2021 Southland Conference softball tournament

{{Infobox NCAA Softball Conference Tournament |

| Year= 2021

| Conference= Southland Conference

| ShortConference= Southland

| Division= I

| Image=

| ImageSize=

| Caption=

| Teams= 7

| Format=Double-elimination tournament

| Ballpark= North Oak Park

| City= Hammond, Louisiana

| Champions= McNeese

| TitleCount= 7th

| Coach= James Landreneau

| CoachCount= 3rd

| MVP= Whitney Tate

| MVPTeam= McNeese

| Attendance=

| Television= ESPN+

}}

The 2021 Southland Conference tournament was held at North Oak Park in Hammond, Louisiana, from May 11 through 14, 2021.{{cite web |title=2021 Southland Softball Tournament |url=https://www.southland.org/tournaments/?id=154 |publisher=Southland Conference |access-date=January 19, 2024 }} The tournament winner, McNeese, earned the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament. All games were broadcast on ESPN+.{{cite web |author1=Pam LaFosse |title=McNeese vanquishes Southeastern to claim Southland Softball Tournament Championship |url=https://crescentcitysports.com/mcneese-wins-slc-softball-tournament-to-advance-to-ncaas/ |publisher=2024 Crescent City Sports Enterprises LLC |access-date=January 19, 2024 |date=May 15, 2021}}{{cite web |author1=Erik Hall |title=2021 Southland Conference Softball Tournament bracket, schedule, game times |url=https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/sports/college/2021/05/11/southland-conference-softball-tournament-2021-bracket-schedule/4947605001/ |publisher=2024 www.shreveporttimes.com |access-date=January 19, 2024 |date=May 11, 2021}}

Format

The tournament was a 7 team double elimination format. The top seeded team, McNeese, received a bye in first round competition.

Seeds

Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tie–breaker system to seed teams with identical conference records. All seven teams in the conference qualified for the tournament. Tie–breaker procedures were not required.

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!Seed

!School

!Conference

| align="left" | Stephen F. Austin

| 25–2

| align="left" | Central Arkansas

| 21–6

| align="left" | McNeese

| 18–9

| align="left" | Northwestern State

| 16–11

| align="left" | Southeastern Louisiana

| 14–10

| align="left" | Houston Baptist

| 15–12

| align="left" | Sam Houston

| 14–13

| align="left" | Abilene Christian

| 10–17

Incarnate Word, Nicholls, Lamar, and Texas A&M–Corpus Christi failed to qualify as members in the tournament field. New Orleans does not sponsor a softball team.

Source:{{cite web |title=2021 Southland Softball Tournament Field Finalized |url=https://www.southland.org/news/2021/5/8/2021-southland-softball-tournament-field-finalized.aspx |publisher=Southland Conference |access-date=January 19, 2024 |date=May 8, 2021}}

Tournament

Source:

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;text-align:center"
align="center" !Round !Game !Time* !Matchup !Score !Attendance ! Notes !Television
colspan="8" \|First day – Tuesday, May 12, 2021
rowspan="2" \|1 \|1 \|5:00 pm \|No. 6 Houston Baptist vs. No. 7 Sam Houston State \| [https://gobearkats.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/houston-baptist/boxscore/13114 3–4] \| 172 \| \| rowspan="2" \|ESPN+
2 \|7:30 pm \|No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 8 Abilene Christian \| [https://lionsports.net/sports/softball/stats/2021/abilene-christian/boxscore/7694 4–3] \| 222 \|
colspan="8" \|Second day – Thursday, May 13, 2021
rowspan="4" \|2
3 \|11:00 am \|No. 3 McNeese State vs. No. 7 Sam Houston State \| [https://mcneesesports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/sam-houston/boxscore/11239 3–1] \| 277 \| \| rowspan="4" \|ESPN+
4 \|1:30 pm \| No. 4 Northwestern State vs No. 5 Southeastern Louisiana \|[https://nsudemons.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/southeastern-louisiana/boxscore/12069 7–4] \|343 \|
5 \|4:00 pm \| No. 2 Central Arkansas vs. No. 3 McNeese State \| [https://mcneesesports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/uca/boxscore/11240 5–6] \| 335 \|
6 \|7:20 pm \| No. 1 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 4 Northwestern State \| [https://sfajacks.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/-4-northwestern-state/boxscore/9375 4–1] \| 335 \|
colspan="8" \|Third day – Friday, May 14, 2021
rowspan="4" \|3
7 \|11:00 am \| No. 5 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 2 Central Arkansas \| [https://ucasports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/southeastern-louisiana/boxscore/9833 1–2] \| 275 \| Elimination game (Southeastern Louisiana) \| rowspan="4" \|ESPN+
8 \|1:30 pm \| No. 7 Sam Houston State vs. No. 4 Northwestern State \| [https://nsudemons.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/sam-houston-state/boxscore/12072 0–8]⁵ \| 242 \| Elimination game (Sam Houston State)
9 \|4:00 pm \| No. 3 McNeese vs. No. 1 Stephen F. Austin \| [https://mcneesesports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/sfa/boxscore/11241 4–1] \| 304 \|
10 \|6:30 pm \| No. 2 Central Arkansas vs. No. 4 Northwestern State \| [https://ucasports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/northwestern-state/boxscore/9834 5–2] \| 339 \| Elimination Game (Northwestern State)
colspan="8" \|Championship – Saturday, May 15, 2021
rowspan="3" \|4
11 \|11:00 pm \| No. 1 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 2 Central Arkansas \| [https://ucasports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/stephen-f-austin/boxscore/9835 4–5] \| 307 \| Elimination Game (Stephen F. Austin) \| rowspan="2" \|ESPN+
12 \|1:50 pm \| No. 2 Central Arkansas vs. No. 1 McNeese \| [https://mcneesesports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/uca/boxscore/11242 0–1] \| 345 \| McNeese tournament champion
colspan="8" \|*Game times in CDT. #-Rankings denote tournament seeding.

