Freshman Josie Swafford of Wellston, Okla., tossed a six-hitter and drove in four runs with a double and a home run as the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) softball team opened the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Softball National Championship with an 11-3 win over County College of Morris (CCM) May 22 at Clinton, Miss.
Sophomore Kaisha Wells of Topeka, Kan., and freshman Morgan Lewis of Cedar Rapids drove in two runs apiece and sophomore Jayci Vos of Monroe and freshman Maddie Karr of Center Point added one RBI apiece as the Bears, seeded second, improved to 49-6 for the season.
CCM led 2-0 after the first inning but DMACC took control of the game with seven runs in the second and two in the third. CCM made it a 9-3 game with a run in the top of the fifth before DMACC closed out the win with one run each in the fifth and sixth innings. The game was called because of the mercy rule after DMACC's run in the bottom of the sixth.
Wells paced the Bears' 11-hit attack with two singles and a double and Swafford, sophomore Mia Ruther of Burlington and Vos had two hits apiece.
Swafford improved to 26-1 with the win. In addition to allowing six hits, she struck out 11 and walked one.
DMACC will face Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Kirkwood Community College (KCC) today at 3:30 p.m. The Eagles improved to 52-15 with a 3-2 win over Illinois Central College (ICC) in their tournament opener. DMACC was victorious in three of four games against KCC during the regular season.