2019 National Invitational Softball Championship

Last updated

2019 National Invitational Softball Championship
Season 2019
Teams19
FormatDouble Elimination
Finals siteTC Colorado Field, Fort Collins, Colorado
Champions UT Arlington  (1st title)
Runner-up Iowa State  (1st title game)
Winning coach Peejay Brun  (1st title)
MVPAileen Garcia (UT Arlington)

The 2019 National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) began on May 16, 2019 and concluded on May 26. [1]

Contents

Tournament play and team selection

The NISC tournament is designed to feature forty-eight teams in eight six-team regional tournaments with the regional champions advancing to a National Finals tournament. The regionals and the Finals are double-elimination competitions. [2]

For the inaugural tournament, only fifteen of the thirty-two NCAA conferences sent an automatic qualifier (AQ). Seven schools having non-losing records and RPIs in the top 100 entered the tournament with "National RPI" bids. Four other teams with non-losing records against challenging schedules were added as "At-large" teams. The twenty-six teams were placed in six regional tournaments of four or five teams. The six regional champions advanced to the national finals at Liberty University, a site that was determined after the regional competitions. [3]

Participants

ConferenceSchoolBest finishReference
Sun Belt Appalachian State 1st Appearance [4]
OVC Eastern Kentucky Championship Round
(2018)
Mountain West Fresno State 1st Appearance [4]
A-10 George Washington 1st Appearance [4]
Big 12 Iowa State 1st Appearance [4]
MAC Kent State 1st Appearance [4]
ASUN Liberty Champions
(2017)
WCC Loyola Marymount Champions
(2018)
Conference USA Marshall 1st Appearance [4]
Southland McNeese State 1st Appearance [4]
Conference USA Middle Tennessee 1st Appearance [4]
Mountain West Nevada Regionals
(2017, 2018)
Big Ten Purdue 1st Appearance [4]
Big Ten Rutgers 1st Appearance [4]
Summit League South Dakota 1st Appearance [4]
Summit League South Dakota State Regionals
(2018)
Southland Stephen F. Austin Regionals
(2018)
Big West UC Riverside Championship Round
(2018)
Sun Belt UT Arlington Championship Round
(2018)

Regionals

Sources: [5]

Nevada Regional

First roundRegional Semi-FinalsRegional finals
Fresno State 18
UC Riverside 10
Fresno State3
Nevada8
Nevada 4
Loyola Marymount 3
Nevada
Loyola Marymount
Lower round 1Lower final
Fresno State5
UC Riverside0Loyola Marymount8
Loyola Marymount10

Stephan F. Austin Regional

First roundRegional Semi-FinalsRegional finals
Stephen F. Austin 0
UT Arlington 7
UT Arlington5
McNeese State3
Middle Tennessee 3
McNeese State 7
UT Arlington
McNeese State
Lower round 1Lower final
McNeese State3
Stephen F. Austin4Stephen F. Austin1
Middle Tennessee0

Iowa State Regional

First roundSecond RoundRegional semifinalsRegional finals
Iowa State 6
South Dakota 3Purdue1
Purdue 4Iowa State7
South Dakota State2
South Dakota State 8
Eastern Kentucky 6
Iowa State5
Purdue3
Lower round 1Lower round 2Lower final
South Dakota State1
Eastern Kentucky1Purdue4
South Dakota2Purdue3
Eastern Kentucky7

Liberty Regional

First roundSecond RoundRegional semifinalsRegional finals
Liberty 1
Appalachian State 1Rutgers0
Rutgers 2Liberty4
Kent State0
George Washington2
George Washington 4 Kent State 7
Marshall 1
Liberty7
Marshall0
Lower round 1Lower round 2Lower final
Appalachian State1
Kent State2
George Washington2
George Washington1Marshall4
Marshall3
Marshall4
Rutgers0

Regional Standings

Source: [6]

The six regional tournaments were played May 16–18, 2019.

The regional and finals competitions were double-elimination tournaments.

NISCRegion († = host)
Place1
Reno, NV
2
Nacogdoches, TX
3
Ames, IA
4
Lynchburg, VA
1st Loyola Marymount Lions Texas–Arlington Mavericks Iowa State Cyclones Liberty Lady Flames
2nd Nevada Wolf Pack McNeese State Cowgirls Purdue Boilermakers Marshall Thundering Herd
3rdt Fresno State Bulldogs Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks South Dakota State Jackrabbits Kent State Golden Flashes
4th UC Riverside Highlanders Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Eastern Kentucky Colonels George Washington Colonials
5th South Dakota Coyotes Rutgers Scarlet Knights
6th Appalachian State Mountaineers

Championship Bracket

Participants

SchoolConferenceRecord (Conference)Head CoachChampionship Round Appearances†
(including 2019)
Championship Round Best finish†*Championship Round W-L Record†
(excluding 2019)
Iowa State Big 12 Conference 35-23 (7-11) Jamie Pinkerton 1
(last: 2019)
0-0
Liberty Atlantic Sun Conference 40-20 (16-5) Dot Richardson 2nd
(last: 2017)
1st (2017)5-1
Loyola Marymount West Coast Conference 39-19 (11-4) Sami Strinz-Ward 2nd
(last: 2018)
1st (2018)5-1
UT Arlington Sun Belt Conference 33-27 (17-10) Peejay Brun 2nd
(last: 2018)
4th (2018)0-2

Bracket

The third annual National Invitational Softball Championship finals were played May 24–26, 2018 at TC Colorado Field in Fort Collins, Colorado. Teams were seeded by their RPIs.

Championship Game

SchoolTop BatterStats.
UTA Mavericks Aileen Garcia (1B)2-4 2RBIs
Iowa State Cyclones Taylor Nearad (CF)1-2 RBI
SchoolPitcherIPHRERBBSOABBF
UTA Mavericks Randi Phillips4.1332311519
UTA Mavericks Allie Gardiner (W)2.21000289
Iowa State Cyclones Savannah Sanders3.1421201418
Iowa State Cyclones Emma Hylen (L)2.2420211113

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References

  1. "Event Details". Women'sNISC.com. Triple Crown Sports. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  2. "Event Details". National Invitational Softball Championship/Triple Crown Sports. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  3. "2017 Postseason NISC Tournament Bracket Announced". flosoftball.com. May 15, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Past Participants". WomensNISC.com. Triple Crown Sports. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  5. "Tournament Bracket". WomensNISC.com. Triple Crown Sports. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  6. "Regional & Championship Brackets". National Invitational Softball Championship/Triple Crown Sports. Retrieved November 26, 2017.