside Bracket Winner (at highest seed)
(Best 2 of 3 Format)
-Times TBA
