The Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) softball team compiled a 2-4 record during a six-game road trip to Mississippi February 28 and 29 and March 1.

The Bears, ranked third in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II poll, lost a doubleheader to Copiah-Lincoln Community College (CLCC) on Feb. 28, falling by scores of 7-6 in eight innings and 17-8. DMACC split a pair of games on Feb. 29, beating Pearl River Community College (PRCC), 10-2, and losing to Northwest Florida Community College (NWFCC), 15-2. And the Bears split two games on March 1, dropping a 4-0 decision to fourth-ranked Jones County Community College (JCCC) and beating Northwest Mississippi Community College (NWMCC), 7-1.

Sophomore Ally Pickering of Winterset had three base hits, including a double, freshman Delaney Kelley of Rock Island, Ill., had two hits and sophomore Maddie Karr of Center Point homered in DMACC's eight-inning loss to CLCC in the opener on Feb. 28. The Bears trailed 3-0 after the first inning but took a 6-3 lead with three-run rallies in the third and fourth innings. CLCC gained a tie with two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth and then pushed a run across the plate in the bottom of the eighth to get the win.

Karr drove in three of the Bears' six runs and Pickering, Kelley and sophomore Josie Swafford of Wellston, Okla., had one RBI apiece.

Swafford went the distance and suffered her first loss of the season. She allowed seven runs on 12 hits, struck out 14 and walked two.

DMACC used a four-run rally in the top of the third to take a 4-1 lead in the second game but CLCC put together a 10-run rally in the bottom of the inning for an 11-4 advantage. The Bears scored four more runs in the top of the fourth, but CLCC responded with six runs in the bottom of the inning to come away with the win.

DMACC was limited to six hits in the game, getting singles from Karr, Kelley and freshmen Sophia Maras of Johnston, Haley Forret of Van Meter, Katelyn Stanley of Truro and Abby Archer of Van Meter. Archer drove in three runs and Maras had a pair of RBIs.

Sophomore Ally Anderson of Atlantic pitched the first two and two-thirds inning, allowing 10 runs on 10 hits. She struck out two and walked three. Forret went a third of an inning, allowing four runs on two hits and walking three batters and Stanley pitched one inning, allowing three runs on one hit.

Karr blasted a pair of home runs and Picking also homered to lead the Bears past PRCC on Feb. 29. DMACC scored three runs in the top of the first, added another in the third and scored twice in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to come away with the win. PRCC tallied single runs in the bottom of the first and bottom of the sixth.

Karr, Pickering and Swafford had two hits apiece in the win and Karr drove in five runs.

Swafford improved to 2-1 with the win. She allowed two runs on two hits, struck out seven and walked three.

NWFCC used a 13-run rally in the bottom of the first to get the win in the second game on Feb. 29. Karr paced DMACC with a double and Pickering, Maras, Swafford, Stanley and freshmen Kaylie Reynolds of Muscatine and Jocelyn Long of Overland Park, Kan., each singled. Swafford and Reynolds collected RBIs in the game.

Anderson started in the circle for DMACC and went two-thirds of an inning, allowing nine runs on seven hits. Freshman Tessa Palmer of Norwalk pitched three and a third innings, allowing six runs on four hits. She struck out one and walked five.

Swafford hit a pair of singles, Kelley had a double and Karr singled in DMACC's loss to JCCC on March 1. JCCC took a 1-0 lead in the first, padded its advantage with another run in the fourth and closed out the win with two runs in the fifth.

Swafford fell to 2-2 with the loss. She allowed four runs on eight hits, struck out five and walked four.

Karr hit her fifth home run of the season and drove in three runs, giving her 13 for the season, to lead the Bears past NWMCC. DMACC went ahead 2-0 in the first inning, scored twice more in the sixth and closed out the win with three runs in the seventh. Pickering had two hits in the win and Maras and Anderson each doubled.

Anderson tossed a two-hitter to come away with the win. She struck out seven batters and did not issue a walk.

The DMACC softball team, 5-4, journeys to Arkansas and Kansas March 14 to 16. The Bears will play Johnson County Community College (JCCC), Jefferson College (JC) and Fort Scott Community College (FSCC) on March 14 and will play Neosho County Community College (NCCC) and Kansas City (Kan.) Community College (KCKCC) on March 15. All of those games will be played in Arkansas. The Bears will close out the road trip with two games against Allen County Community College (ACCC) on March 16 at Iola, Kan.