Softball Selected to Play in 2018 Postseason National Invitational Softball Championship
5/13/2018 10:26:00 PM | Softball
Ladyjacks will make second national postseason appearance in SFA’s NCAA Division I history, first since 2008
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Enjoying one of the biggest turnarounds in all of NCAA Division I softball this season, the Stephen F. Austin softball team will continue its 2018 campaign this upcoming week as one of 17 teams at the 2018 Postseason National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC). The Ladyjacks (31-22) earned the Southland Conference's automatic berth into the NISC as SFA was the highest regular season finisher who accepted a NISC tournament bid and was not selected for the 2018 NCAA Softball Championship.
Regionals of the 2018 Postseason NISC will take place Wednesday-Friday, May 16-18, while the championship round will be held the following week, Wednesday-Saturday, May 23-26. All games of the NISC take play at regional and championship round host institutions.
The Ladyjacks have been selected to compete in the Central Arkansas Regional (Region 4), hosted by fellow Southland member Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas. The four-team, double-elimination regional will be comprised Texas Tech (29-26), UT Arlington (27-26), SFA and the host Bears (27-25). The Ladyjacks will take on the Red Raiders in the first round of the regional on Wednesday, May 16 at 3 p.m. CST at Farris Field. UT Arlington and UCA will play Wednesday, May 16 at 6 p.m. CST with the winners of each first round game facing each other Thursday, May 17 at 3 p.m. CST. The two losing teams will drop to the first elimination game to be played Thursday, May 17 at 12 p.m. CST.
The Ladyjacks will be making just their second national postseason tournament appearance in SFA's Division I history and first since 2008. Going 36-25 during that season, the Ladyjacks captured their second Southland Tournament title and earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. SFA's lone appearance in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship, the Ladyjacks traveled to College Station, Texas, for the Texas A&M Regional, where they went 0-2 at Aggie Softball Complex.
"As a team, we are excited and honored to be selected for the NISC tournament as well as being able to represent SFA in national postseason competition," head coach Nicole Dickson said. "Also, I'm thankful for one more week with this group of ladies on the field. As a staff we are proud of our team, this is just one more benchmark of success for our program. This team has been breaking records and setting high standards all year. It makes me proud and I'm excited for the future direction and culture of SFA softball."
Triple Crown Sports and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) joined forces to bring back the NISC in 2017 as a postseason NCAA Division I event that highlights the explosive growth of women's softball and the depth of talent on college rosters from coast to coast. The Postseason NISC is now an annual event for women's NCAA Division I softball involving 24-32 teams in a two-round double-elimination format. All NISC games are played at the home facility or an acceptable alternate facility of host schools. The NISC is operated, supervised and directed by Triple Crown Sports, a sports event company based in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The NISC committee uses three stages in this order to implement the final bracket: 1) Select teams; 2) Group teams according to team strength and region; and 3) Bracket the selected teams. The NISC committee chooses 24-32 teams for the Postseason NISC. The field offers 32 automatic berths – one from each established conference (some conferences may decline berth) and at-large teams. The intention of the NISC Selection Committee is to select the best available teams in the nation, regardless of conference affiliation or geographical location.
The 2017 NISC featured 26 teams hosted in six regions, with Kennesaw State, fellow Southland member Lamar, Liberty and Cal Poly advancing to the final four. In the championship game, Liberty defeated Lamar 3-1 to claim the title.
The 2018 Postseason NISC field and bracket was announced late Sunday night after the 2018 NCAA Softball Championship selections were revealed on ESPN2. For the complete 2018 Postseason NISC field and bracket, in addition to more information about the NISC, visit WomensNISC.com.
This past week, SFA made its ninth Southland Tournament appearance after claiming the No. 2 seed and a double-round bye. However, the Ladyjacks were upended by eventual 2018 Southland Tournament champion, tournament host and third-seeded McNeese 8-2, before falling 6-0 in the first round of the back draw to No. 8 seed Sam Houston State.
After going 17-33 overall and 9-15 in Southland play just one year ago, SFA has nearly doubled its win total this season and owns a 31-22 overall record. The Ladyjacks finished ninth in the final Southland standings in 2017 but completed the 2018 regular season in a three-way tie for second place with an 18-9 conference record after being picked in a tie for eighth place in the league's preseason poll. SFA earned seven Southland series wins out of nine conference series played, dropping series only to regular season champion Nicholls and Abilene Christian.
The 31 triumphs are the most in a single season for the Ladyjacks since 2008, while the seven league series wins and 18 conference victories represent the most since 2010 when SFA captured its lone Southland regular season title. This spring the Ladyjacks reached the 30-win plateau for just the sixth time in SFA's Division I history.
For all weather-related schedule changes affecting SFA softball throughout the 2018 Postseason NISC, be sure to keep an eye on SFAJacks.com and follow SFA softball on Facebook (SFA Softball) and Twitter (@SFA_Softball).
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack softball throughout the season.
-SFA-
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