GPAC softball tournament schedule
SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia softball program will be back at the site where it captured the 2015 GPAC tournament title. Seeded fifth in the final conference standings, the Bulldogs (29-16, 10-10 GPAC) will begin their quest for a third all-time GPAC tournament championship on Wednesday when they play fourth–seeded Hastings (35-19, 12-10 GPAC) in Sioux City, Iowa, at 10 a.m. As the regular-season champ, Morningside serves as host of one of two four-team pods.
After an up-and-down regular season, third-year head coach Todd LaVelle’s squad will attempt to recapture the postseason magic it has bottled up each of the past two years. Concordia has gone a combined 10-3 in GPAC tournament games under LaVelle. It finished as the conference tournament runner up in 2014 and the champion in 2015. The GPAC final in both instances featured the Bulldogs and Morningside.
Concordia has shown an ability to compete with anyone in the league. It owns four wins over teams seeded higher in the GPAC tournament. The Bulldogs split road doubleheaders at No. 14 Morningside and at Doane, the host of the other four-team pod. The top eight teams in the standings qualify for the double-elimination tournament format.
Concordia is guaranteed to play twice on Wednesday. With a win over Hastings, it would play at 2 p.m. A loss to Hastings would put the Bulldogs in an elimination game at 4 p.m. Action is also scheduled at the GPAC tournament for Thursday with the championship series then taking place on Saturday.