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;text-align:center"

align="center"

!Round

!Game

!Time*

!Matchup

!Score

!Attendance

! Notes

!Television

colspan="8" |First day – Tuesday, May 12, 2021

rowspan="2" |1

|5:00 pm

|No. 6 Houston Baptist vs. No. 7 Sam Houston State

| [https://gobearkats.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/houston-baptist/boxscore/13114 3–4]

| 172

| rowspan="2" |ESPN+

|7:30 pm

|No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 8 Abilene Christian

| [https://lionsports.net/sports/softball/stats/2021/abilene-christian/boxscore/7694 4–3]

| 222

colspan="8" |Second day – Thursday, May 13, 2021

rowspan="4" |2

|11:00 am

|No. 3 McNeese State vs. No. 7 Sam Houston State

| [https://mcneesesports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/sam-houston/boxscore/11239 3–1]

| 277

| rowspan="4" |ESPN+

|1:30 pm

| No. 4 Northwestern State vs No. 5 Southeastern Louisiana

|[https://nsudemons.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/southeastern-louisiana/boxscore/12069 7–4]

|343

|4:00 pm

| No. 2 Central Arkansas vs. No. 3 McNeese State

| [https://mcneesesports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/uca/boxscore/11240 5–6]

| 335

|7:20 pm

| No. 1 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 4 Northwestern State

| [https://sfajacks.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/-4-northwestern-state/boxscore/9375 4–1]

| 335

colspan="8" |Third day – Friday, May 14, 2021

rowspan="4" |3

|11:00 am

| No. 5 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 2 Central Arkansas

| [https://ucasports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/southeastern-louisiana/boxscore/9833 1–2]

| 275

| Elimination game (Southeastern Louisiana)

| rowspan="4" |ESPN+

|1:30 pm

| No. 7 Sam Houston State vs. No. 4 Northwestern State

| [https://nsudemons.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/sam-houston-state/boxscore/12072 0–8]⁵

| 242

| Elimination game (Sam Houston State)

|4:00 pm

| No. 3 McNeese vs. No. 1 Stephen F. Austin

| [https://mcneesesports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/sfa/boxscore/11241 4–1]

| 304

|6:30 pm

| No. 2 Central Arkansas vs. No. 4 Northwestern State

| [https://ucasports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/northwestern-state/boxscore/9834 5–2]

| 339

| Elimination Game (Northwestern State)

colspan="8" |Championship – Saturday, May 15, 2021

rowspan="3" |4

|11:00 pm

| No. 1 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 2 Central Arkansas

| [https://ucasports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/stephen-f-austin/boxscore/9835 4–5]

| 307

| Elimination Game (Stephen F. Austin)

| rowspan="2" |ESPN+

|1:50 pm

| No. 2 Central Arkansas vs. No. 1 McNeese

| [https://mcneesesports.com/sports/softball/stats/2021/uca/boxscore/11242 0–1]

| 345

| McNeese tournament champion

colspan="8" |*Game times in CDT. #-Rankings denote tournament seeding.

Awards and honors

Tournament MVP: Whitney Tate, McNeese

All-Tournament Teams:

Source:

:Whitney Tate, McNeese - MVP

:Haylee Brinlee, McNeese

:Jenna Edwards, McNeese

:Kaylee Lopez, McNeese

:Cori McCrary, McNeese

:Toni Perrin, McNeese

:Kayla Beaver, Central Arkansas

:Mary Kate Brown, Central Arkansas

:Cylla Hill, Central Arkansas

:Kaylyn Shepherd, Central Arkansas

:Kristen Whitehouse, Central Arkansas

:Mackenzie Bennett, Stephen F. Austin

References

Category:Southland Conference softball tournament

Category:2021 Southland Conference softball season

Southland Conference softball tournament