- Bears reach championship bracket semifinals before losing
- Losses to Murray State College and Kirkwood CC end DMACC season
- Emma Dighton named to all-tournament team
The DMACC softball team came away with a fifth-place finish in their Bears' eighth consecutive appearance in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Softball Championship May 24 to 28 at Oxford, Ala.
The Bears entered the double-elimination tournament as the No. 1 seed and riding a 29-game winning streak after compiling a 50-3 record during the regular season. They opened tournament play with a win over Potomac State College (PSC) on May 24 and then were rained out the next two days.
On May 27 DMACC faced Kansas City (Kan.) Community College (KCKCC) in the championship bracket quarterfinals and came away with a 5-1 win. The victory put the Bears in the semifinals against Murray State College (MSC) where they lost, 11-3. Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) rival Kirkwood Community College (KCC) then ended DMACC's season with a 4-1 win in an elimination game on May 28.
Freshman Emma Dighton of Boone had a pair of base hits, including a home run, and drove in three runs to lead DMACC past KCKCC. The Bears trailed 1-0 after the first inning but scored three runs in the top of the third and closed out the win with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh.
Freshman Madison Kearns of Glenpool, Okla., also had a pair of hits in the win and drove in one DMACC run. Sophomore Layney Loyd of New London also drove in a run.
Sophomore Abby Flanagan of Coggon pitched the first six innings and remained unbeaten for the season at 15-0. She allowed one run on three hits, struck out three and walked three. Flanagan got into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the seventh when she allowed a base hit and hit a batter. Sophomore Lexi Lander of Onawa relieved Flanagan and got the Bears out of the jam on a fielder's choice and a double play.
MSC used a five-run first inning to pave the way to its 11-3 win also on May 27. DMACC scored twice in the bottom of the first but MSC used three runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the seventh to open up an 11-2 advantage. DMACC tallied its other run in the bottom of the seventh.
Dighton and freshman Kendal Clark of Humboldt had two hits apiece in the game and sophomore Jada Collins of Des Moines drove in a pair of runs with Clark also coming away with an RBI.
Dighton pitched a third of an inning and allowed four runs on three hits and walked one batter. Freshman Sydney Kennedy of Peosta went three and two-thirds innings and gave up four runs on six hits. She struck out one and walked three. Sophomore Ellie Jacobson of Humboldt went two innings and allowed a run on two hits with one walk and Lander closed out the game with one inning in the circle. She gave up two runs on two hits, walked one batter and struck out one.
KCC, which dropped three of four games against DMACC during the regular season, scored all four of it runs in the bottom of the fourth in ending the Bears season. DMACC tallied its lone run in the top of the sixth.
Collins paced the Bears' five-hit attack with a double and a single and drove in the lone run.
Flanagan pitched all six innings and fell to 15-1 with the loss. She allowed four runs on five hits, struck out five and walked one.
Dighton closed out her freshman season by being named to the all-tournament team. She concluded the tournament with a .500 batting average on six hits in 12 at-bats. Her hits included a double and two home runs. She drove in five runs and scored three runs.
The DMACC softball team closed out the season at 52-5.
