When we previewed the NISC final round, we predicted close games and we were right. Three of the weekend’s six games in Colorado were decided by one run, and only one game was decided by more than three runs.
The championship field of teams that met in Fort Collins was comprised of teams that emerged from the NISC regional round a week early; Iowa State and Liberty advanced from their own hosted regionals, while Loyola Marymount and UT-Arlington pulled off the upset on the road to advance to the championship round.
Iowa State became the first team from a Power Five conference to reach the championship finals in the tournament’s three-year history. Prior to the 2019 field being named, just two Power Five teams had even participated in the NISC – Michigan State in 2017, and Texas Tech in 2018 – but the Cyclones were one of three Power Five teams to take part in this year’s edition of the tournament.
Outside of Iowa State’s championship berth in their first time participating in the tournament, another interesting wrinkle leading up to the championship series was the familiarity of the other three teams in the final. The Mavericks of UT-Arlington have participated in the tournament each year of its three-year existence, while Liberty and Loyola Marymount are each previous NISC champions, winning the title in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
UT-Arlington took home the 2019 championship trophy, with a 4-3 victory over Iowa State in Sunday’s championship game. The Mavericks posted a perfect 3-0 record in the championship round, beating each of the other three teams en route to the title. Mavs junior Aileen Garcia was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Boasting the largest field since the tournament’s inaugural season, the NISC saw several positive takeaways from the 2019 tournament, including the increased Power Five participation and a new, permanent home for the championship, virtually in the backyard of tournament organizers Triple Crown Sports in Fort Collins.
Though still fledgling on the scale of acceptance, thanks in part to its status as an Invitational, the NISC has a number of positive benefits, including postseason opportunities for teams outside of the generic Power Five-dominated NCAA tournament scope, as well as adding more quality softball later into the year. The quality of this year’s championship round should only underscore the tournament’s value as a postseason offering.
