Leatherneck Nation

After thinking about all of the bracket possibilities, my gut is telling me that

IF you are NOT the #1 seed
AND losing in the semi-finals would pair you up against a LOWER seed in the first loser bracket game
THEN a coach would be smart to tank the semi-final game.

Whether by design or not, this approach worked well for the Bison.
They knew they would be facing USD before our game with them.
They both had to play a second game that day and the Bison crushed USD.

I will see if I can prove my hypothesis with some Massey Matchup data.

I also think that a true 6 team double elimination tournament format would prevent the loser bracket advantage bias that we faced today.
It would add a couple of Wednesday games but could still be wrapped up on Saturday.

Championship game on Saturday.

North Dakota State scored 5 runs in the first inning and went on to beat IUPUI 13-4. So there will be a second game this afternoon.

Weather: 77, sunny, winds NNE at 11 mph.

Attendance at Fargo = 338.

North Dakota State Wins Eighth Summit League Championship.

North Dakota State beat IUPUI 5-3 in Saturday's second game. IUPUI had jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning.

North Dakota State earns the league's automatic bid into the 2017 NCAA Softball Championship. The NCAA Division I Selection Show will be Sunday, May 14 at 9:00 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

How do they determine who hosts the softball tournament and other championships? I think WIU has hosted it a time or two in the past. Do schools have any say in the matter or does the conference decide. Obviously some schools simply have better facilities than others so I am sure that is a big factor.

sealhall74 wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2017 8:05 pm How do they determine who hosts the softball tournament and other championships? I think WIU has hosted it a time or two in the past. Do schools have any say in the matter or does the conference decide. Obviously some schools simply have better facilities than others so I am sure that is a big factor.

i know with soccer the team who won the tournament the year before host it