Kindred-Richland advances to Class B softball qualifier in Jamestown

Kindred/Richland’s late push into the Class B field will send one of North Dakota’s most familiar contenders back to Jamestown, where three days of softball should draw visiting families, fill local restaurants and keep hotel rooms busy around Lyle “Trapper” Lawrence Field.

The 2026 NDHSAA Class B Softball State Tournament is set for May 28-30 at the Jamestown venue, with top teams playing Thursday through Saturday at 4th Ave. & 14th St. SE. Jim Roaldson, Jamestown High School’s athletic director, is serving as tournament manager, putting a longtime local face at the center of a weekend that will again turn the city into a statewide gathering place.

Kindred/Richland earned its berth out of Region 1 with a dramatic path. The team beat Valley City 12-8, then edged Hillsboro/Central Valley 4-3 in the state-qualifier game after falling 8-0 to Central Cass in the region championship. The run sends the Vikings back to a state tournament they know well, after winning the 2024 Class B title by beating Central Cass 6-1 as the No. 4 seed.

For Jamestown, hosting the tournament is about more than the scoreboard. The state event will bring coaches, players, parents and fans into town for multiple days, and the traffic tends to ripple beyond the field into hotel desks, coffee counters and dinner rushes. Families who cannot make it to the park can still follow along, since NDHSAA says WDAY-TV and WDAY+ will televise and stream the tournament, while GameChanger Sports will handle live scoring, pitch counts, video clipping and team-management coverage.

The setting is also part of the story. Trapper Field has become one of North Dakota’s central softball sites, home to both the University of Jamestown and Jamestown High School programs. Jamestown Parks and Recreation said the field received new outfield lights, dugout netting, a windscreen and a Tom Wilson Memorial Bullpen in fall 2023, work funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant, the University of Jamestown, Jamestown Public Schools, Outlaws Fastpitch Softball and private donors. Those upgrades have helped give Jamestown the infrastructure to host a tournament of this size with confidence.

NDHSAA notes that softball is a spring sport and has been sponsored since the 2008-09 school year, a short history that gives added meaning to a state tournament now anchored in Jamestown. For three days next week, the city will be judged not only by who wins, but by how well it welcomes the state.