While the sports world clamors for any morsel of new content, Central College mathematics professor Russ Goodman is stepping up with a simulated version of this year’s NCAA Division III softball tournament.

Goodman has used statistical modeling to predict things like the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in the past, and he’s combining his passions of numbers and the Dutch to see how a virtual version of George Wares’ club would do this weekend against the best teams in the country.

The eight teams selected to the tournament are the teams ranked one through eight in the final Massey ratings of the season, another computer generated model.

The Dutch are the eighth-seeded team and will open play on the virtual dirt of Tyler, Texas against the actual 2019 champions, Texas Lutheran.  The Bulldogs were 19-1 this season, and went 3-1 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic.  Central went 4-1 at that same event.

Other opening round games in this simulated tournament will feature East Texas-Baptist against Salisbury, Transylvania versus Christopher Newport, and Virginia Wesleyan against Illinois Wesleyan.

Goodman will be simulating four games each day, starting today, with a champion being crowned on Sunday.  He’ll be releasing results on twitter at CentralsProfG, and we’ll follow along with results during sports on KRLS.