SU, LSU Headed to North Dakota for Postseason
Simpson clinched the program's first California Pacific Conference title by scoring three times in the bottom of the 9th inning, capped by a two-run homer off the bat of Alex Tolbert, to defeat La Sierra 9-8 last Thursday. The Red Hawks earned one of the two seeds in the upcoming North Star Athletic Association Championship, and the Golden Eagles, despite dropping three out of four to SU last week, garnered the second Cal Pac berth in the postseason.
The brackets and pairings for the 2025 North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Postseason Baseball Tournament are set. The postseason tournament takes place at the Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark in Dickinson, N.D.
This year's tournament will feature eight total teams, all six teams from the NSAA conference and two teams from the Cal Pac. Regular-season champion Simpson and La Sierra will be competing in the double elimination tournament format.
The NSAA has awarded two automatic bids to the NAIA Baseball National Tournament Opening Round this year.
Bellevue (Neb.) captured their sixth straight North Star Athletic Association baseball regular-season title with an overall record of 36-13 and 19-1 in the league. The Bruins, who already received the first North Star Athletic Association's automatic bid after winning the NSAA regular-season title.
Jamestown (N.D.) is No. 2 seed for the postseason tournament with an overall record of 32-16 and 11-9 NSAA conference record.
Dickinson State (N.D.) (18-27 overall record) and Dakota State (S.D.) (24-22 overall record) finished in a two-way tie for third in the NSAA conference standings with 10-10 league record. The Blue Hawks owned the tiebreaker over the Trojans after winning their four-game series with three victories. Dickinson State is seeded No. 3, while Dakota State is No. 5 seed.
Simpson from the Cal Pac Conference is awarded No. 4 seed with an overall record of 20-26 and 13-5 record in league. No. 6 seed belongs to La Sierra with an overall record of 19-18 and 9-9 conference record. The Golden Eagles earned a tiebreaker over Westcliff to qualify for the NSAA conference tournament.
Mayville State (N.D.) (14-30 overall record, 6-14 NSAA conference record) is the No. 7 seed, while Valley City State (N.D.) (20-30 overall record, 4-16 NSAA conference record) is the No. 8 seed.
The tournament begins Thursday with four opening round games, starting at 10 a.m. (PT). The action continues Friday with two double elimination games and two winner's brackets games. Saturday's action includes three elimination games and a winner's bracket contest between two remaining undefeated teams.
The game times on Friday and Saturday may be adjusted accordingly after the first day of the tournament.
The final elimination game before the championship game is set for Sunday at 10 a.m. (PT), with the winner advancing to the championship game scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (PT).
The tournament champion receives the NSAA's second automatic berth to the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, which will be played on May 12-15 at campus sites. The national tournament's opening round winners move on to the Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Idaho on May 23-31.
If the NSAA regular season champion wins the postseason tournament, the second automatic bid will go to the tournament's runner-up.
All games are nine (9) innings with 10-run mercy rule after 7 innings. There will be no 10-run rule in the championship game.
RECENT RESULTS
Thursday, April 24
SIMPSON 9, LA SIERRA 8 | Box Score
SIMPSON 11, LA SIERRA 7 | Box Score
SU: 13-4, 19-25
LSU: 8-9, 18-17
Friday, April 25
LA SIERRA 12, SIMPSON 7 | Box Score
SIMPSON 10, LA SIERRA 2 | Box Score
SU: 13-5, 20-26
LSU: 9-9, 19-18
END OF REGULAR SEASON
UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, May 1
2025 NORTH STAR ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Hosted by Dickinson State | Dickinson, ND
(All times PT)
Thursday, May 1
8:00 am - Game 1: #8 Valley City State (SD) vs. #1 Bellevue (Neb.)
11:00 am - Game 2: #5 Dakota State (SD) vs. #4 Simpson
3:00 pm - Game 3: #7 Mayville State (ND) vs. #2 Jamestown (ND)
6:00 pm - Game 4: #6 La Sierra vs. #3 Dickinson State (ND)
Friday, May 2
8:00 am - Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (loser eliminated)
11:00 am - Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (loser eliminated)
3:00 pm - Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
6:00 pm - Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Saturday, May 3
8:00 am - Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 6 (loser eliminated)
11:00 am - Game 10: Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 5 (loser eliminated)
3:00 pm - Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8
6:00 pm - Game 12: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 9
Sunday, May 4
10:00 am - Game 13: Loser Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 (Ioser eliminated)
1:30 pm - Championship: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 13
Monday, May 5
10:00 am - Championship (if necessary)