Virginia Cavaliers softball — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

Virginia Earns No. 1 Seed in National Invitational Softball Championship

The Cavaliers are the No. 1 overall seed in college softball's version of the NIT

Author:
Matt Newton
Updated:
May 19, 2022 9:37 AM EDT
Original:
May 18, 2022

Coming off of one of the most successful regular seasons in recent program history, the Virginia softball team has earned the No. 1 overall seed in the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC), a 12-team Division I postseason tournament taking place May 20-26 at TC Colorado Field in Fort Collins, Colorado.

The NISC essentially serves as the softball equivalent of the NIT in college basketball and includes the best college softball teams that did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament. It was started in 2017 but did not take place for the last two seasons due to COVID-19.

UVA is the No. 1 overall seed in the 12-team field:

Virginia
Baylor
UNLV
Central Arkansas
George Washington
North Alabama
Rutgers
Stephen F. Austin
Bowling Green
UC San Diego
Tarleton State
Kansas

The NISC begins with a double-elimination tournament that will eventually reduce the tournament from 12 teams down to four. Virginia will face the winner of No. 8 seed Stephen F. Austin and No. 9 seed Bowling Green on Saturday, May 21st at 10:30am (Eastern). SF Austin and Bowling Green play on Friday at 10:30am.

National Invitational Softball Championship Bracket (times listed are Mountain)

The four teams who emerge from the super regional round will advance to the championship round, which is another double-elimination tournament that will take place on May 25th and May 26th.

Virginia (27-24) finished the season sixth in the ACC standings with a 13-11 conference record, tied for the most conference wins in a single season since 2010. UVA's 27 overall wins are also the most in a season since the 2010 season, which was the first and only time the Cavaliers qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Virginia just barely missed a bid for the 2022 NCAA Softball Tournament, but the Cavaliers are excited to continue what has been a turnaround season for the program.

“I’m really proud of our team and excited for the opportunity to extend our season," said Virginia head coach Joanna Hardin. "The NISC tournament has been on hold for a couple of years, so we are grateful that we are able to participate and compete for a postseason championship. When your team is practicing deep into May, it means you are doing something right. We can’t wait to get to Colorado to compete.”

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