Central Minnesota high school softball teams receive seeds for upcoming section tournaments
The seeds for section softball tournaments came out on Saturday as many local teams were looking for an opportunity to host a section game.
Softball has a double elimination process with any section tournament. If a team loses once, it heads to the losers' bracket to attempt to fight through to the championship game.
In the championship game, the one-loss team will need to win twice in a row to earn a spot at state, while the zero-loss team will have to win one of the two games to reach state.
Here's a breakdown of where Central Minnesota teams stand in various section tournaments.
Section 8-4A
Sartell and St. Cloud moved up to Class 4A this season and will face off against some of the biggest schools in the state.
The Sabres earned the No. 3 seed, while the Crush received the No. 9 seed. St. Cloud (10-10) will head to No. 8 Bemidji (7-8) at 4:30 p.m. Monday to compete in the play-in game for an opportunity to be in the double elimination bracket.
The winner between the Crush and Lumberjacks will head to No. 1 Brainerd (20-0) at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday for the quarterfinals. Sartell (16-4) will be on the other side of the bracket as the Sabres host No. 6 Elk River (9-11) at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The other teams competing in this section include: No. 2 St. Michael-Albertville (15-5), No. 4 Rogers (12-7), No. 5 Moorhead (11-9), No. 7 Buffalo (7-12).
This section tournament will continue to play throughout the next couple weeks with the championship game happening on Thursday, June 2, and, if necessary, a second game on Friday, June 3.
Section 8-3A
ROCORI and Sauk Rapids-Rice will compete in the Section 8-3A tournament.
The Spartans have a first-round bye; ROCORI earned the No. 1 seed. Sauk Rapids-Rice received the No. 5 seed and will compete in the quarterfinals.
The Storm (2-17) will travel to No. 4 Willmar (3-12) for a quarterfinals matchup at 4 p.m. Tuesday. The winner will play ROCORI (11-6) in the quarterfinals.
The Spartans would host that quarterfinals game at 4 p.m. Thursday. The championship game is Thursday, June 2 at the College of St. Benedict.
The other teams in the section include: No. 2 Little Falls (9-10), No. 3 Alexandria (6-14) and No. 6 Detroit Lakes (5-13).
Section 6-2A
Cathedral and Albany had strong seasons that allowed both to earn a top-four seed in the Section 6-2A tournament.
The Crusaders earned the No. 1 seed after a 19-1 record, while the Huskies received the No. 4 seed.
Cathedral (19-1) will host No. 16 Staples-Motley (2-13) in the first round at 4:30 p.m. Monday. The winner of this matchup will play the winner of No. 8 Melrose (9-8) and No. 9 Kimball Area (9-11).
The second round game will be at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Miller Field in Rivers Edge Park in Waite Park.
Albany (13-5) will host No. 13 Pillager (10-9) in the first round at 4:30 p.m. Monday. The winner will play the winner of No. 5 Holdingford (13-4) and No. 12 Foley (5-11) in the second round game at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Traut Field in Rivers Edge Park in Waite Park.
This section championship game is happening on Thursday, June 2, at Rivers Edge Park in Waite Park.
The other teams in the section include: No. 2 Pierz (16-3), No. 3 Pequot Lakes (17-3), No. 6 Sauk Centre (16-4), No. 7 Eden Valley-Watkins (12-8), No. 10 Paynesville (10-9), No. 11 Royalton (8-10), No. 14 Milaca (6-14) and No. 15 Osakis (5-11).
Brian Mozey is the high school sports reporter for the St. Cloud Times. Reach him at 320-255-8772 or bmozey@stcloudtimes.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianMozey.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to sctimes.com today.
Section 8-4A Schedule
Monday, May 23
Section 8-4A Winner’s Bracket Play-In
No. 9 St. Cloud at No. 8 Bemidji, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 24
Section 8-4A Winner’s Bracket First Round
Winner of No. 9 St. Cloud/No. 8 Bemidji at No. 1 Brainerd, 4:30 p.m.
No. 6 Elk River at No. 3 Sartell, 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 26
Section 8-4A Winner’s Bracket Quarterfinals
Winner of No. 3 Sartell/No. 6 Elk River at Winner of No. 2 St. Michael-Albertville/No. 7 Buffalo, 4:30 p.m.
