Valley City State defeats top seeded Bellevue to earn NAIA softball tournament berth

5-9-22

WATERTOWN, S.D. (PlayNorthStar.com) — Valley City State University defeated top seed Bellevue University 11-3 in a winner-take-all title game Saturday, securing the NSAA Tournament Championship for the second time in three years and the conference’s automatic bid into the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round.

Valley City State (33-16) entered the double-elimination tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Vikings defeated top seed Bellevue in the semifinals on Friday afternoon, putting themselves in the driver’s seat for championship day. Bellevue won its way back into the championship with an 8-2 victory against Mayville State on Saturday morning. Bellevue then defeated VCSU 7-5 in the first title game, forcing the winner-take-all championship game.

Bellevue (Neb.) (42-13, 25-2 NSAA) awaits to hear from the NAIA national office if they will receive an at-large invitation.

The 2022 North Star Softball Tournament was played at the Premier Softball Complex in Watertown.