MAYVILLE, N.D. – The Comets Baseball team wrapped up their regular season play this past weekend and are preparing for the 2024 NSAA Conference Tournament which begins this Friday.
 
Mayville State finished 7^th in the 2024 NSAA conference baseball standings with a conference record of 6-17 and an overall record of 11-37.
 
The brackets and pairings for the NSAA post season tournament have been set. The tournament returns to Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark in Dickinson, ND. There will be three opening round games played on Friday, May 3.

The double elimination tournament runs through Monday, May 6 with the championship game scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (Central Time)/2:30 p.m. (Mountain Time).  There is an 'if necessary' second championship game on Tuesday, May 7, at 1 p.m. (CT)/12 p.m. (MT).

All seven NSAA teams will compete in the postseason tournament.

Bellevue, ranked No. 15 in the latest NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, won their fifth straight North Star baseball regular-season title. The Comets fell to them in the conference tournament championship game last season.

Dakota State is the No. 2 seed for the postseason tournament with 35-14 overall record and 17-6 NSAA conference record and will take on the Comets in the first game of the tournament at 11:00am (MT) Friday.

The tournament champion receives the NSAA's automatic berth to the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, which will be played on May 13-16 on 10 different sites announced by the NAIA national office Monday. 
 
The national tournament's opening round winners move on to the Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Idaho on May 24-31.

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.
 
Comet Athletics sat down with first year head coach Billy Tomblin about this season and heading into the tournament.
 
Overall, how did the season go?
 
[Tomblin] "The season did not go as anyone involved in the program would have liked, but that's part of the game. We had numerous opportunities throughout the year to change the course and we just couldn't put it all together to make that happen. I personally do not feel our record truly reflects our team, I think we are much better than the record shows and I am hoping that come the conference tournament we can show that. I can't say that many teams in our position record wise could say that and actually believe it but I do."
 
[Tomblin] "If someone was to go back to take a deep dive into each game of the season, there are countless games that we let "slip away", you find a way to win those or even half of those, our outlook on the year is substantially different. I believe all of those losses fall on me – whether from poor in game management or not preparing the team to perform in those moments, all roads lead back to me and I need to learn from this, grow from it and make the adjustments needed moving forward."
 
What is the conversation this week and plan going into the conference tournament?
 
[Tomblin] "We will just take it one game at a time. Our goal as a team from day one was to get back to the National Tournament – as crazy as it might sound to some, that goal can still be achieved. We have a handful of players on this team that have not only won a conference championship but have also been to the National Tournament and they know what it takes to get there. Even though I am sure some of you reading this will think I have lost my mind, I still believe this team has what it takes to achieve the goal in which they set back in the fall."
 
NSAA Conference Tournament Information:
 
Who: #2 seeded Dakota State Trojans vs. #7 seeded Mayville State Comets
When: Friday, May 3^rd – time TBD
Where: Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark – Dickinson, ND
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@bluehawkathletics4241
Live Stats (G1): https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/bsb/2023-24/boxscores/20240503_xxfl.xml

Stay up to date on tournament information at msucomets.com.