Section 8-4A Loser’s Bracket First Round
Sartell, St. Cloud at High Seed, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, May 31
Section 8-4A Winner’s Bracket Semifinals
Sartell, St. Cloud at High Seed, 4 p.m.
Section 8-4A Loser’s Bracket Quarterfinals
Sartell, St. Cloud at High Seed, 4 p.m.
Section 8-4A Loser’s Bracket Semifinals
Sartell, St. Cloud at High Seed, 6 p.m.
Thursday, June 2
Section 8-4A Winner’s Bracket Championship
Sartell, St. Cloud at High Seed, 6 p.m.
Section 8-4A Loser’s Bracket Championship
Sartell, St. Cloud at High Seed, 4 p.m.
Friday, June 3
Section 8-4A Winner’s Bracket Championship (Game 2 – if necessary)
Sartell, St. Cloud at High Seed, TBD
Section 8-3A Schedule
Tuesday, May 24
Section 8-3A Winner’s Bracket Quarterfinals
No. 5 Sauk Rapids-Rice at No. 4 Willmar, 4 p.m.
Thursday, May 26
Section 8-3A Winner’s Bracket Quarterfinals
Winner of No. 5 Sauk Rapids-Rice/No. 4 Willmar at No. 1 ROCORI, 4 p.m.
Section 8-3A Loser's Bracket Quarterfinals
ROCORI, Sauk Rapids-Rice at High Seed, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, May 31
Section 8-3A Winner’s Bracket Semifinals
ROCORI, Sauk Rapids-Rice at High Seed, TBD
Section 8-3A Loser's Bracket Semifinals
ROCORI, Sauk Rapids-Rice at High Seed, TBD
Section 8-3A Loser's Bracket Championship
ROCORI, Sauk Rapids-Rice at High Seed, 6 p.m.
Thursday, June 2
Section 8-3A Winner’s Bracket Championship
ROCORI, Sauk Rapids-Rice at College of St. Benedict’s, 4 p.m.
Section 8-3A Winner’s Bracket Championship (Game 2 – if necessary)
ROCORI, Sauk Rapids-Rice at College of St. Benedict’s, 6 p.m.
Section 6-2A Schedule
Monday, May 23
Section 6-2A Winner’s Bracket First Round
No. 16 Staples-Motley at No. 1 Cathedral, 4:30 p.m.
No 13 Pillager at No. 4 Albany, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 24
Section 6-2A Winner’s Bracket Second Round
Winner of No. 1 Cathedral/No. 16 Staples-Motley vs. Winner of No. 8 Melrose/No. 9 Kimball at Miller Field (Rivers Edge Park), 5 p.m.
Winner of No. 4 Albany/No. 13 Pillager vs. Winner of No. 5 Holdingford/No. 12 Foley at Traut Field (Rivers Edge Park), 5 p.m.
Section 6-2A Loser’s Bracket First Round
Cathedral, Albany at Rivers Edge Park, 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 26
Section 6-2A Winner’s Bracket Quarterfinals
Albany, Cathedral at Rivers Edge Park, TBD
Section 6-2A Loser’s Bracket Second Round
Albany, Cathedral at Rivers Edge Park, TBD
Tuesday, May 31
Section 6-2A Winner’s Bracket Semifinals
Albany, Cathedral at Rivers Edge Park, TBD
Section 6-2A Loser’s Bracket Quarterfinals
Albany, Cathedral at Rivers Edge Park, TBD
Section 6-2A Loser’s Bracket Semifinals
Albany, Cathedral at Rivers Edge Park, TBD
Thursday, June 2
Section 6-2A Loser’s Bracket Championship
Albany, Cathedral at Rivers Edge Park, TBD
Section 6-2A Winner’s Bracket Championship
Albany, Cathedral at Rivers Edge Park, TBD
Section 6-2A Winner’s Bracket Championship (Game 2 – if necessary)
Albany, Cathedral at Rivers Edge Park, TBD
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Cloud area softball teams receive seeds for section tournaments