- Sydney Kennedy homers twice and drives in three runs in DMACC's opening win
- Kendal Clark homers and drives in five runs in second DMACC win
- Kennedy, Courtney Donahue and Kinsley Robertson get victories
The DMACC softball team closed out the regular season with three wins in a four-game series against Iowa Central Community College (ICCC) April 29 and 30 at the DMACC softball diamond.
Sophomore Sydney Kennedy of Peosta tossed a one-hitter and helped her own cause with two home runs and three runs batted in as the Bears took the opener on April 29, 11-3. Sophomore Kendal Clark of Humboldt belted a home run and drove in five runs in the Bears' 10-2 win in the second game.
ICCC took a 9-7 decision from DMACC in the opener on April 30 and five DMACC players drove in two runs apiece as the Bears closed out the series with a 13-4 win in the second game. All three of DMACC's wins were called after five innings because of the mercy rule.
DMACC, ranked 13th in the most recent Division II poll from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), ended the regular season at 44-10 overall and 17-7 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC).
The Bears will be the No. 3 seed in the NJCAA Region 11-B Division II Softball Championship May 5 to 7 at Mason City.
DMACC took a 3-1 lead in the first inning of its series-opening win on April 29. The Bears led 8-2 after three innings and closed out the game with three runs in the fifth.
Freshmen Amaya Snyder and Kelsey Palmer, both of Cedar Rapids, joined Kennedy with two hits in the game and Snyder, who had two doubles, drove in a pair of runs. Sophomore Emily Ades of Boone also doubled for the Bears.
In addition to allowing just one hit, Kennedy struck out eight and walked six in improving to 21-3 for the season.
DMACC put the second game away with four runs in the second, five in the fourth and one in the fifth. Clark had a single to go with her home run and freshman Grace Bailey of Hamilton hit a pair of singles. Sophomore Kaylynn Salyars of Muscatine had two RBIs for the Bears.
Freshman Courtney Donahue of Marshfield, Wis., went the distance and improved to 12-1 with the win. She allowed two runs on eight hits, struck out five and walked one.
ICCC took a 6-1 lead after three innings in winning the first game on April 30. Snyder led the DMACC attack with two hits, including a double, and drove in one run. Kennedy, sophomore Maddy Kearns of Glenpool, Okla., and freshmen Madisyn Kelley of Nora Springs and Campbell Kelley of Rock Island, Ill., also doubled in the win and Clark, Kennedy, Donahue and Palmer drove in one run apiece.
Kennedy pitched the first two and two and two-thirds innings and fell to 21-4 with the loss. She allowed six runs on four hits, struck out five and walked four. Freshman Lauryn Foudree of West Des Moines, went a third of an inning and walked one batter and Donahue threw three innings, allowing three runs on three hits and striking out four. Robertson pitched one inning and struck out three batters.
The Bears opened up an 11-2 lead after two innings and coasted to their win in the final game of the series. Snyder led the Bears with three hits, including a double, and Ades and Palmer had two hits apiece. Clark, Kearns, Snyder, Bailey and Palmer drove in two runs apiece.
Robertson ran her record to 9-4 with the win. She went five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, striking out three and walking two.
DMACC will face fifth-seeded Iowa Lakes Community College (ILCC) May 5 in the first round of the Region 11-B tournament. The Lakers bring a 33-17 record into the game, including an 11-13 mark in the ICCAC. The two teams split a four-game series April 2 and 3 at Estherville.
Second-seeded North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) and sixth-seeded Northeast (Neb.) Community College (NECC) make up the other half of the bracket. The double-elimination tournament continues with semifinal games on May 6 and the championship game on May 7.
